Products & services

De Wave group extends cooperation with P&O Cruises Australia

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 29 April 2021 29 April 2021

Following its involvement in the extensive refurbishment of Pacific Explorer last year, the De Wave Group is again contributing to P&O Cruises Australia’s fleet transformation project with recent work on Pacific Encounter at the Sembcorp Marine shipyard in Singapore in preparation for the ship joining Sydney based company’s fleet.

De Wave Group is also set to contribute to Pacific Adventure’s preparation for its planned entry to the fleet later this year.

Australia’s leading cruise line after nearly 90 years of cruising from Australia, P&O Cruises is operated by Carnival Australia, the nation’s largest cruise organisation, which, in turn, is part of the Holland America Group (HAG) of cruise lines within the global travel and leisure group Carnival Corporation & plc.

The De Wave Group’s contribution to the recent Pacific Encounter project involved skilled work on the ship’s interiors as the sole contractor providing a full turnkey service inclusive of all logistical and technical aspects.

Giacomo Poggi, Chief Executive Officer of Precetti Far-East, commented: “Even in this challenging period, we were able to organise many containers of materials and coordinate the work of a team of over 200 skilled people from 4 continents, successfully completing a highly prestigious project for our Group.”

In preparation for joining the P&O Cruises Australia fleet from sister brand Princess Cruises to which it operated as Star Princess, Pacific Encounter was refitted with new fixed furnishings, upholstery, and floor and wall coverings. In addition, the existing ceilings were repainted.

The project involved around 50 containers of shipped materials, 200 people from 4 continents split across the various works, over 5,000 sq. m of refurbished areas, more than 3,000 sq. m of wall coverings, 3,500 sq. m of outdoor artificial turf, 8,000 sq. m of fabrics and 10,000 sq. m of carpets fitted.

A significant part of the project undertaken by the De Wave Group’s skilled workers was on the dining area called ‘The Pantry’, installing special catering fittings including protective glass screens with LED lights and built-in heating lamps, which are integral to maintaining the health and well-being of guests and crew.

The De Wave Group is a global manufacturer and contractor with an annual turnover of 200 million euro and with 600 staff, serving the full spectrum of cruise ship and yacht interior outfitting, from new builds through to refitting and after sales.

Bureau Veritas to help restart of Carnival group’s operations

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 26 April 2021 26 April 2021

Bureau Veritas (BV), the Paris based testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) specialist, has been contracted by Carnival Corporation & plc the world’s largest cruise shipping group, to provide health and safety services to facilitate the return to cruising, protecting passengers and crew.

The support provided, including verification of safety and hygiene measures, will be based upon the expertise and extensive experience built by Bureau Veritas in 2020 to address health protection and hygiene requirements on-board passenger ships. BV’s approach meets the specific requirements of the cruise market, addressing biological risks, as posed by COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, the company said in a statement.

BV will verify the procedures and protocols of Carnival group’s ships to identify and manage COVID-19 related risks in port, at embarkation and disembarkation points, and, of course, on the ships. Outbreak management planning will address necessary procedures for prevention, mitigation, and preparation to manage crew and passenger hygiene, wellbeing and health with clear definitions of responsibilities and roles.

BV’s initial work has been focused on ships operating under the Cunard, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises brands that will resume cruises out of Southampton under Carnival UK with added assurance from BV's independent verification of effective COVID-19 protocols.

Subsequent to the restart of UK cruise itineraries, it is anticipated that a return to operations will continue in global markets – BV as an independent body will verify COVID-19 protocols and procedures meeting guidelines enforced by national administrations, helping Carnival’s ships get back to global operations for all Carnival’s brands.

Hogia delivers reservation system to the Canadian ferry operator CTMA Traversier

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 25 April 2021 25 April 2021

The Canadian ferry operator CTMA Traversier Ltée (CTMA) have gone live with their new reservation and ticketing system BOOKIT, from Hogia Ferry Systems. The contract was signed in the autumn 2020. CTMA operate several routes: a life-line service between Prince Edward Island and the Îles de la Madeleine, a cruise line from Montreal to Îles de la Madeleine and a freight ferry service serving the islands. They have three ferries running the different services.

Sylvio Bénard, Responsable du service informatique (CIO)at CTMA says “We realised that our current reservation system had reached end of life and would not have coped with the higher volumes and new offerings that we are introducing with the larger ferry. We looked for a standard reservation system on the market and following the valuable and comforting input from fellow Canadian ferry operators, going with Hogia and BOOKIT was at the end a rather easy decision. I am pleased that we managed to implement the new system without any on-site support, due to the travel restrictions, and I am even more pleased that our end users are super-happy with BOOKIT.”

“The Canadian ferry industry is close to our hearts and we are a proud partner to prominent ferry operators in Canada since almost 20 years. It is an honour and a delight to welcome CTMA to our BOOKIT community. We are looking forward to a long and creative partnership” says Niclas Blomstrom, Managing Director at Hogia Ferry Systems.

Vow wins another retrofit contract with Carnival Cruise Line

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 25 April 2021 25 April 2021

Vow ASA has through its subsidiary Scanship AS been awarded a retrofit contract with Carnival Cruise Line to deliver its advanced wastewater purification (AWP) system to Carnival Dream. The system will be installed aboard the vessel during a scheduled drydock in 2021.

“This contract signals a strong commitment for environmental sustainability even in most disruptive times, and we are thrilled to continue our work with Carnival Cruise Line deploying Scanship AWP technology to meet the highest discharge standard at sea,” said CEO Henrik Badin.

For Scanship, this will be the thirty first (31) AWP system installed on existing ships in operation, and one of the largest retrofit projects within this business area for the company to date. Scanship is currently also working on another AWP retrofit project for Carnival Cruise Line on the Carnival Magic, under a contract announced in September last year.

“We are impressed with the cruise industry’s commitment and determination to meet the environmental requirements of tomorrow, by upgrading systems on existing ships and installing new clean ship solutions on newbuilds under construction," said Badin.

Lloyd's Register CEO Nick Brown named as Incoming IACS Chair

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 20 April 2021 20 April 2021

The International Association of Classification Societies has named Lloyd’s Register CEO Nick Brown as its Incoming Council Chair.

This is the first time that the IACS Chair has been chosen by the Association’s Members and not by rotation, a move that follows governance changes announced in December last year. As part of those changes, Brown’s term of office will run until 31st December 2023.

Brown commented: “I am honoured to have been named Chair of the International Association of Classification Societies. The Association has always been and remains a beacon of safety for maritime through its development of important technical standards and guidelines. The governance arrangements developed over the past years have sent a clear signal to our stakeholders that IACS and its members are committed to ensuring that the classification industry remains an effective force in the maritime sector and I thank the IACS Members for choosing me to oversee the implementation of these important changes.”

As part of the new model, Li Zhiyuan of the China Classification Society was appointed as Chair of the General Policy Group (GPG) for a three-year period starting 1st July. Mr. Li, who also acted as GPG Chair between 2016 and 2017, and his team will be located in IACS Secretariat in London meaning these highly expert, technical specialists will be closer to the IMO and other industry associations thus facilitating a deeper, wider and more consistent cooperation on the key issues facing the maritime industry.

Brown added: “The current Council Chair, Koichi Fujiwara of ClassNK, has successfully delivered far-reaching change to the governance of IACS while simultaneously ensuring that IACS remained fully responsive to industry needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to building on his achievements by ensuring IACS continues to play its role in supporting an industry experiencing times of rapid change and delivering responsive advice to the technical and regulatory challenges posed by decarbonisation and digitisation.”

Robert Ashdown, IACS Secretary General, congratulated Brown and Li on their appointments, saying: “The unanimous appointment of the Council and GPG Chairs demonstrates the clear commitment of the IACS members to evolving the Association to meet the needs and expectations of industry and regulators. The significant strengthening of the Secretariat combined with the consistency of longer Chairmanship periods means that IACS is now well positioned to engage at pace and in depth as we continue to deliver on our core mission of safer, cleaner shipping.”