More News

Saga Cruises receives health assurance accreditation from Lloyd’s Register

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 November 2020 27 November 2020

Saga Cruises, the UK based luxury market operator, said it has become the first cruise operator to be awarded new Covid-19 health assurance accreditation by Lloyd's Register, the maritime safety experts.

“The move is a crucial step ahead of the planned return of cruise operations in spring next year in a Covid-secure environment,” the company said in a satement.

“Lloyd's Register has awarded Saga the Shield+ accreditation, the highest category of health assurance they have. The new framework has been created to reduce risk and provide greater confidence in the safety procedures of operators against the introduction of infectious diseases onboard cruise ships, including Covid-19, Norovirus and common flu, as the industry works with government to restart an industry that employs 88,000 people and is worth £10bn a year to the British economy,” the companysaid.

Saga Cruises is part of the listed Saga plc group that offers a range of products from travel to financial services to those over the age of 50. It has two ships, Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure, both of roughly 56,000 gross tons

Being awarded the accreditation demonstrates that Saga exceeds the compliance criteria in every category set out by the UK Chamber of Shipping in their guidance for COVID Secure Cruising, which has been supported by the government.

The safety accreditation is assessed against six key categories covering every aspect of ship safety where health risks are elevated: medical, policy, food, ventilation, accommodation and water.

Award of the accreditation follows months of detailed planning from Saga, designing and putting in place detailed new procedures to meet the highest standards of health and safety.

Saga said its ships have been surveyed and inspected in all key areas and the accreditation has been awarded for both the Spirit of Discovery and the Spirit of Adventure, which was delivered from Meyer Werft in Germany earlier this autumn and is due to set sail for the first time in May 2021.

AIDA Cruises starts with Canary Islands cruises next week

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 November 2020 26 November 2020

AIDA Cruises, the leading cruise line in Germany and a part of Carnival Corporation & plc, has announced that it will offer Canary Islands cruises starting from December 5, 2020.

On December 5, 2020, AIDA Cruises will open their cruise season around the Canary Islands with AIDAperla, followed by AIDAmar, which will start its winter season with the Christmas voyage on December 20, 2020. The 7-night voyages to the islands of eternal spring start on Saturdays or Sundays from Gran Canaria.

The Spanish government adopted clear regulations for safe travel in the Canaries in November, which are in line with AIDA's already established hygiene and prevention measures. AIDA's health and safety protocols, which have been audited by SGS Institute Fresenius and confirmed by the classification society DNV-GL, among others, include measures such as the free Covid-19 test before the voyage, secure arrival and departure, medical care, distance regulations and increased disinfection measures on board, as well as guided shore excursions.

Due to the current situation in the United Arab Emirates, Spain (except Canaries) and France, AIDA has to adjust the schedule in the Orient and the Western Mediterranean. All cruises on AIDAstella and AIDAprima that were planned between December 1, 2020 and January 26, 2021 are cancelled.

Guests whose cruises are cancelled will be informed immediately.

Photo Cumbra Vieja National Park / Hellocanaryislands.com

DFDS plans large hydrogen fuel cell powered ropax

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 November 2020 26 November 2020

DFDS, the listed Danish ferry company, has teamed with a group of companies to design a hydrogen fuel cell powered large ropax vessel that could enter service between Copenhagen and Oslo in 2027, DFDS said in a statement.

The ferry that has the working name Europa Seaways, is designed for 1,800 passengers and has capacity for 120 lorries or 380 cars.

“The ferry will be powered by electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell system that emits only water and can produce up to 23 MW to propel the ferry,” the company said, adding that green hydrogen is to be produced by a projected offshore wind energy-powered electrolyser plant in Greater Copenhagen.

“The largest fuel cell systems today produce only 1-5 MW, and the development of such large-scale fuel cell installations for an electric ferry is a monumental task. We can only succeed in partnerships with companies that together can muster some of the globe’s finest expertise in design, approval, building, financing and operation of innovative vessels,” said Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.

The partners in the group of companies working on the project include DFDS, ABB, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Hexagon Purus, Lloyd’s Register, Knud E Hansen, Ørsted and Danish Ship Finance.

“Together, we expect to learn how to make these fuel types and technologies commercially viable, which is key to a transition of the industry to climate neutrality, which is also the ultimate goal of DFDS’ climate plan,” Carlsen said

The partnership has applied for support from the EU Innovation Fund. As there are no ferries of this kind in the world today, the development of the ferry will also require public involvement. However, if the project develops as projected, the ferry could be in full operation on the route as early as 2027.

Photo: DFDS

MSC Cruises inks deal with Southampton

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 November 2020 25 November 2020

MSC Cruises, the Geneva based cruise shipping company, said it would commit at least one ship to be based in the UK for the duration of a strategic partnership agreement with Associated British Ports (ABP), which owns the port of Southampton.

“MSC Cruises has confirmed that there will be at least one ship home porting from the UK for the duration of the partnership as well as several of the Companies (sic.) large fleet of 17 ships visiting the port and the UK, as a destination on sailings including grand voyages, northern Europe adventures and transatlantic crossings,” the company said in a statement.

Antonio Paradiso, MD MSC Cruises UK & Ireland said: “MSC Cruises is serious about the UK market and now more than ever we believe in the potential here and making this long term commitment to bringing even more passengers to Southampton is evidence of that.”

“ In 2017 we invested in a new office in the UK, we then focused on growing our teams and putting the right expertise in place to ensure we can provide the best possible support to our passengers and our travel agent partners, and now we are really proud to be further investing in the UK cruise industry at this incredibly important time for both the industry and the UK economy in having a home for our ships here in the UK.”

MSC Magnifica is earmarked to make 21 cruises from Southampton in 2021.

The agreement with ABP is the next step for MSC Cruises as the brand has gradually increased its presence in the UK market to support the growing demand from UK & Irish passengers. “Feedback from both guests and travel agents following the first full season sailing from the UK was incredibly positive which has driven the decision to strengthen the relationship with the port,” the company said.

Viking hires Raquel C. Bono, M.D. as Chief Health Officer

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 November 2020 25 November 2020

Viking announced today that it has hired Raquel C. Bono, M.D. as the company’s Chief Health Officer. A board-certified trauma surgeon and retired Vice Admiral of the United States Navy Medical Corps, Dr. Bono most recently led Washington State’s medical and healthcare systems response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As Principal at RCB Consulting, she partnered with Viking earlier this year to help develop and define new protocol enhancements; as Chief Health Officer, Dr. Bono will be instrumental in Viking’s restart of operations, with a focus on public health.

“Dr. Bono brings valuable perspective informed by an extraordinary career that has included decorated military service, trauma surgery and health care administration. Additionally, her work as the head of Washington state’s Covid-19 health care response team makes her uniquely qualified to be our Chief Health Officer as we finalize plans for operating cruises safely,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “We are proud to officially welcome Dr. Bono to the Viking family, and we will soon be sharing more details about the Viking Health & Safety Program, which we believe is one of the most well-researched and comprehensive Covid-19 prevention and mitigation plans in the travel industry.”

“I am delighted to join the Viking family and am proud of the significant work we have already done together. I look forward to continuing to create the safest environment possible for Viking’s guests and crew members, while also contributing to the collective public health efforts to address Covid-19,” added Dr. Bono.

Commissioned in June 1979, Dr. Bono received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and M.D. from the School of Medicine at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She completed a surgical internship and General Surgery residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, and a Trauma and Critical Care fellowship at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine in Norfolk, Virginia. She saw duty in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and is the first female Navy medical officer to have achieved three-star rank. As Chief Executive Officer and Director for the Defense Health Agency (DHA), Dr. Bono led a joint, integrated combat support agency that enables all branches of the U.S. military medical services to provide health care services to combatant commands in times of both peace and war. Dr. Bono integrated an unprecedented $50 billion worldwide health care enterprise for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, composed of 50 hospitals and 300 clinics that provide care to 9.5 million military personnel, oversaw the Department of Defense deployment of the electronic health record, and facilitated the collaboration between the largest federated health systems of the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Dr. Bono holds an MBA from the Carson College of Business from Washington State University, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Senior Fellow with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Her personal decorations include a Defense Distinguished Service Medal, three Defense Superior Service Medals, three Legion of Merit Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals.

Today’s announcement follows news that Viking has become the first cruise line to complete the installation of a full-scale polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing laboratory at sea. The laboratory on board Viking Star has enough capacity for up to daily testing of every crew member and guest, which provides flexibility to respond to Covid-19 prevalence levels around the world. In the coming months, Viking will complete the installation of PCR laboratories on the remainder of its ocean ships – and will also have a strong network of shoreside laboratories for its river ships.