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Australian chef Mark Best to have restaurant on Genting Dream

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 September 2016 13 September 2016

Internationally-acclaimed Australian chef Mark Best brings culinary artistry to the table for diners of Genting Dream, the first vessel of Genting Hong Kong’s new Asia-Pacific focused premium market line Dream Cruises, with the announcement of his first restaurant at sea.

“With menus featuring contemporary Western cuisine, ‘Bistro’ promises Dream Cruises guests an inspired dining experience from a chef who has garnered international recognition for an uncompromising approach that has propelled him to the forefront of the culinary world,” the company said in a statement.

A recognised champion and advocate of the highest-quality Australian, farm-grown and reared produce, Chef Best promises an amalgam of Western and Asian-inspired ingredients and flavours. Bistro’s menu will focus on small producer-sourced Australian beef, lamb, river fish and the freshest seafood.

“Chef Best is universally recognised for his critically-acclaimed Sydney-based restaurant ‘Marque’, followed by further success with Pei Modern in Melbourne and Sydney. His cooking is world-renowned and he is among a distinguished few to achieve 19/20 in the Good Food Guide, an independent, anonymous and unbiased annual restaurant guide published by the Sydney Morning Herald,” Dream Cruises said.

The 219-seat ‘Bistro’ restaurant, which includes a 54-seat ‘Grill’ outdoor seating area and a select 8-seat ‘Chef’s Table’ in a private room, will serve a selection of Chef Best’s inspired Western dishes, together with the finest selection of wines. Guests will enjoy the opportunity to sample delectable wine pairing menus, a widely-acclaimed signature feature of Chef Best’s restaurants.

SMM closed with upbeat note

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 September 2016 12 September 2016

The 27th SMM exhibition closed in Hamburg on 9 September on an upbeat note despite the difficult trading conditions that many sectors of the shipping and wider maritime sectors are facing, the organisers said in a closing report.

“The overwhelming turnout is proof of a general sense of anticipation that was palpable during the four days of the fair, as well,” said Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH., in the report.

Uwe Beckmeyer, Parliamentary Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, and Federal Government Coordinator for the Maritime Industry, emphasised the importance of SMM as an innovation driver: “SMM is a very special platform. The world loves to gather here for this event,” he said.

Digitalisation had been chosen as one of the main topics for SMM 2016. “SMM is the first maritime trade fair globally to turn the spotlight on “Industry 4.0”. This theme harbours enormous potential for the shipping industry,” said Dr Alexander Nürnberg, Chairman of the Board of the Marine Equipment and Systems working group at the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), and Managing Director of MacGregor Hatlapa.

Another major topic addressed by this year’s event was Green Propulsion. The fair organisers had erected a dedicated, 3,500 square metre exhibition hall to feature relevant products and services. “This special hall provided an optimal setting for us to showcase our competencies as a specialist for hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems," said Andreas Baumüller, Managing Director of Baumüller Group. The new hall had been completely booked several weeks ahead of the beginning of the fair.

“What hasn’t changed is that business deals are made between people. Here at SMM everything is very personal, walking distances are short, and you can look your partner in the eyes,” said Manfred Urban, Managing Director of Mecklenburger Metallguss GmbH.

This year again, many business deals were signed at the exhibition stands. To give a few examples, Meyer Werft signed a billion-dollar contract for three LNG-powered cruise ships with Carnival Corporation & plc.

Siemens will equip the first cruise ship of the British shipowning company Saga Cruises with the SISHIP eSiPOD propulsion system. MTU will supply four gas engines for two new, 70-metre aluminium catamarans of the Dutch owner Doeksen, the report concluded.

Hurtigruten to employ hybrid technology on newbuildings

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 September 2016 12 September 2016

Hurtigruten, the Norwegian expedition cruise shipping company, says it has decided to fit its newbuildings with hybrid propulsion technology.

The first ship, which is on firm order at Kleven shipbuilding group, will be fitted with a n electric auxiliary engine, which will reduce CO2 emissions by a fifth.

A second vessel, which is currently an option, is planned to be fitted with full hybrid propulsion system that would allow the vessel to use batteries and electric drive over long distances in environmentally sensitive areas. From the beginning, the second ship is expected to be able to sail on electric power for 15 to 30 minutes.

The ships are designed by Rolls Royce and Hurtigruten’s investment in the new technology amounts to NOK125 million, of which NOK 45million comes from an environmental grant, the company said in a statement.

Magellan to operate Norway, Canaries and Brazil itineraries winter 2017-18

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 September 2016 08 September 2016

Magellan, at 46,052 gross tons the second largest vessel of Cruise & Maritime Voyages in the UK, will operate a series of cruises to Norway and the Canaries plus a 42 night cruise to Brazil in the winter of 2017-18 from London Tilbury.

The company has already said that Columbus, at 63,786 gross tons which will join its feet in June to become the largest unit in its fleet, will operate a 120 night cruise around the world from London Tilbury.

Marco Polo will sailo Spain, Portugal and France from Liverpool, Belfast and Bristol up to the end of October. The firsr cruise in 2018 sail on 31 march to France from Bistol. The company has not said what the ship will do in the interim.

Astor will sail to Australia as in the previous years and cruise from Fremantle to ports in Australia and e.g. Indonesia.

Siemens wins pod order for Saga Cruises’ newbuilding at Meyer

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 September 2016 08 September 2016

Siemens,the German electrotechnical group, says it has been awarded the contract to equip the first new build cruise liner for Saga Cruises in the UK under contract to Meyer Werft in Papenburg.

“The awarded package includes a SISHIP eSiPOD propulsion system as well as a power and distribution plant. This new cruise ship to be delivered in the summer of 2019 will be 236 meters long and 31.2 meters wide with a gross tonnage (GT) of 56,850 and will offer capacity of 999 passengers. The contract includes an option to equip one additional cruise liner potentially due for delivery in 2021,” the company said in a statement.

The major benefit of the SISHIP eSiPOD is its high overall efficiency resulting from the combination of a compact, hydrodynamically optimized design and an efficient permanent-excited synchronous motor. The propulsion motor is integrated into a pod shaped housing located outside the ship’s hull and enables full 360 degree steering angle.

With the combination of the SISHIP eSiPOD and Siship Drive MV solution, Siemens is able to provide a perfectly balanced integrated propulsion system for this cruise ship with improved propulsion efficiency and manoeuvrability. In addition, the low-noise and low-vibration operation of the propeller motors make them particularly suited for the high demands of the customers in the yacht, passenger and cruise ship segment.   The reliable power supply of the ship is guaranteed by the integrated power plant system Siship Power MV. This comprises four generators with a total electrical output of 21 megawatts.

The NxAIR medium-voltage switchgear takes care of efficient and safe power distribution. The power and propulsion plant is internally controlled and monitored by the Siemens integrated protection systems such as the Power Plant Protection (PPP), Generator Power Adaption System (GPA) and Propulsion Control System (PCS).

The integrated Siemens Siship solutions help to increase the overall efficiency and reliability of the cruise ship, reduce fuel consumption and thus drive down operating costs.  

Matthias Schulze, Executive Vice President Siemens Marine, said: “We are of course very happy and thankful for having been awarded this contract and for the customer’s trust in us. This contract enables us to position our new highly efficient generation of pod propulsion systems firmly within the cruise ship segment. Surely we do hope that this meticulously engineered and innovated design will open the door to securing additional orders in the future.”