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PONANT partners with Farwind Energy to develop green hydrogen refueling solutions

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 March 2024 28 March 2024

In the brand’s ongoing initiatives to find ways to decarbonize, and thus contribute to the maritime industry’s energy transition, PONANT announces a collaboration with the Nantes-based startup Farwind Energy to develop innovative solutions for ship refueling with renewable hydrogen.

PONANT and Farwind Energy have defined a road map to develop the production and use of renewable marine hydrogen, where the companies will share progress on the management of hydrogen on board and collaborate on development of first-use cases and overcoming potential technological obstacles. The two partners have set a goal to commission both PONANT’s Swap2Zero project and Farwind’s first energy ship at the same time by 2030.

A company with a mission, based in Nantes and the Caribbean, Farwind Energy develops cutting edge solutions to enable renewable energy to be supplied as close as possible to its point of consumption and in a form adapted to the requirements. Its energy ship technology aims to produce electricity at sea from offshore wind and transform it into hydrogen by the electrolysis of seawater. The hydrogen can be transported to shore to be used as a fuel, a solution particularly well suited to island territories, or refueling of a ship can take place at sea, helping accelerate the maritime transport industry’s energy transition.

By 2030, PONANT is working on one of the sector’s most innovative R&D projects. Swap2Zero is the first concept of a transoceanic vessel aiming to approach, as far as state-of-the-art technology will allow, carbon neutrality, whether sailing, maneuvering, in port or at anchor. There are several initiatives to move forward with this ground-breaking project. Wind power is at the heart of the project and low-temperature fuel cells operating on liquid hydrogen for propulsion are also being studied. The project aims to be a catalyst for new energy solutions with strong replicability potential for the rest of the industry.

“Farwind Energy’s hydrogen production technology has the advantage of offering hydrogen refueling solutions in places where there are no means of production and supply. This collaboration is an opportunity to jointly develop a major project that associates a ship with her own source of renewable energy produced locally. It is an unprecedented revolutionary approach that makes total sense,” explains Mathieu Petiteau, Newbuilding and R&D Director at PONANT. "The Swap2Zero programme is the ideal demonstrator to scale up this solution and set new standards. This technological building block will be integrated into our other areas of R&D to support our decarbonization strategy.”

“We are proud to share our roadmap with PONANT, an innovative company committed to low carbon navigation. This collaboration opens up new perspectives for our highly innovative renewable energy production technology. Capable of being produced near the ship’s operating areas, our liquid hydrogen represents a promising solution to decarbonize maritime transport,” explains Arnaud Poitou, Chairman of Farwind Energy.

Carnival Legend to temporarily move to Norfolk after Baltimore port closure

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 March 2024 27 March 2024

Carnival Cruise Line has said that while rescue and remediation efforts continue in Baltimore Harbor following the collapse of the Key Bridge, it will temporarily move Carnival Legend’s Baltimore operations to Norfolk, Virginia.

Carnival Legend is scheduled to return from its current voyage on Sunday, March 31. It will now return to Norfolk on Sunday, and guests will be provided complimentary bus service back to Baltimore. Carnival Legend’s next 7-night itinerary on March 31 will then operate from and return to Norfolk. Guests on the current and upcoming cruises are being informed of this change.

“Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We appreciate the pledge made by President Biden today to dedicate all available resources to reopen Baltimore Harbor to marine traffic as soon as possible. As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk.”

Carnival Corporation orders an additional Excel-Class ship for Carnival Cruise Line

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 March 2024 26 March 2024

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company, today announced it has signed an agreement with Meyer Werft shipyard for a fifth Excel-class cruise ship for its namesake Carnival Cruise Line brand, with the delivery set for 2028.

In mid-February Carnival Corporation had announced the first newbuild order placed in five years with news that a fourth Excel-class ship would join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in Spring 2027. This announcement confirms an 11th Excel-class ship for the corporation's fleet across four of its world-class brands, and the fifth to be sailed by Carnival Cruise Line.

"Carnival's Excel-class fleet will soon be a quintet of these very popular ships that provide outstanding guest amenities and tremendous operating efficiencies," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "Since the introduction of Mardi Gras in 2021 and the subsequent expansion with Carnival Celebration in 2022 and Carnival Jubilee in 2023, these Excel-class ships are driving excitement, demand, and strong guest satisfaction ratings. With the arrival of Carnival Firenze in April, we are completing the addition of five ships to our fleet in less than 20 months, and then we will pivot to another phase of growth with these two Excel ships."

This fifth Excel-class ship will be built on the same platform as its sisters, with the 180,000-ton ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and designed to carry over 6,400 guests and 1,800 crew.

"This new order continues to balance our commitment to growth with our responsible capital approach to utilize strong free cash flow over the next several years to strategically improve our balance sheet, significantly reduce our leverage levels and continue to transfer value from debt holders to shareholders," said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc.

"Carnival Cruise Line continues to perform at an outstanding level, and we are focused on adding capacity across the company where it aligns with demand and our position in the marketplace. This measured capacity growth strategy will result in our adding one to two ships per year beginning in 2027, and we will be identifying additional fleet plans over the coming months for our cruise lines to meet capacity demand and improve execution across all aspects of our operation, with the benefit of yielding higher return on invested capital," said Weinstein.

"We are proud of the role the Excel-class from Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku has played in contributing to the success of Carnival Corporation for many years now. We look forward to continuing this success story together," said Bernd Eikens, CEO Meyer Group.

This order is contingent upon financing, which is expected to be completed later this year.

Swan Hellenic reports 90% occupancy on its Antarctic cruises

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 March 2024 25 March 2024

Today, the ice-class Swan Hellenic cruise ship SH Vega sailed into Cape Town from Ushuaia, bringing the cultural expedition cruise pioneer’s 2023-2024 Antarctic season to a close.

And a very successful season it’s been, the company reports. The figures speak for themselves. Almost 3,000 guests chose Swan Hellenic to discover the continent, and stateroom occupancy averaged just shy of 90%. Guests from the USA and UK continued to account for the majority, with an increasing number from China and Brazil. Bookings for the 2024-2025 Antarctic season are already equally strong on the back of powerful online buzz.

It’s clear that Swan Hellenic’s cultural expedition cruises have now built a strong reputation for being desirably different, with their elegant but informal boutique ships, expertly curated itineraries, gourmet cuisine, specialist talks and hands-on expeditions.

Marking the moment of SH Vega’s Cape Town arrival, Swan Hellenic has released full details of its 2025-2026 Antarctic Season, giving ample time to secure a booking in the face of this increasingly strong demand. Offering a wide choice of vacation lengths, the proven 9, 10, 11, 13, 17 and 20-night itineraries continue with subtle enhancements, offering 12 cultural expedition cruises aboard the five-star SH Vega and SH Diana, accommodating 152 and 192 guests respectively. The first cruise of the season departs Buenos Aires on 14 November 2025, and the concluding cruise sails from Ushuaia on 17 March 2026.

Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito comments: “We’re delighted with the booming popularity and outstanding reputation we’ve earned for our Antarctica cultural expedition cruises – all true adventures of discovery while always being conducted to the highest standards of safety and environmental responsibility. But, above all, we’re over the moon with the feedback we’ve received from our guests, telling us all about their life-changing experiences aboard and ashore. That’s exactly what we work so hard to achieve and our recently announced 2025-2026 Antarctica cruises have been expertly designed to build even further on everything we’ve learned.”

The voyage to Cape Town was a spectacular 20-night cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina. After crossing the notorious Drake Passage, her intrepid voyagers explored the Antarctic Peninsula in depth and then struck out northeast to Paulet Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, subsequently sailing on to Gough Island, part of the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, before finally reaching Cape Town.

Enriching the voyage as part of Swan Hellenic’s Explore Space at Sea Series in partnership with the SETI Institute, cruise guests were accompanied aboard and ashore by Dr. Jeffrey C. Smith, Expert in Planetary Science, AI and Data Analytics. During the voyage, Dr. Smith gave four fascinating talks: “How do Astronomers Find Exoplanets?”, “Yes, look up! Utilizing AI to Find Exploding Meteors and to Help Protect the Earth from Dangerous Asteroids”, “Why do Scientists Love Antarctica so much?” and “Will we ever really find E.T.?”

Meyer Werft and Disney Cruise Line celebrate keel laying of Disney Destiny

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 24 March 2024 24 March 2024

The construction of the next cruise ship for Disney Cruise Line has reached another milestone: assembly of the ship's hull began last week with the traditional keel-laying ceremony. The Disney Destiny is the sister ship of the Disney Treasure, which is also under construction, and the Disney Wish, which launched in 2022.

The keel was laid in the 504-metre-long covered building dock at Meyer Werft. In keeping with maritime tradition, Philip Gennotte, Portfolio Project Management Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering Germany, placed a lucky coin under the keel of the new ship before the shipyard gave the signal to lower the block onto the bracing and the coin. The keel-laying block is 38,9 metres wide, 14 metres long and 6,3 metres high.

"With the keel laying, we have reached another milestone in our partnership with Disney Cruise Line. The third ship in the Wish class will also impress with Meyer quality and be rich in Disney storytelling," says Thomas Weigend, Chief Sales Officer of the Meyer Group and Managing Director of Meyer Werft.

The third ship in the Wish class will have approximately 1,250 cabins and a size of around 144,000 GT. Delivery is planned for 2025. Like the Disney Wish and the Disney Treasure, which is expected to be delivered this year, the ship will have a low-emission LNG propulsion system. The Meyer Group is also completing the conversion of the Disney Adventure cruise ship in Wismar for Disney Cruise Line.