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New polar partnership "ICE PACT" signed by Canada, Finland and the United States

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 July 2024 11 July 2024

Today, the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Finland announced their intent to create the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact, which is a trilateral arrangement to collaborate on the production of polar icebreakers and other capabilities, alongside United States’ allies and partners, labor, and industry. This collaboration is intended to strengthen the shipbuilding industry and industrial capacity of each nation – and build closer security and economic ties among our countries through information exchange and mutual workforce-development focused on building polar icebreakers, as well as other Arctic and polar capabilities.

Components of the arrangement

This arrangement will consist of three initial components: enhanced information exchange between the United States, Canada, and Finland; collaboration on workforce development; and an invitation to allies and partners to purchase icebreakers built in American, Canadian, or Finnish shipyards. Due to the capital intensity of shipbuilding, long-term, multi-ship orderbooks are essential to the success of a shipyard. The governments of the United States, Canada, and Finland intend to leverage shipyards in the United States, Canada, and Finland to build polar icebreakers for their own use, as well as to work closely with likeminded allies and partners to build and export polar icebreakers for their needs at speed and affordable cost. As yards in the United States, Canada, and Finland make significant investments in their domestic capacity to build these vessels for their own needs, ICE Pact invites allies and partners to purchase vessels from American, Canadian, and Finnish shipyards with experience building polar icebreakers. Through diplomatic collaboration, shipyards focused on building polar icebreakers can reach the scale needed to reduce costs for allies and partners that need access to the polar regions.

Implementation of the arrangement

By the end of the year, the United States, Canada, and Finland will develop a joint memorandum of understanding that will outline a framework for how this arrangement will be implemented within each country – and a mechanism for adding or including additional allies and partners as participants. The process to develop this non-binding arrangement will be conducted through a regular trilateral consultation process during this period.

Strengthening America’s Polar Capabilities

The U.S. Coast Guard requires polar icebreaking capabilities to support the country’s economic, commercial, maritime, and national security needs in the Polar regions. The U.S. Coast Guard is working to build new heavy icebreakers under the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) Program. These ships will be national assets that ensure access to both polar regions – and will be capable of executing key Coast Guard missions, including defense readiness; marine environmental protection; ports, waterways, and coastal security; and search and rescue. The ships will operate worldwide, alongside the polar icebreakers of America’s allies and partners, and face the range of extreme environmental conditions found in the polar, tropical, and temperate regions.

The Coast Guard is working with Bollinger Shipyards to build the first Polar Security Cutters. The Louisiana-based shipbuilder will continue its effort to deliver new American-made icebreakers to the U.S. Coast Guard’s polar icebreaking fleet. These vessels will be the first American-built heavy icebreakers in over 50 years – and the foundation of the American effort to enhance our surface presence in the polar regions. ICE Pact will continue to support their efforts, and the President’s commitment to build more ships in American shipyards.

Under this trilateral arrangement, Canadian, Finnish, and American capacity and know-how for building polar icebreakers will help deliver a fleet of new polar icebreakers for ourselves, our allies, and other partners.

Fincantieri lays the keel of Four Seasons I

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 July 2024 10 July 2024

Fincantieri and Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings LTD, Joint Owner/Operator of Four Seasons Yachts, have celebrated at the shipyard in Ancona the keel laying of Four Seasons I, the first ultra-luxury vessel under construction for Four Seasons Yachts, which will be delivered at the end of 2025 and setting sail in January 2026.

The keel laying ceremony, which is the formal recognition of the start of a ship’s construction in the dry dock, was attended, among others, by Nadim Ashi, Owner and Executive Chair of Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings LTD, Joint Owner/Operator of Four Seasons Yachts, and Founder and CEO of Fort Partners, Bart Carnahan, President, Global Business Development, Portfolio Management and Residential, Four Seasons, Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager Fincantieri Merchant Ships Division, and Gilberto Tobaldi, Director of the Ancona shipyard.

During the event, three specially chosen coins have also been welded onto the bottom of the ship as a symbol of good luck and to bless the vessel.

With an all-suite, residential style product, Four Seasons I will set a new standard for luxury at sea. The vessel, which will be using the very latest in environmental protection technologies, will be 34,000 gross tons, 207 meters long, and will have 95 exclusive suites with remarkable custom design, focused on removing barriers between guests, the sea, and their surroundings. Each suite features extensive terrace decks ranging from 6 to 13 square meters for the Seaview Suite, to nearly 457 square meters for the Funnel Suite, which will be the Yacht’s most exclusive accommodation.

Mitsui Ocean Cruises unveils five new itineraries, replaces the World Cruise

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 09 July 2024 09 July 2024

Mitsui Ocean Cruises has announced it will offer five new itineraries in April - July 2025, including a 66-day Grand asia and 12-day Golden Week cruises.

Tsunemichi Mukai, President of Mitsui Ocean Cruises, remarked “Our new Grand Asia Cruise 2025 offers an incredible opportunity to explore many famous and exciting destinations in the Asia region, bringing guests funatabi – Beautiful encounters with Japan. We will also celebrate Golden Week in style on our new, beautiful all-suite vessel visiting treasured ports in Japan.”

The Spring Cruises include short to middle length itineraries from April to May. The Grand Asia Cruise features 24 ports in 10 countries and regions, with overnight stops in marquee destinations like Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh, Laem Chabang, Singapore, and Darwin.

These cruises replace a previously scheduled World Cruise which has been cancelled due to the uncertain situation in the region of the Suez Canal and in the interest of the safety of passengers and crew.

The 458-guest, 32,477-gross-ton Mitsui Ocean Fuji is scheduled to debut in Yokohama on Dec. 1, 2024. A glimpse of the newest luxury ship joining the Mitsui Ocean Cruises fleet can be found in a video tour here:

Fincantieri floats out Viking Vesta in Ancona

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 July 2024 05 July 2024

Viking Vesta, the newest cruise ship which Fincantieri is building for the shipowner Viking, has been floated out at the shipyard in Ancona.

The float out ceremony was attended, among others, by Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking and by Gilberto Tobaldi, Ancona shipyard director of Fincantieri. This significant milestone in the construction of Viking Vesta marked the ship's first touch with water, transitioning into the final outfitting phase. The vessel will enter service in the summer of 2025, offering itineraries in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

The vessel will be placed in the small cruise ship segment. It will have a gross tonnage of about 54,300 tons, will be equipped with 499 cabins, and accommodate 998 passengers. The new unit, along with its sister ship Viking Vela, set to leave the Ancona shipyard in autumn, will join the Viking’s ocean ships fleet, all built by Fincantieri over the past 12 years.

Fincantieri and Viking recently signed a contract for the construction of two additional new sister ships to Viking Vesta, demonstrating the solid partnership between the two companies, which as of today includes a total of 20 units.

The Viking ships are built according to the latest navigation and safety regulations. They are equipped with high-efficiency engines and systems that minimize exhaust gas pollution, meeting the strictest environmental standards.