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UPDATE: Dispute over bulk carrier charter led to arrest of Henna

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 September 2013 16 September 2013

UPDATE:

The Chinese cruise vessel Henna has been released today Monday, Shagang Shipping said.

"As of this afternoon (Monday) funds ($2.7 million US dollars) promised by HNA Group arrived in Korea and the ship was released and sailed from Jeju in the Republic of Korea at 21:00hrs local time," the company said in a statement.

The arrest of the Chinese owned cruise liner Henna in Jeju in South Korea over the weekend arose from a dispute concerning the charter of a dry bulk carrier way back in 2008, said Shagang Shipping, the Hong Kong based company that sought the arrest.

A spokesman for Shagang said in a statement that this resulted as a consequence of failure by the HNA Group that owns Henna to comply with their contractual obligations, and to settle the $58 million plus which they owe to Shagang Shipping.

“The claims arise out of a long standing dispute between Shagang Shipping, and HNA Group Company Limited. These claims arise from 2008 when Shagang Shipping chartered a Capesize bulk carrier the Dong-A-Astrea, owned by Dong-A Tankers, to a HNA Group company, Grand China Shipping Company Limited, back in 2008 for a period of about seven years,” Shagang said in the statement.

“However, Grand China Shipping only paid hire in accordance with the terms of the contract for the first five months and then stopped paying,” it added.

“At the time the charter was agreed, HNA Group Company Limited provided a guarantee to Shagang Shipping in which they promised the faithful performance of the charter, and even agreed to stand in as the charterers if Grand China Shipping did not perform.”

“Despite many demands from Shagang Shipping, the HNA Group Company Limited have refused to honor their promises. This has meant that Shagang Shipping were not being paid $52,500 US dollars per day, whilst Grand China Shipping continued to trade the vessel at a huge expense to Shagang Shipping.”

“Over the course of about two years Shagang Shipping has won five arbitration awards for unpaid hire for more than 18 million US dollars but Grand China Shipping has still refused to honor those arbitration awards, until enforcement measures were taken against them .In the meantime the HNA Group Company Limited has simply ignored Shagang Shipping. In November 2012 Shagang Shipping were awarded damages of about $58 million dollars.”

“Due to their financial circumstances and failure to meet their debts to a number of creditors, Grand China Shipping were wound up by the Hong Kong Court in the spring of this year. Shagang Shipping are now pursuing HNA as HNA made a commitment to guarantee Grand China Shipping's performance of the charterparty.”

Shagang Shipping were completely satisfied that the arrest of the vessel in Korea had been in strict accord with Korean law. This type of arrest to obtain security for claims is common in most maritime jurisdictions including the US, UK and China, the spokesman said.

Chinese cruise liner Henna detained in South Korea

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 September 2013 15 September 2013

Chinese cruise liner Henna was detained in South Korea on Friday over a legal dispute, the BBC reports on its website.

“A local court ordered the Henna not to leave after a request from a Chinese shipping company. It is not clear what the dispute centres on,” the report said. On Sunday, passengers began disembarking from the ship d at a port on the South Korean island of Jeju over a legal dispute.

“Around 2,300 people have been stuck on board the Henna since Friday with many scheduled to fly back to China on Sunday, according to the Chinese consulate in Jeju,” the BBC said, adding that the court issued the order after shipping service company Jiangsu Shagang International applied for a seizure over the alleged legal dispute.

HNA Tourism, which owns the vessel, said on Saturday that it was trying to work out a solution. "Its [Jiangsu Shagang's] act has in fact restricted personal freedom of those onboard and severely infringed upon the rights of innocent passengers,'' Henna's operator read in a statement.

The 47,300 gross ton ship was previously known as Pacific Sun of P&O Cruises Australia, which is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group. It was built as Jubilee of Carnival Cruise Lines in 1986.

Pride of America debuts new suites and studio staterooms

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 September 2013 13 September 2013

Norwegian Cruise Line unveiled 32 brand-new staterooms this week on the ship's Hawaii-based vessel, Pride of America. The final elements in a $30 million enhancement project that began in March, the addition of the new luxurious suites, studios for solo travelers and inside staterooms offers guests a new way to experience a spectacular inter-island cruise in Hawai`i.

"Pride of America offers a unique and extraordinary vacation to four of Hawai`i's most popular islands, and these new suites elevate the guest experience on this one-of-a-kind vessel to a whole new level," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive officer.

The 24 new suites on Deck 13 are outfitted with premium custom furnishings, fabrics, carpets and ultra-luxurious bathrooms. Two of the 24 suites are Owner's Suites. These 566 square foot suites, sleeping up to four guests, feature a large bedroom, separate living area and a state of the art bathroom featuring custom mosaic tiles.

The remaining suites are Penthouse Suites - including two Deluxe Penthouse Suites with Large Balcony - ranging from 363 to 459 square feet, [DSC06789] most sleeping up to six guests. The two Owner's Suites will have connecting doors to the adjacent Penthouse Suites, sleeping up to 10 guests when combined, the perfect option for families or groups who wish to travel in luxury together. One of the many highlights of the suites is their expansive balconies, ranging from 150 square feet for Penthouse Suites up to 1200 square feet for the Owner's Suites, giving Pride of America's suite guests the largest balconies in the fleet, perfect for taking in the jaw-dropping Hawai`i scenery.

In addition to all of the incredible features in the suites, guests will enjoy pampering service from dedicated butlers and concierge, plus an array of exclusive amenities such as luxurious Tranquility mattresses from the Bliss Collection by Norwegian, Lavazza Espresso Makers, Elemis bath products, private dining for breakfast and lunch, and more.

Guests wishing to travel solo in Hawai`i can now do so in one of four new Studio staterooms on board Pride of America. Designed and priced for the solo traveler, these staterooms feature a full-size bed, along with a separate bathroom area. Four new inside staterooms were also added to the area on Deck 13.

Pride of America entered a 14-day dry dock on March 23, 2013 in Honolulu, Hawai`i. The 2,186-passenger ship received major renovations including the addition of Moderno Churrascaria, the line's signature Brazilian-style steakhouse, and Cagney's, the line's traditional steakhouse; ship wide wireless internet connectivity; new carpeting throughout; flat screen televisions in all staterooms; updated décor; upgrades to the fitness center; new directional signage; renovations to the gift shop, photo gallery and art gallery; and much more.

Pride of America is the only US-flagged large cruise ship sailing a seven-day Hawaii itinerary departing from Honolulu every Saturday. Ports of call include an overnight in Kahului, Maui; Hilo, Hawai`i; Kona, Hawai`i; an overnight in Nãwiliwili, Kaua`i; and an afternoon cruise past the breathtaking Nãpali Coast.

MSC Cruises partners with Artslab onstage to celebrate Italian culture

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 September 2013 13 September 2013

As part of the year of Italian culture in the United States, ArtsLab Onstage will be hosting two unique performances from October 16th-19th at the New York City Center in Manhattan.

Spectators will be treated to the theatrical concert Belcanto, The Luciano Pavarotti Heritage, performed by singers selected by the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation, and T'Ammore, The Spirit of Naples, a contemporary dance and music production featuring singers, musicians and dancers choreographed by Vittorio Biagi, former star of Maurice Béjart, with stage direction by Claude Tissier, Vice President of creation of Cirque du Soleil.

Never one to miss an opportunity to share the best of Italian culture, MSC Cruises is collaborating with Artslab Onstage to give its lucky travelers a sneak preview of these two shows.

From September 13 to 22nd, artists from both performances will set sail on board MSC Divina, MSC Splendida and MSC Preziosa. Performing in each ship’s glittering main reception, in the panoramic lounge after dinner and in the MSC Yacht Club during pre-dinner drinks, performers will wow MSC’s international guests with thrilling traditional and contemporary Italian entertainment.

This year’s celebration of the United States and Italy’s connection is perfect timing, as MSC Cruises’ very own Italian Diva, MSC Divina, will be setting sail for her first season in the US in November.

This will be the first time that MSC Cruises sends one of its largest and most luxurious, Fantasia class vessels to homeport from North America, and the first time that a ship will stay year-round.

STX Finland seeks to secure future of company, not individual yards

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 September 2013 12 September 2013

STX Finland, the deeply loss making unit in the STX Europe group in Oslo that again is part of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, headquartered in Seoul in South Korea, aims to secure the future of the company, not its individual yards.

“The Finnish shipbuilding industry faces inevitable changes. STX Finland searches for solutions to secure the future of the entirecompany, not individual shipyards, deputy md Jari Anttila said in a statement,

The company has a yard in Turku and another one in Rauma. It has two cruise liners on order from TUI Cruises in Germany and an initial contract with Scadlines, the Danish-German ferry company that is controlled by the UK based private equity fund 3i, to build two ferries.

Media reports in Finland say that he Rauma yard that employs about 750 staff could be closed. The company has not commented on the rumours.