SC Atlantic acquired
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 02 August 2012 02 August 2012
International Shipping Partners (ISP) has finalized the acquisition of the cruise vessel SC Atlantic for Ocean Atlantic Partners Ltd., which is owned by an investor group arranged by ISP.
During 2010 the vessel was converted from a passenger ferry with capacity of more than 400 pas- sengers to a cruise vessel with 118 outside cabins. The conversion was done in the Far East at a cost in excess of $10 million.
The vessel has been delivered in drydock in Poland, where it will be renamed Ocean Atlantic, and the Classification changed from Russian to Bureau Veritas. The vessel will complete drydocking and upgrading and thereafter will be available for charter. Atlantic has a 1B Ice Class and with its substantial interior spaces, restaurants, bars and lounges, is excellent for cruises in the Polar Regions, as well as in warm waters.
Ocean Atlantic will also be very attractive as an accommodation vessel for windmill installations and offshore work.
ISP is the Owners’ Representatives and the Administrative Manager of the company, Ocean Atlan- tic Partners Ltd., as well as the Technical Manager for the vessel. The vessel has a small car deck with both an aft and side ramp, which are especially attractive for employment as an accommodation ship, and it can hold more than 20 containers. Interest in chartering the Ocean Atlantic should be directed to Niels-Erik Lund, ISP’s President at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Two of Deilmann top brass resign over Deutschland flag issue
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- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 02 August 2012 02 August 2012
Two of the three joint managing directors of Reederei Peter Deilmann, the German owner of the luxury market cruise ship Deutschland, have decided to vacate their posts over aborted flagging out of the vessel that carries the name of the nation.
Andreas Demel and Marcus Mayr will leave the company on 15 August as they do not wish to go along a decision not to flag the ship after all, the company said in a statement. The management had intended to reflag the ship to Malta, but on 30 July it decided to retain the German flag as the issue had risen to public debate that reached the floor of the Bundestag, the lower house of the Federal German parliament.
German ship owners have said that changes in the shipping policy due to budget cuts have rendered the German flag uncompetitive. “From a business point of view, it is essential to the success of Peter Deilmann to act with similar framework conditions as comparable shipping companies on the German market that operate their ships using other than the German flag,” Demel and Mayr said.
“The Maltese flag will remain in the drawer,” said Konstantin Bissias, the third joint managing director, in statement the company issued on 30 July to announce decision to retain the German flag.
PPI Group celebrates the FCCA's 40th anniversary with commemorative book
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
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- Published: 01 August 2012 01 August 2012
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association is turning the Big 4-O, and PPI Group can think of no gift more appropriate than a special anniversary-edition publication to celebrate the organization and all it does for the cruising industry.
Through beautiful photography and fascinating articles, this collectors' item will examine the cruise industry's development and chart the journey that so many have embarked upon to make this industry what it is today. Appropriately, this publication will premiere at this year's FCCA Cruise Conference and Trade Show, taking place in Curaçao, October 1-5, 2012 and offering business sessions and social functions to bring together nearly 1,000 cruise industry partners and 100 cruise executives to cultivate valuable business relationships and knowledge of the industry's inner-workings. It will also feature a silent auction and the FCCA Golf Classic, both benefiting the FCCA Foundation.
"We are proud of the FCCA and its continuing efforts to better not only the cruising industry, but also the places and people that we in this industry visit," said Bill Panoff, president and CEO of PPI Group. "The FCCA has long been a positive pillar in the cruising community, and we wish to honor them in the best way we know how - by creating a custom publication that can be treasured forever."
"Since joining the FCCA in 2010, I have been incredibly proud of the work we have done to continue to bring cruise lines together with governments, ports, and associations across the Caribbean and Latin America," said Kevin Sheehan, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line and chairman of the FCCA. "I am honored to be part of this incredible organization as we celebrate our 40th anniversary and look forward to achieving more important milestones in the future."
"The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association's mandate is to foster a better understanding of the cruise industry and to develop cooperative relationships with our destination partners at both the public and private sector levels in order to create a win-win situation for all," said FCCA president, Michele M. Paige. "We are proud of the progress we have made to achieve our mandates over this time, but we know there is more ground to cover."
Regent Seven Seas Cruises to refinance debt, gives guidance for rest of year
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- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
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- Published: 01 August 2012 01 August 2012
Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which is part of the Miami based Prestige Cruise Holdings group, plans to refinance an existing credit facility with a new one and the company also gave guidance with regards of the second quarter and second half of the year.
The company plans to publish its second quarter interims on or about 9 August.
Regent said in a statement will hold talks with banks today to refinance its existing credit facility with a new $340 Million senior secured credit facility. The meeting is preliminary in nature, and at this time we have not committed to complete a refinancing, nor can we state the terms on which any such refinancing would be achieved. The Company is also releasing preliminary financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012.
- Revenue for the second quarter of 2012 is expected to be a record amount between $130.3 million and $132.3 million compared to $122.8 million in the second quarter of 2011.
- Net Yield for the second quarter of 2012 is expected to be up between 2 percent and 3 percent driven by an 8.5 percentage point increase in the occupancy rate. This increase is expected to be partially offset by additional product costs associated with the increased inclusive product offerings we added to our European cruise packages in light of the softer European market.
- Capacity during the second quarter of 2012 decreased to 163,170 available passenger cruise days, approximately 1.1 percent versus the second quarter of 2011, due to the scheduled dry-dock of the Seven Seas Navigator.
Commenting on the second quarter preliminary financial results, the Company’s Chairman and CEO, Frank Del Rio, stated, “We are pleased with our expected second quarter revenue and Net Yield increases over the prior year considering the backdrop of a challenging European environment. In order to drive demand for our softer European sailings, we chose to include additional value in our already industry leading all-inclusive product offerings rather than discount cruise fares"
"This non-discounting strategy is consistent with our longstanding go-to-market philosophy and reinforces our brand’s high value proposition, but it increased product offering costs for the quarter. We believe that our steadfast refusal to discount our luxury product has positioned the brand well for the upcoming year. This can be seen in our booking patterns for 2013 sailings as occupancy build is stable while pricing is up in the high single digits compared to same time last year for 2012."
Other preliminary key operating metrics for the second quarter of 2012 compared to the prior year are as follows:
- Net Cruise Cost, excluding Fuel and Other expense, is expected to be between $46.6 million and $47.6 million compared to $44.5 million for the second quarter of 2011. The change is expected to be primarily due to increased hotel services costs driven by an increase in occupancy of 8.5 percentage points as well as an expected increase in Deck and Engine expenses associated with a new five year partnership with Wartsila to maintain the engines throughout the fleet.
- Fuel expense, net of the impact of settled fuel hedges, is expected to be between $10.1 million and $10.6 million compared to $8.6 million for the second quarter of 2011. As of June 30, 2012, the company has hedged approximately 80% of the remaining expected fuel consumption for 2012, 52% of expected fuel consumption for 2013 and 28% of expected fuel consumption for 2014.
- Other expense is expected to be between $5.4 million and $6.2 million compared to $5.3 million for the second quarter of 2011. The expected 2012 increase is due to expenses associated with the Seven Seas Navigator dry-docking.
- Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $19 million and $20 million for the second quarter of 2012, compared to $24.6 million for the second quarter of 2011. Excluding Fuel, net of the impact of settled fuel hedges, and Other expense(1), Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2012 is expected to decline between $2.4 million and $3.4 million versus the second quarter of 2011 primarily due to the additional product costs associated with the increased inclusive product offerings due to the soft market in Europe.
- Capital expenditures for the second quarter of 2012 are expected to be between $8 million and $10 million compared with $7.8 million in the second quarter of 2011.
- Cash balances are expected to be between $106 million and $107 million at the end of the second quarter of 2012 compared with $97.3 million at the end of the second quarter of 2011.
These second-quarter preliminary results are based on management's initial analysis of the results of operations for the quarter ended 30 June 2012 and are subject to change based on the completion of the Company's normal quarter-end review process. The Company plans to report final results for the quarter ended 30 June, 2012 on or about 9 August , 2012.
European "Sustainable Cruise Project" in full swing
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 31 July 2012 31 July 2012
The “Sustainable Cruise” project co-funded by the European Commission by means of the “LIFE+” Programme, the EU’s funding instrument for innovative or demonstration environmental projects, is well and truly underway.
The Project Manager is Costa Cruises, the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s number one cruise company, which devised the proposal and presented it to the EU together with Ce.Si.S.P. (Centro interuniversitario per lo Sviluppo della Sostenibilità dei Prodotti or Academic Research Center for Sustainable Product Development) and the Italian enterprises VOMM, Contento Trade, Design Innovation, RINA Services and Medcruise, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports.
The aim of the project is to provide stimulus for the implementation of the EU Directive on waste on board ships and to create incentives for waste reduction, recycling collection, and reuse.
The 114,500 gross ton and 3,780-passenger Costa Pacifica, which was built in the Genoa/Sestri Ponente shipyard and entered service at the end of May 2009, was chosen to pilot this, the world’s first ever shipboard experimental project involving the use of innovative techniques and methods for several types of waste – packaging, biodegradable (organic) waste and paper – with very specific objectives regarding reduction at the source and recycling.
The scope of the project goes beyond shipboard application and also includes coordination with European port waste disposal facilities so as to increase opportunities for recycling and reuse, with a specific brief to promote a Euro-Mediterranean network of ports fostering cooperation in the field of waste management. This is where Medcruise is particularly involved.
“Sustainable Cruise” also aims to set up a new voluntary certification scheme for shipboard waste treatment – and its effects in terms of CO2 reduction – possibly paving the way for the introduction of specific EU environmental legislation for shipping.
“We are very proud to be managing this highly innovative project on board the Costa Pacifica, which will be the pilot ship for new models of management of certain types of solid waste,” commented Costa Cruises Vice President Quality Standards Compliance & Auditing Ernesto Gori. “The fact that we are the first cruise company in the world to carry out such a landmark experiment, which will lead to even higher standards in the treatment of shipboard waste, is further tangible evidence of our environmental excellence”
The “Sustainable Cruise” project dovetails with Costa Cruises’ own waste management policy, which has been applied fleetwide for some time now; Costa has a policy of 100% separation of solid waste on board, with separate storage and disposal of the following 7 streams: glass, plastic, metal, food, paper, ceramics, aluminum.
With regard to the details of the “Sustainable Cruise” on the Costa Pacifica, the project includes intervention in the area of packaging – cardboard boxes, glass bottles, and plastic bottles and containers – so as to reduce this type of waste at the origin, with the involvement of product suppliers.
Another area of the project concerns wet waste, i.e. food and other organic waste, which – on a ship like the Costa Pacifica carrying up to almost 5,000 Guests and crew – accounts for a sizeable 22% of total waste. In compliance with international MARPOL laws (Annex V) protecting the marine environment, at present food waste is collected and processed by special equipment (shredders, crushers, compactors) to reduce the volume before it is discharged overboard as fish food. Thanks to the state-of-the-art technology used by the “Sustainable Cruise” project, the “pulp” produced from food waste will now be processed and turned into a useful by-product (e.g. compost).
The third category involved in the project, namely paper, accounts for about 16% of the total waste generated by a ship like the Costa Pacifica. “Sustainable Cruise” has already analyzed the waste flow (supply, storage, use and disposal) of paper on board the vessel. Work is now focusing on devising processes that can be applied so as to reduce paper at the source, reuse it or dispose of the waste sustainably.
More details of the European “Sustainable Cruise” project and regular updates regarding the results of the work are posted atwww.sustainablecruise.eu
The “Sustainable Cruise” project reflects Costa Cruises’ environmental compliance excellence. Not only does the Company comply with all the (domestic and international) environmental laws and regulations in force, but it but also voluntarily pre-empts and proactively implements possible solutions designed to enhance environmental protection. The environmental management system implemented on all Costa’s ships is developed in accordance with the requirements of UNI EN ISO 14001/2004. The ships in the Costa fleet have been assigned RINA’s Green Star notation certifying that they are operated in compliance with environmental protection standards that are stricter than the provisions of the international MARPOL Convention.
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