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Seatrade Cruise Global reveals panelists, themes for 2021 State of the Industry Keynote

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 September 2021 20 September 2021

Seatrade Cruise Global, the cruise industry’s leading annual business-to-business event, has announced its highly anticipated 2021 State of the Global Industry Keynote lineup, presented in partnership with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Celebrating its 35th anniversary edition with dynamic dialogue surrounding the future of sustainable tourism, the kickoff event moderated by CNBC’s Global Markets Reporter Seema Mody, will host an exclusive round-table discussion joining senior leadership representing the world’s three largest cruise lines.

Panelist will include:

– Kelly Craighead, President & CEO, Cruise Lines International Association
– Arnold Donald, President & CEO, Carnival Corporation & PLC
– Richard Fain, Chairman & CEO, Royal Caribbean Group
– Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises

“It’s incredibly exciting to bring industry leaders together once again for our State of the Global Industry Keynote. We’ve thoughtfully curated this year’s preeminent event to help our community reflect on current challenges and prepare for the journey ahead,” says Chiara Giorgi, Global Brand and Event Director for Seatrade Cruise. “With this in mind, we also collaborated with CLIA and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) to develop event protocols that align with those in the industry ensuring an optimal attendee experience while protecting the health and safety of our guests, participants and the public.”

The State of the Global Industry Keynote will take place from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 28 September 2021, highlighting a number of current topics impacting the future of cruising such as operation challenges, guest protocols and safety enhancements. Industry heavyweights will also address charting the way forward for environmental innovations, fostering community partnerships and give an update on the 2022-2023 demand and consumer trends.

“After all that we’ve been through – your participation is a testament to the resilience and the promise of our industry,” said Kelly Craighead, President and CEO, Cruise Lines International Association. “The road to recovery will require us to continue to work as one, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity for all of us to come together either in-person, or through the virtual option to address the ‘future of cruising’ as we gather at Seatrade Cruise Global.”

Guided by Informa AllSecure standards, Seatrade Cruise Global continuously works to promote a hygienic, productive and high-quality organised event experience. Furthering its commitment to safety, Seatrade also convened closely with CLIA, FCCA and major cruise lines to align all policies and guidelines for the event with those of the industry. This includes physical distancing, use of PPE, temperature screening and on-site testing. As part of its enhanced policies, the Miami Beach Convention Center developed and implemented new plans and received GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation. Protocols will continue to adhere to all city and state regulations, and more details can be found under the event safety page.

Harland & Wolff wins P&O Cruises, Virgin Voyages work

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 September 2021 17 September 2021

The Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast has dry docked P&O Cruises’ 115,015 gross ton Azura as the company’s strategy to establish itself in the cruise sector has taken a step forward.

Earlier, the company provided its first major in-service support to Virgin Voyage’s Scarlet Lady. “The team provided the necessary support efficiently and without having to take it out of operation. This is a significant step towards providing high value add services to clients whilst ensuring vessels remain in operation,” the company said in a statement.

The largest dry dock at Harland & Wolff in Belfast is 556 metres long and 93 metres wide and it has a draft of 8.4 metres. It was built in the 1970s with the construction of large tankers in mind.

Two gantry cranes, with a lifting capacities of 900 tonnes and 840 tonnes, respectively, serve the dock, according to information on the company’s website.

Harland & Wolff is owned by the listed Infrastrata plc group, which is in progress of changing its name to Harland & Wolff Holdings plc.

MV Werften announces new Supervisory Board, additional management directors and Carsten Haake as CEO

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 September 2021 17 September 2021

After the successful conclusion of the negotiations on the bridging loan (WSF), together with the representatives of the federal government, the state and the shareholder, and the first partial repayment of 193 million euros by the shipyard in June of this year, the shipyard group is currently focused on completion of the first Global Class ship, the Global Dream in 2022 and complete financing for the completion of the second Global Class ship in 2024.

The Supervisory Board of MV Werften will comprise Joachim Hagemann as the Chairman; Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Genting Hong Kong; Chris Chan, the CFO of Genting Hong Kong; Mona Lai, the General Counsel of Genting Hong Kong and two employee representatives of the shipyards.

In addition the Managing Directors of MV Werften will be further strengthened by the appointment of Colin Au, Group President and Deputy CEO of Genting Hong Kong; Gustaf Grönberg, EVP of Marine Operations and Newbuilding and Peter Andersson, the COO of MV Werften in addition to Carsten J. Haake. The commitment of Genting Hong Kong to the future success of MV Werften is shown by the new appointments and all the Managing Directors had been deeply involved in the building of new ships in the past 5 years.

Carsten J. Haake is appointed as the new CEO, in addition to his role as Managing Director as Peter Fetten has completed his contract. MV Werften thank Peter Fetten for his commitment over the past three years.

MSC Bellissima to winter in Saudi Arabia, replaces MSC Magnifica

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 September 2021 16 September 2021

MSC Cruises said that it would extend MSC Bellissima’s deployment in Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea for the winter 2021/22 season, following a highly successful inaugural season in the region this summer.

The ship would replace MSC Magnifica, which was previously scheduled to serve in the region this winter

“MSC Bellissima and the itineraries in this region have proven very popular since she first commenced sailing there this July out of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and her continued deployment in the region will further enrich the cruise experience for guests looking for the ultimate winter getaway,” the company said in a statement

From 30 October 2021 MSC Bellissima will offer seven-night cruises from Jeddah, calling at the ports of Ras Al Abyad, Aqaba for Petra in Jordan, Safaga for Luxor in Egypt and then AlWajh and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia.

MSC Bellissima is one of the newest ships in the MSC Cruises fleet and it was launched in 2019.

There are no itineraries for MSC Magnifica between late October 2021 and late march 2022 on the MSC Cruises’ website at this point.

Famous name of Harland & Wolff to enter London stock exchange

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 14 September 2021 14 September 2021

The famous name of Harland & Wolff will enter the London Stock Exchange after its parent company decided to start to trade under the name of its Belfast based subsidiary that had started business in 1861.

“InfraStrata plc, the UK quoted company focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset lifecycle management, is pleased to announce it has applied to Companies House to trade under the name Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc,” the company said in a statement.

Exclusive builder to famous owners of the past

“The company is now at its final stage of full reactivation of all its yards, which involves building a multi-year backlog for its facilities across its five key markets: defence, cruise and ferry, commercial, renewables and energy. The company believes that this change of name will better reflect its ambition in expanding its core business and the significant development of its shipbuilding and fabrication activities,” it said.

Harland & Wolff built all newbuildings of the White Star Line (1871-1934), including Olympic (1911) and Titanic (1912). The last deep sea passenger ship delivered by the company was the P&O liner Canberra (1961) that was retired in 1997 after a long service as a cruise ship. Refits of cruise ships and ferries have continued at the Belfast yard to the present day.

It also built all but two of the ocean liners of Union-Castle Line that mainly traded between the UK and South Africa. The company was was an early user of diesel engines in large liners - Harland & Wolff delivered three 20,000 gross ton mailships to Union-Castle between 1926 and 1930.

Two yards, major naval project in sight

Infrastrata acquired Harland & Woff in 2019 from administrators and the following year it acquired a shipyard in Appledore in north Devon. Together with Navantia, the Spanish shipbuilder, it is one of the four contender groups to build three 40,000 ton fleet solid support ships for the UK Ministry of Defence.

The value of the building contract is estimated to be in the region of £1.6 billion.

“The company has, over the past 18 months, proceeded through various phases, which have included, the acquisition of assets, significant upgrades to all its facilities, the introduction of state-of-the-art technology and has simultaneously established a substantial sales pipeline which now stands at £7.8bn (on an unweighted) and £1.8bn (on a weighted),” it said.

Trading in the company’s shares on the AIM (alternative investment market, for small capitalisation stocks) market of the London Stock Exchange under the new name of Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc is expected to take effect as soon as a new stock ticker name has been issued by the AIM team.

“An application for the stock ticker “HARL” has been made and will be confirmed as soon as the company’s name has been formally changed at Companies House (registrar of companies),” Infrastrata said.