Astor to remain with Transocean year round from spring of 2019 

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 03 July 2018 03 July 2018

Astor, the 20,606 gross ton cruise ship that has spent Austral summers with Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) in Australia and Boreal ones with Transocean Kreuzfahrten in Germany, will remain on the German market year round from the spring of next year.

Information on the Transocean website shows that the ship will start cruising from German ports 24 April 2019 following its final season in Australia. In the winter of 2019-20, the ship will offer a 122 night cruise around the world from Hamburg.

Vasco da Gama, the former Pacific Eden of P&O Cruises Australia that will enter service with CMV in the spring of next year, will split the year between seasons in Australia and Germany once it enters service with the UK based CMV. Transocean is part of the CMV group.

Meyer Werft and Saga lays the keel of Spirit of Discovery

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 29 June 2018 29 June 2018

The keel was laid down yesterday for Spirit of Discovery, the first new vessel for the British shipping company Saga Cruises at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. The first block of the new ship weighs 320 tonnes and is 5.5 metres high, 23.5 metres long and 20 metres wide. This is the first ship of its kind for Great Britain and will be delivered in summer 2019.

Lance Batchelor (Chief Executive Officer of the Saga Group), Sir Sebastian Wood (British ambassador in Berlin) and Tim Meyer (Managing Director of Meyer Werft) came together to lay a “lucky penny” underneath the first block. The block has been lowered onto the dock bracing, and now the hull can be assembled. This is also going to use Building Dock I again for complete new builds at the shipyard. It also means three cruise ships will now be delivered to various customers in 2019 and 2020, as opposed to the two ships that were originally planned. “This implies that we do offer additional jobs for specialists within our organization," said Tim Meyer.

The Spirit of Discovery is the first of two ships for the successful English cruise line, Saga. The ships have an overall length of 236 metres, a width of 31.2 metres and a tonnage measurement of 58,250 gross tons. They can accommodate 999 passengers. Another new ship will follow in summer 2020.

The new ships will be tailored to the English market with a completely new design to make them stand out in every port, and their interior design and technology will set new standards.

Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard lays the keel of Seven Seas Splendor

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 28 June 2018 28 June 2018

The keel laying ceremony was held today at the Ancona shipyard for the Seven Seas Splendor, the second super luxury cruise ship that Fincantieri is building for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, brand of the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. The delivery is scheduled for 2020.

The ceremony was attended, among others, by Jason Montague, President and CEO of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, who was welcomed by Giovanni Stecconi, the Fincantieri Ancona yard manager.

Like her sister ship Seven Seas Explorer, delivered by Fincantieri at the Sestri Ponente (Genova) shipyard in 2016, the new vessel will be 55,000 gross tonnes with accommodation for 750 passengers. She will be built using the very latest in environmental protection technologies. The interiors will be particularly sophisticated, with every attention paid to passenger comfort.

“Seven Seas Explorer has earned remarkable acclaim since debuting in 2016 as the most luxurious ship ever built. Now, her sister Seven Seas Splendor builds upon the success of that lauded ship as it strives to perfect uncompromised luxury on the seas” said Jason Montague, President and Chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “In our pursuit to exceed guest expectations, we are creating a work of art, from bow to stern. Wherever you turn on Seven Seas Splendor, you will be surrounded by elegance, comfort and hospitality."

Luigi Matarazzo, Fincantieri Executive Vice President New Building - Merchant Ships Business Unit, said: “We are satisfied to have the opportunity to partner for the second time with a ship owner like Regent Seven Seas Cruises. It means that we have met all the expectations of a company that has made quality and sophistication the distinguishing features of its business. I am sure that this vessel will represent another success for our shipyard in Ancona, which confirms its mission in the medium-sized luxury ships segment, but also for the Fincantieri Group, a leader in the cruise market."

SunStone Ships celebrates keel-laying of Greg Mortimer

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 26 June 2018 26 June 2018

SunStone Ships, Inc. announced the June 12, 2018, keel-laying of the first Infinity Class vessel at China Merchants Heavy Industries in Haimen, China. The Greg Mortimer is the first passenger ship to combine European design and technology with the efficiency of Chinese shipbuilding. “We are pleased to have brought together world-class design from Tillberg, ground-breaking X-Bow technology from Ulstein, interior construction by Makinen and over a century of shipbuilding expertise from CMIH. This dream team is helping us pioneer a new age of expedition cruising, and we are proud to be a part of it,” remarked Niels-Erik Lund, SunStone’s President & CEO.

The first Infinity-class vessel, to be named Greg Mortimer, will be delivered in August 2019 to Aurora Expeditions, Australia on a long-term, deck and engine timecharter. The vessel will operate Antarctic cruises in the winter; and Arctic cruises in the summer. The technical management will be the responsibility of Cruise Management International, Miami, while the hotel management will depend on the expertise of CMI Leisure, Miami.

Representing Aurora Expeditions were Messrs. Neville Buch, Chairman, and Robert Halfpenny, President. Also participating in the keel-laying ceremony, were representatives of the partners in all of the Infinity Class vessels: China Merchants Industry Holdings, China Merchants Heavy Industries, Ulstein Design and Solutions, Makinen-Finland, Tillberg Design-US, SunStone Ships and SunStone Marine Advisors-Miami.

The Greg Mortimer is the first in the series of Infinity Class vessels ordered by SunStone in a Framework Agreement for four firm orders and six options.