Royal Caribbean promotes Dr. Zinan Liu to President of China and North Asia Pacific

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 15 June 2015 15 June 2015

Royal Caribbean International today announced the promotion of Dr. Zinan Liu to the global cruise brand's President for the China and North Asia Pacific region. Zinan joined Royal Caribbean International in 2009 and has been spearheading all of Royal Caribbean's commercial and operational activities, and significantly growing the brand in the region, including opening offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and bolstering the brand's operations in Shanghai.

"These are exciting times for Royal Caribbean International as we continue to build our business in China," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. "I am confident that Zinan's expertise as a global travel veteran, his strong relationships in the region, and astute business acumen, will put us in a powerful position to reach our goals."

Zinan holds a doctoral degree in economics from the University of London, and also is Chairman of Cruise Lines International Association, North Asia, where he has been an influential spokesman for the cruise industry in the region.

Today, Royal Caribbean has the largest cruise fleet in China and has won notable awards including Travel Weekly's China Industry Awards, where it was named the "Best Luxury Cruise Operator" for seven years in a row. In 2016, Royal Caribbean will have five industry-leading ships in China.

RCCL's China based ships managed and operated from UK

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 15 June 2015 15 June 2015

The China based ships of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL) group, the world's second largest cruise shipping company, are managed and operated from the company's offices in the UK and are entered in the UK tonnage tax, RCCL said in its 2014 annual report.

"Our UK tonnage tax company operates ships in international transportation in China. The income earned from this operation is exempt from taxation in China under the UK/China double tax treaty and other circulars addressing indirect taxes," RCCL said.

"Changes to or failure to qualify for the treaty or circular could cause us to lose the benefits provided which would have a material impact on our results of operations. Our Chinese income from non-shipping activities or from shipping activities not qualifying for treaty or circular protection and which are considered insignificant, remain subject to Chinese taxation," RCCL stated.

RCCL operate 14 of its 43 ships under companies which have elected to be subject to the United Kingdom tonnage tax regime. "Companies subject to UK tonnage tax pay a corporate tax on a notional profit determined with reference to the net tonnage of qualifying vessels. Normal United Kingdom corporate income tax is not chargeable on the relevant shipping profits of a qualifying UK tonnage tax company."

"The requirements for a company to qualify for the UK tonnage tax regime include being subject to United Kingdom corporate income tax, operating qualifying ships, which are strategically and commercially managed in the United Kingdom, and fulfilling a seafarer training requirement.
Failure to meet any of these requirements could cause us to lose the benefit of the tonnage tax regime which will have a material effect on our results of operations," RCCL concluded.

New US regulations to end cruises to nowhere

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 15 June 2015 15 June 2015

New US government regulations mean that cruise lines will no longer be able to offer cruises to nowhere from American ports, CruiseCritic reports on its website.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) explains that, beginning in 2016, foreign-flagged ships sailing from US ports will be required to call on at least one foreign port before returning to the US, meaning cruises to nowhere won't be allowed, the report said.

Vance Gulliksen, a spokesman for Carnival Cruise Line -- the only line currently offering regularly scheduled cruises to nowhere -- says "certain short duration cruises without a foreign port of call are subject to itinerary changes."

John Heald, senior cruise director for Carnival, adds that three-night cruises to nowhere out of New York's Manhattan terminal on the line's brand new Carnival Vista will be affected; any passengers currently booked on those sailings will be notified of the new policy and any planned itinerary changes.

The regulation also forced Norwegian Cruise Line to cancel three two-night cruises on Norwegian Breakaway, scheduled for 2016 out of New York, spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello said.

Viking Line may flag ships out to Sweden on Finnish spending cuts

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 15 June 2015 15 June 2015

Viking Line, the Finnish cruise ferry operator, may flag out to Sweden its ships that currently fly the Finnish flag as the new Finnish government is planning to cut aid to the shipping sector in order to balance its books, Finnish media reports say.

The government plans to reduce its support to passenger shipping by €20 million, of which Viking Line's share would be €13 million, the Talous-Sanomat business website said. Johanna Boijer-Svahnstrom, spokesperson for the company, was cited by the website by saying that the flagging out of ships is the worst case scenario as Viking Line is a listed company that needs to take care of its profitability.

The government aid comes mostly in the form of reimbursement of social security contributions ship owners pay on behalf of their staff. Viking Line has a fleet of seven ships, five of which fly the Finnish flag.