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Carnival Magic passenger who may have handled Ebola lab specimen quarantined on board -- reports

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 17 October 2014 17 October 2014

A Texas health-care worker who “may have” handled lab specimens from Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan has been isolated on board a Carnival cruise ship in the Caribbean, the Washington Post reports on its website.

The ship in question was named as Carnival Magic of Carnival Cruise Lines in a report of Daily Mail in the UK. Carnival Cruise Lines is part of carnival Corp & plc, the Anglo American group that is the world's largest cruise shipping company.

"The worker has shown no symptoms of the disease, according to Carnival, which said it is in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control. A Carnival spokeswoman said the guest, who was not named, will remain on board in voluntary isolation until the ship returns to its home port of Galveston on Sunday," the WashingtonPost report said.

"The Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital employee and a partner boarded the ship Oct. 12 in Galveston, Tex., before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the requirement for active monitoring, the State Department said in a statement. Although the worker is healthy, the U.S. government is working with the cruise line to get the ship back to America “out of an abundance of caution,” the Washington Post continued.

The employee, who has not been named, did not come into direct contact with Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. However, he or she may have been exposed to his clinical specimens, the State Department said.

“It has been 19 days since the passenger may have processed” Duncan’s fluid samples, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement early Friday morning. “The cruise line has actively supported CDC’s efforts to speak with the individual, whom the cruise ship’s medical doctor has monitored and confirmed was in good health. Following this examination, the hospital employee and traveling partner have voluntarily remained isolated in a cabin.”

Costa cancels Buenos Aires cruises

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 17 October 2014 17 October 2014

Costa Cruceros, the Carnival Corp & plc group cruise brand with a significant focus on South America, has just announced the cancellation of its 2014-2015 season cruises from Buenos Aires. Alan Lam reports.

As the South America season has barely started, Costa announced a major re-programming of its South American itineraries, cancelling four planned departures of Costa Pacifica from Buenos Aires, citing “commercial difficulties” and “economic situation of the region” as the main reasons for this decision.

The company also refers to the growing demand in the Mediterranean as a reason for this strategic move. It is cancelling cruises departing from Buenos Aires on 27 February, 7, 10 and 18 March, so that the ship may return to Europe earlier than expected. Pre-booked passengers will be offered alternative options.

The remaining Costa 2014-2015 South American programme will remain unchanged. Commencing on 10 December the season will now end on the ship’s last transatlantic positioning voyage departing 2 March.

The company also confirms its earlier promise of deploying two ships to South America for the 2015-2016 season.

This development coincides with our earlier report (14 Oct) about the sharp fall in cruise traffic at Buenos Aires for the current season. The “commercial difficulties” may be related to the high operational costs on the River Plate waterway, as mentioned in our earlier report.

Cruise Business Comment: omission of Guangdong from pilot project surprising

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 17 October 2014 17 October 2014

It is surprising that Guangdong, one of the most prosperous regions of China, is not included in he country's cruise pilot project (see More News for details), Alan Lam reports

The province is planning to build a major cruise port; the Nansha International Cruise Home Port project will start at the end of this year. This RMB17 billion project is divided into two phases: the first phase will include two berths - one for accommodating 225,000 gt and one for 100,000 gt ships. A third berth will be constructed during the second phase. When completed, the facility will be able to handle 700,000 passengers a year

It is however not surprising that a great deal of emphasis has been placed on Tianjin, the nearest port to Beijing. The increased presence of Costa Victoria, Celebrity Millennium, The World, Sapphire Princess and the Chinese domestic cruise ship Henna have all contributed to the port’s rapidly growing cruise traffic.

Second only to Shanghai as a cruise homeport in China, Tianjin has just completed the second phase of its cruise homeport project.It can now simultaneously accommodate three large-size and four middle-sizecruise ships.

The rise of Tianjin has captured the attention of RCCL, which is moving its Asia Pacific Crew Training Centre from Manila to Tianjin. The company set up a staff training centre at Tianjin Maritime College in August this year, the first international cruise training centre in China.

Carnival and CSSC explore cruise ship building in China

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 15 October 2014 15 October 2014

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company, announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) to explore the possibility of a joint venture aimed at accelerating the development and growth of the Chinese cruise industry, expected to be one of the largest cruise markets in the world with 4.5 million passengers by 2020, according to the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT), the company said in a statement.

"Becoming official at a signing ceremony today at the Ninth China Cruise Shipping and International Cruise Expo in Tianjin, the MOU outlines the framework for exploration of a partnership between Carnival Corporation and the CSSC that includes the possibility of forming a shipbuilding joint venture that could become a three-way arrangement involving Fincantieri of Italy, the world's largest cruise ship building company, in support of the Chinese government's plans to grow the cruising industry in China and meet escalating demand for cruises from Chinese travelers," Carnival said

As part of the possible shipbuilding joint venture, Carnival Corporation & plc would work closely with CSSC and Fincantieri to help define the first-ever, world-class cruise ship built in China. "Under the joint venture concept, Carnival Corporation would provide its ship design and shipbuilding expertise to create the vision, definition and overall specifications for the China-built cruise ship," the Anglo-American cruise shipping group said.

"This is really a breakthrough day for all of us at Carnival, as well as our friends at the CSSC and all Chinese travelers who are increasingly turning to cruises for their vacation experiences," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "This landmark agreement enables us to work closely with our partners at the CSSC to fully explore the possibility of forming a joint venture to further develop China into a leading cruise market, supporting local economic development and bringing vacation enjoyment to millions. We look forward to getting to work and lending the expertise of many talented people across Carnival Corporation."

In the past year, the Chinese Ministry of Transport has expressed its strong desire to transform China into a leading global cruise market, including investments in infrastructure and developing a strong domestic cruise presence to help spur growth in cruising as a key component of the expanding tourism industry in China.

The MOT projects China to be the second largest global cruise market after the U.S. in the next several years based on economic growth, increased spending power of Chinese consumers and growing demand for cruise vacations in China. Partnerships like the relationship being fully explored between CSSC and Carnival support the MOT's pro-growth cruise policies designed to spur new economic development from tourism in China.

UPDATED: Brittany Ferries reported to abandon newbuilding, LNG retrofit programme

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 14 October 2014 14 October 2014

Update: A spokeswoman for Brittany Ferries has confirmed the reported cancellation of a newbuilding and also the cancellation of plans to convert six existing vessels for LNG propulsion and the use of scrubbers instead.

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Brittany Ferries, the French company that operates in the Western Channel, is reported to have abandoned plans to build a 61,000 gross ton LNG fuelled cruise ferry and to plans to retrofit LNG propulsion on six of its ships, BBC reports on its website.

It has not been possible for Cruise Business Online to obtain a comment from the company at this moment.

The retrofit programme would have cost £320 million. Instead, Brittany Ferries will install scrubbers on board the ships to allow it to meet the new emission control rules that will take effect from the beginning of next year.

In January, Brittany Ferries signed an initial contract with STX France to build a LNG driven 61,000 gross ton cruise ferry that would have been 210 metres in length and carried 2,600 passengers plus 650 cars and 40 lorries. It would have been due foe delivery in early 2016.