Top Headlines

Updated: Kristina Cruises sells only ship, continues as tour operator

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 09 January 2014 09 January 2014

Kristina Cruises, the Finnish cruise line that has owned the 12,000 gross ton Kristina Katariina, has sold the vessel as part of its debt restructuring programme, and it will continue in the future as a tour operator.

The ship has been bought by group of investors, and is managed FleetPro Ocean, the Miami based company previously known as International Shipping Partners. The vessel was handed over to the buyer on 8 January in the Canary Islands.

Kristina Cruises cancelled a programme of fly cruises in the Canary Islands at the end of November and said it would seek debt restructuring, a Finnish version of the Chapter XI procedure in the US. A court in Finland approved the company’s application after its biggest creditors had supported it.

Kristina also offers a programme of river cruises in Europe, which is using a chartered vessel and which has not been impacted by the debt restructuring process. It says it plans to continue trading as a tour operating company.

Foschi resigns all positions at Carnival Corp & plc group

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 09 January 2014 09 January 2014

Pier Luigi Foschi, member of the Boards of Directors of Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman of Costa Crociere, S.p.A. and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Asia, a division of Carnival plc, said on January 6, 2014 that he will be retiring from the Boards of Directors effective immediately and from employment with the companies at the end of the financial year, which concluded 30 November 2013, Carnival Corp & plc said in a statement .

The companies concerned have entered into a Mutual Separation and Settlement Agreement with Foschi, which provides for, among other things, non-competition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality covenants as well as a general waiver of claims against Carnival, its affiliates, officers and directors by Foschi. Carnival Corporation will pay Foschi €1,000,000 in consideration for his waiver of claims and €250,000 in consideration for the non-competition and non-solicitations obligations provided for in the Settlement Agreement.

Scandlines turns to other yards for quotes as STX Finland fails to arrange working capital

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 January 2014 04 January 2014

Scandlines, the Danish-German ferry company controlled by the London based private equity group 3i, has asked quotes from a number of European yards for two large short haul ferries as STX Finland, with whom it has an initial contract from July, had failed to arrange working capital to build the planned ships, Finnish media reports say.

Anette Ustrup Svendsen, head of corporate communications at Scandlines, told the Turun Sanomat daily that the company has made an offer to acquire two ferries built at a shipyard in Stralsund in Germany that were due to enter service with Scandlines as Copenhagen and Berlin, but which it refused to accept due to their excessive weight and consequently lower than contracted deadweight tonnage. The shipyard went bankrupt as a result and the incomplete vessels and its other assets are in the hands of administrators.

The two ferries would need to be substantially modified before Scandlines could accept them, she told the Finnish daily, adding that the company has asked a few other European yards for quotes for two ferry newbuildings and that it hopes to receive the quotes as soon as possible.

STX Finland is not entirely out of the picture: "From the technical point of view, STX (FInland) would be the best option for us. However, we need to look at other optins too, because we are half a year behind schedule," she concluded.

The situation in Finland took an acute turn for the worse in late November, when STX Finland said that talks with Scandlines to finalise the order agreed in principle in July had been terminated as financial details could not be put in place on time.

Media reports in Finland have suggested that tumbling block was a weak balance sheet of STX Finland, which had prevented Finnvera, the Finnish state guarantee institution, from issuing guarantees of construction time loans to STX Finland.

Costa names Neil Palomba Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations and Guest experience

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 01 January 2014 01 January 2014

Costa Crociere S.p.A. Group has appointed Neil Palomba to the newly created position of senior vice president, hotel operations and guest experience, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Palomba will report directly to Michael Thamm, chief executive officer of Genoa, Italy-based Costa Crociere S.p.A..

Palomba will oversee hotel operations and guest service across the Costa fleet.

"With his ability and his extensive international experience in the industry, Neil will contribute substantially to our executive team," said Thamm. "Neil's main responsibilities will be to take Costa forward, to strive for continuous improvement through operational excellence and to make our guests' experience on board an unforgettable holiday."

Palomba started in the cruise industry in 1996 with MSC Cruises, advancing through several onboard positions and becoming project manager of the newbuilds department in 2001, charged with coordinating all departments involved in new shipbuilding projects. In 2006 he was appointed chief operating officer of the MSC sales and marketing office based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., overseeing the U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Mexico. In 2010 he was appointed corporate operating officer based in Geneva, Switzerland, responsible for optimizing profit by establishing performance parameters and developing new destinations including supervision of MSC's South Africa operation.

Norwegian Escape reported to become line's second year round Miami based newbuilding

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 01 January 2014 01 January 2014

Norwegian Cruise Line has inked a deal with PortMiami to base Norwegian Escape as its another new ship in Miami on a year-round basis, the Miami Herald reports.

"According to a resolution approved Tuesday by Miami-Dade County Commissioners, the port will pay the Miami-based cruise line $3 million for marketing costs before the 4,200-passenger vessel arrives in the fall of 2015. Half of the money will be paid by the end of 2013, with the other half due by Nov. 15, 2014," the paper said on its website.

Norwegian Cruise Line is keeping mum on its plans, saying only "We don’t comment on future deployment," but the agreement says the company will hold the ship's naming ceremony at the port and will base the vessel there for at least three years. Norwegian Escape is scheduled to be delivered in fall of 2015," the report said.

Norwegian Escape is the first of two Breakaway Plus vessels Norwegian has on order at the Meyer Werft in Germany. The 163,000 gross ton ship was ordered in October 2012 and is due for delivery in October 2015. However, the line will base its 146,000 gross ton Norwegian Getaway, the second unit of the Breakaway class from the same German builder, to Miami on a year round basis from February.

The Caribbean is starting to attract more ships on a year round basis as MSC Cruises, the Geneva based company, recently introduced the 139,400 gross ton MSC Divina and Princess Cruises, which is part of Carnival Corp & plc group, will bring the aptly named Caribbean Princess of 115,000 gross tons to be based in Florida year round.

You can read more about these developments by clicking www.cruisebusiness.com and scrolling down to article "Summer Caribbean Heats Up" in the Cruise Business 3/2013 section.