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RCCL commences private offering of senior and convertible notes

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 04 June 2020 04 June 2020

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), the world’s second largest cruise shipping group, said it has commenced a private offering of senior guaranteed notes and convertible notes.

The senior guaranteed notes to be issued by the company will mature in 2023 and the offering is for an aggregate principal amount of up to $1.0 billion.

Concurrently, RCCL has commenced a private offering of senior convertible notes to be issued by the company due 2023 for an aggregate principal amount of up to $1.0 billion. 

“The closing of each offering is not contingent upon the closing of the other offering.The Senior Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by a newly formed, direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company that will own all the equity interests in the Company's subsidiaries that own seven of the Company's vessels.  The Convertible Notes will not be guaranteed by any of the Company's subsidiaries,” RCCL said in a statement.

“The Convertible Notes will be convertible at the holder's option in certain circumstances.  Upon conversion, the Company may satisfy its conversion obligation by paying or delivering, at its election, as applicable, cash, shares of its common stock or a combination of cash and shares of its common stock.The Company expects to use the combined net proceeds from the offerings of the Notes for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of indebtedness,” RCCL concluded.

 

DNV GL launches new certification in infection prevention for the maritime industry

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 02 June 2020 02 June 2020

DNV GL, the world’s leading classification society, has launched a new certification in infection prevention for the maritime industry. The release of this custom certification aims to help the maritime industry resume operations better prepared for COVID-19 or other emerging pathogens. Genting Cruise Lines is the first customer working towards the CIP-M certification for their vessel Explorer Dream under the Dream Cruises brand.

As the COVID-19 crisis begins to recede, the world is looking to return to business. For the cruise industry, passenger safety has always been the priority and the current pandemic has sharpened this focus. To help vessel owners and operators resume safer operations, DNV GL has developed the CIP-M certification, which enables them to demonstrate they have procedures and systems in place for the proper prevention, control, and mitigation of infection, to protect their customers and crews.

“The COVID-19 crisis has been unprecedented in its impact on the maritime industry, and on the cruise lines in particular,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime. “But I hope that with innovative ideas like CIP-M we can help the industry get moving again in a way that gives passengers and crew confidence that exacting measures are in place to enhance the cruise industry’s already rigorous health and safety standards.”

CIP-M builds on DNV GL Healthcare’s work in infection risk management, which has been ongoing since 2008. With more than 4,000 audits performed in US hospitals, this work, which is inherent to the company’s accreditation program, helps organizations improve their management of infection risk. Experts from DNV GL’s Cruise Center in Miami customized the healthcare CIP for use in a maritime setting in cooperation with DNV GL – Business Assurance. The CIP-M also integrates maritime specific standards, such as the US CDC Vessel Sanitation Program, as well as incorporating national and industry guidelines. The certification surveys and audits are performed by DNV GL surveyor teams comprised of DNV GL – Healthcare infection prevention and control experts together with experienced maritime auditors.

“The ability to demonstrate trusted infection risk prevention and mitigation is a must to win back trust from consumers,” said Luca Crisciotti, CEO of DNV GL – Business Assurance. “Building organizational vigilance against infection risk today requires a level previously common to hospitals only. CIP-M is unique in that it builds on proven hospital standards but is specifically tailored to the context of passenger vessels, while incorporating national requirements to enable a robust immediate and long-term response.”

“At Genting Cruise Lines, the safety and well-being of our guests and crew are of paramount importance to us,” said Kent Zhu, President of Genting Cruise Lines. “From the onset of the pandemic, Genting Cruise Lines has been at the forefront in enhancing its preventive and safety measures with the COVID-19 pandemic in mind. We were the first in the industry to launch and introduce our enhanced measures, which we will adopt as the new safety norm for our fleet and we hope for the industry too. We are proud to continue to pioneer such an important collaboration with DNV GL, which is a first for the cruise and maritime industry. With consumers’ heightened expectations on safety and well-being, the customised CIP-M certification from a highly reputable healthcare expert like DNV GL will indeed further boost consumers’ confidence in cruising as we recommence operations in the very near future,” added Kent Zhu.

As part of the CIP-M certification, DNV GL assesses vessel operations, including enhanced sanitation procedures, food preparation and handling, physical distancing requirements, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by crew members, maintenance of public health essential systems, emergency response plans, pre-boarding screening, embarkation and debarkation processes, and itinerary or port planning protocols. Annual surveys onboard and company audits ashore are conducted to verify continued compliance and improvement.

The CIP-M assessment of Genting Cruise Lines has already kicked off with a pre-assessment of the company’s management system, to be followed by a certification survey of the Explorer Dream. The company is targeting successful completion of the certification programme by the end of June.

“We look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with Genting Cruise Lines as the first cruise line now working towards our new infection prevention certification,” said Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Regional Manager South East Asia, Pacific & India, DNV GL – Maritime. “Genting Cruise Lines has been very proactive in mitigating the COVID-19 crisis. The experience gained by operating two vessels in Singapore as temporary accommodation for workers, who have recovered from the Coronavirus, could prove useful in their preparations to resume normal operations,” she added.

Photo caption: NV GL surveyor onboard a vessel: The CIP-M surveys and audits are performed by surveyor teams comprised of DNV GL – Healthcare infection prevention and control experts together with experienced maritime auditors

Variety Cruises plans to resume cruises 24 July with two vessels

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 01 June 2020 01 June 2020

Variety Cruises, the Athens based boutique cruise vessel operator, said it is planning to resume cruises on 24 July by two of its eight vessels.

The 48 passenger capacity Galileo is planned to recommence its seven night night “ Jewels of the Cyclades “ itinerary as per current brochures and website.

“This operates entirely within Greek waters, so just the one jurisdiction makes plans more reliable, our view is that at least some of our clientele will be free to travel by then,” the company said in a statemebt.

Also sailing again from that date will be the 42 passenger  Pegasos  with its seven night Seychelles islands cruise; again all within one country’s domestic waters, and permission granted by Ministry of Tourism.

The other six ships of the line will follow as things develop, with more Greece an Eastern Mediterranean itineraries most likely, the company said.

 

Exclusive: Carnival's Burke talks crew repatriation

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 31 May 2020 31 May 2020

In the latest in our series of industry executives’ takes on news in cruise, CruiseBusiness.com contributor Fran Golden had a chance to catch up with Bill Burke this week and learn the latest on crew repatriation.

Written by Fran Golden.

With cruise travel at a standstill around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, major cruise companies have been sending their ships to help repatriate crew to their home countries. At the same time, with commercial air currently unavailable to some places, the lines have chartered hundreds of flights to get crew to their homes around the world.

So why are an estimated 100,000 crew members who are healthy and free of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, still out at sea? It’s a complicated question that has the cruise lines throughout the industry encountering substantial obstacles along the way.

“There are so many challenges,” says Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation, whose nine brands include Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises. “We are working hard to repatriate our crew members to more than 130 countries, in a unique set of circumstances.”


In their crew repatriation efforts, cruise companies are dealing with requirements that vary country by country, in an environment that is constantly changing. Quarantine, testing and entry requirements are being written, updated, sometimes even reversed, and in some cases don’t align with country capacities to deliver on the requirements.

In the Philippines, issues with test results and certification have delayed for several weeks repatriation of some 24,000 Filipino workers, including thousands who work in the cruise industry, prompting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to step in last week to expedite the process.

Some crew live in countries where borders have been closed to ships or air or both, further complicating matters. When they do set foot on land, crew may be subject to further quarantine and may find that they are not allowed to use public transportation or enter airport terminals to get to their own cities.


Carnival Corporation has moved 42,000 crew members back home. As of May 29, another 38,000 crew from Carnival Corporation’s nine brands are still waiting to return to their home countries. The company has 49 ships (out of its fleet of 105) currently at sea carrying crew home, with stops at different countries along the way.

So far, the company’s ships have traveled more than 400,000 nautical miles for crew repatriation with approximately 100,000 more to go, Burke tells Cruisebusiness.com.

Carnival Corporation’s repatriation efforts, which began after the cruise industry voluntarily paused operations on March 13, have cost more than $100 million, according to Burke, who adds the company is committed to covering the costs and having dedicated teams working to manage the logistics.

He’s aware that being stuck shipboard in the midst of a crisis is beyond frustrating for those onboard the ships. “We are concerned about the physical health of our crews, certainly, but we’re also concerned about the mental health,” Burke says. “We place great value on the health, safety and well-being of our colleagues at sea, and we are doing everything we can to take care of them during this very unusual situation.”

On that note, the company has taken steps to make things easier for the remaining crews onboard the ships. Most are staying alone in guest cabins, many with a window or balcony. They have access to fresh air, movies and the Internet, which makes it possible for crew members to stay in touch with their family and friends. They also have access to counseling. Still, Burke says, “I think some people outside the cruise industry feel like being on a ship, and in some cases confined to your cabin, is no different than sheltering in place in your home. It is quite different. It’s not like Miami Beach where you can go out for a walk or a bike ride on the boardwalk.”

With his team at Carnival Corporation’s Fleet Operations Center in Miami, and teams at each of the company’s nine brands, Burke says more than 200 land-based personnel have been working to get crew home. “We’ve said your job is to go work on this,” Burke explains. “We have had people focused on this now for four months.”

Among industrywide developments in the past couple of weeks, Jamaica, Haiti and the Turks & Caicos have allowed ship crew to return home. India and Indonesia have opened to returning crew. The stranded Filipino crew are expected to return home this week, if all goes as planned.

Carnival Corporation has some 20 ships in Manila Bay, filled with thousands of crew members awaiting repatriation. After disembarking Filipino crew in Manila, some of the ships will continue on to Indonesia and India, to do the same. Similarly, hundreds of planes chartered by the company are doing legs, operating like buses stopping in several countries to disembark crew along the way.

Burke says he expects to get all crew returned home by the end of June. In addition to those being repatriated, some 12,000 crew will remain on the company’s ships, a safe manning team of about 120 per ship, to make sure each vessel “runs safely, smoothly and in compliance with national and international regulations.”


Emails, letters and messages coming from around the world indicate success stories.

“There are also those who have expressed frustration and we share their frustration, but we have tried to explain that we are not in full control of the circumstances and that we’re doing everything we can while complying with the rules of all of the home nations,” Burke says. “But there are also many crew members who have written to express their appreciation of the tremendous efforts our teams have made to get them home and the way they were well looked after. That means a great deal to all of us involved in this effort, and we won’t rest until all of our crew members are back home.”