News

Lindblad to build two U.S. flagged coastal vessels

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 09 December 2015 09 December 2015

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. today announced that it has signed definitive agreements with Nichols Brothers Boat Builders ("Nichols Brothers") for the new build of two U.S. flagged coastal vessels. They will be U.S. built at their shipyard on Whidbey Island in Washington State. The first completed ship is scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017 and the second vessel is scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2018. The new 100-guest ships were developed with decades of experience of captains, expedition leaders, engineers and designers.

"These new ships mark an exciting step in the long-term growth of the company, and enables us to capitalize on the substantial demand for our expeditions. With our significant resources we can continue to deliver on our promise of expedition travel at its best, and can now expand our unique offerings in the Americas where we have very strong demand," said Sven Lindblad, President and CEO of Lindblad.

"We are pleased to be working with Nichols Brothers in Washington State on this project given their long history in ship building, including having built our current U.S. flagged ships, the National Geographic Sea Lion and National Geographic Sea Bird."

"This is an important milestone in the company's history as we enter the 50th Anniversary of the birth of expedition travel begun by my father, Lars-Eric Lindblad, with the first laymen expedition to Antarctica in 1966," added Lindblad.

Some key features of the new vessels:

– 50 cabins: 22 with balconies, and eight that can be configured into four adjoining cabins for families.
– As the primary focus is the world outside, all public spaces are designed for maximum viewing with easy, quick access to decks for inevitable announcements from the bridge of a phenomenal sighting.
– An outdoor walkway around the entire sun deck, which will feature an al fresco bar and grill, in addition to the restaurant and a lounge with bar and facilities for presentations.
– A fleet of sea kayaks, paddle boards, and specially designed landing craft - all of which are geared to get guests out and into the wild, remote places being explored.
– A fully equipped fitness room and a Wellness spa.
– State-of-the-art expedition technology, including a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), video microscope, and a hydrophone and bow-cam designed for immediate bow deployment to hear and film, for instance, humpback whale vocalizations and see bow-riding dolphins.
– Full warm and cold water diving gear and underwater cameras for the Undersea Specialist to bring back rare imagery of the undersea world.
– State-of-the-art A/V system for the highest quality presentations, including National Geographic photography instruction.

Lindblad had previously signed a non-binding letter of intent with Nichols Brothers for these new builds and paid a $4 million non-refundable slot fee during the third quarter of this year to reserve the shipyard's capacity, which will be charged against the second vessel's cost. The definitive agreements provide for Nichols Brothers to construct the two new build vessels at a purchase price of $48.0 million and $46.8 million, respectively, payable monthly based on the value of the work performed (offset by the $4.0 million slot fee previously paid). Jensen Maritime is serving as the naval architect on the project with interior design work provided by Tillberg Design International. Building of the vessels will commence this year.

New-starter Diamond Cruise to set sail from Shanghai in March

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 08 December 2015 08 December 2015

China’s Suzhou Tai Hu International Travels Ltd. (苏州太湖国际旅行社有限责任公司) has acquired a cruise vessel from Germany for its newly established subsidiary, Diamond Cruise International Co., Ltd., which aims to set sail from Shanghai as early as March 2016.

Diamond Cruise was registered in the Bahamas in July 2015. According to its parent company it will start operation with this first vessel, which will be renamed “Brilliant of the Seas” (辉煌号) and undergo extensive refurbishment, transforming it into a cruise vessel suitable to cater for the taste of its targeted Chinese clientele.

Just as one cruise operation is shut down, another is starting. Diamond Cruise will be the first new cruise brand in China following the closure of the HNA operation. The company also intends, in the next five years, to acquire further three to four ships in an effort to “gain supremacy” in the fast-moving Chinese cruise market, it says.

Founded in 1993, today Suzhou Tai Hu International is a large travel conglomerate with extensive interests in cruise business, including cruise ship management and supplies. It has named most major international cruise brands as its partners in this regard. The group has cruise-related operation branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing.

Alan Lam reporting from Hong Kong

First Chinese built cruise ship seen to enter service 2020

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 03 December 2015 03 December 2015

A Chinese company is planning to build the first cruise ship in the country, tapping booming demand, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. said on Wednesday.

It said that it would build the ship with technical support from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, with construction starting in 2017 and hopefully completing in 2020, the Xinhua news agency reports.

“Parent firm China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) along with the China Investment Corporation (CIC) will set up a joint venture with £2.6 billion with America's Carnival Cruise Lines to purchase the vessel,” the report said.

However, Carnival Corporation & plc said during the recent state visit of the Chinese president to London that Carnival plc, the British holding company in the Carnival Corporation & plc group, would form a joint venture with CSSC and CIC to set up a Chinese domestic cruise brand.

However, Carnival group has a separate agreement with Fincantieri and CSSC to develop cruise ship building in China.

“As China gets into building cruise liners, it will focus on making luxury ships weighing more than 100,000 tonnes,” Chen Jun, vice manager of Shanghai Waigaoqiao, was quoted by Xinhua as saying. However, the size of cruise liners is usually measured in gross tons that is a measurement of volume, not weight.

The design of the new ship will incorporate traditional Chinese elements, with the total cost running to $1 billion Chen said.

By the time the liner is delivered in 2020, it is expected that 4.5 million Chinese will be taking cruise vacations and that the number will grow nearly four-fold over the following decade.

China will then become one of the world's largest markets for cruise travel and need five new cruise ships a year to meet demand.

The world currently needs 13 new cruise ships each year. Seven of them will replace older ships while the other six are for meeting increased demand for cruise travel, according to Chen.

"The world needs more shipbuilders as existing ones cannot take orders for cruise liners beyond those slated for delivery in 2022," he added.