Project Orient seeks an investor for classic liner service
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 10 January 2013 10 January 2013
Project Orient Ltd (POL) has been set up with a view to restarting a liner service between Southampton and Sydney. The 25-night voyage to Sydney will have a lead-in one-way fare of about £3,000 (E3,683) per passenger.
Discussions have already been held with European shipyards re the vessels in question. "To make the service viable we would need two ships, ideally [each] of 100,000gt for 2,200 passengers. In other words a four-star-plus ship," explains Nigel Lingard, non executive director of POL which is headed up by Asif Masshadi (once an executive on the Innovations catalogue).
The aim is to offer a monthly service in either direction. "To get market credibility you need to have pretty much a scheduled liner service," Lingard says. The classic route is via Cape Town, Fremantle and Perth to Sydney but variations are under consideration, including sailing via the Suez Canal and Singapore and also via the Panama Canal.
The key next step is to find an investor, such as a Sovereign Wealth Fund, which may well have an interest in where the ships are built, what route they sail and their design, for example vis a vis propulsion. Lingard says: "This might be a project that lends itself to LNG. Wartsila says it is perfectly feasible as the vessels will only call at major ports along the way."
Stephen Payne, naval architect on Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2, Deltamarin and STX have all been involved in the early stages of the ship design.
Recreating the heritage of the golden age of travel is how Masshadi describes the Project with a catchphrase being an "old dream becomes a new reality".
By Susan Parker
Norwegian Cruise Line announces launch of IPO
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 08 January 2013 08 January 2013
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. ("Norwegian") and NCL Corporation Ltd. announced today the launch of Norwegian's initial public offering of 23,529,412 ordinary shares pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Norwegian will grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an aggregate of up to 3,529,412 additional ordinary shares. Norwegian intends to list the ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and, subject to official notice of issuance, the ordinary shares will trade under the symbol "NCLH."
UBS Investment Bank and Barclays are acting as bookrunners and the representatives of the underwriters for the offering. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan are also acting as bookrunners for the offering. DNB Markets, HSBC, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Wells Fargo Securities and Apollo Global Securities are acting as co-managers for the offering.
MSC Cruises to sell Melody
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 08 January 2013 08 January 2013
MSC Cruises today confirms that Melody, the smallest ship in the MSC
Cruises’ fleet, is retiring from service and will no longer offer
cruises on behalf of the Geneva-based company.
The decision to withdraw one of its first and most traditional cruise
ships reaffirms MSC’s focus on cutting-edge service and reflects the
company’s continued desire to offer travellers the highest standards in
product innovation and the maximum in comfort, elegance and technology
across the entire fleet.
Measuring 35,143 gross tonnes, measuring 204.7 metres in length and 27.35
metres in width, Melody has been part of the MSC Cruises’ fleet since
1995, when she was originally purchased as the Starship Atlantic. The
ship was swiftly renamed Melody and sailed from Florida to Durban, where
she received significant refurbishments and was transformed into the
much loved and immensely popular Melody, with a capacity of just over
1,000 guests in 532 cabins. The ship left Durban for Genoa on her maiden
voyage on 1 May 1997, and has sailed various itineraries all over the
world ever since, most recently in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and
South Africa, offering a relaxed and informal cruise-ship experience.
MSC Cruises has set up a vast array of alternative choices for
passengers who have already booked a cabin on Melody for the upcoming
summer season. Over the next few days these passengers will all be
contacted, either directly by the company or through partner travel
agents, and informed about all possible options including an upgrade on
board one of the other beautiful ships in the MSC fleet.
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