This Wednesday, the 7th of August, Baleària Caribbean will launch a new fast-transport service linking Fort Lauderdale (Florida) with the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. The fast ferry connecting these two ports has a 650-person capacity and a maximum speed of 38 knots—35 for service—with the journey taking just under two hours. With five weekly services programmed to Bimini (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday), the number of connections could increase based on demand. The new faster ferry service from Port Everglades to Bimini replaces the previous service from ...

The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report, published today by The Mission to Seafarers, has revealed that seafarers working onboard cruise ships and ferries rank among the unhappiest in the industry. The report, which is produced in association with leading mutual P&I insurer the Shipowners’ Club, is based on the responses of thousands of seafarers across the global maritime industry. The latest report showed that cruise and ferry crews had an average score of 5.3/10 on their general happiness level – 15 per cent less than the global average across all ...

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) based in Yokohama, held a christening and launch ceremony on August 2 for a ferry currently under construction for Hankyu Ferry Co., Ltd., which is based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka. The new vessel, named “Settsu,” will replace the superannuated “Yamato,” one of four large ferries operated by the company. After completion of rigging work, the “Settsu” will be handed over in February 2020 to go into service on Hankyu Ferry’s Shinmoji-Kobe route. The well-attended ceremony was held at ...

The joint venture of Kition Ocean Holdings has submitted its proposal for the development of the existing Larnaca port and marina. After lengthy negotiations with the government, the Cypriot and Israeli joint venture of Kition Ocean Holdings submitted an updated proposal for the far-reaching utilisation and development of the Larnaca port and marina, it said. The company proposes the ultramodern upgrading and expansion of Larnaca port in order to become a pole of attraction for new companies operating in the fields of commercial cruises, transport and energy. “The aim of ...

China’s economy is slowing down, but the head of the Royal Caribbean Cruises told CNBC on Thursday that business there is “working beautifully.” Things are going well because the cruise line was prepared for the slowdown, CEO Richard Fain said in a one-on-one interview with Jim Cramer. The Chinese gross domestic product in the second quarter eased to 6.2%, its lowest output in nearly three decades, as the country grapples with the ongoing trade war with the United States. Royal Caribbean got ahead of the slowdown about five years ago ...

Since cruise ships have been in business, they have been primarily powered by HFO (heavy fuel oil) in diesel engines and MGO (marine gas oil) for gas turbine engines. There are some locations that put a cap on a ship’s fuel emissions in order to preserve nature (primarily the Arctic regions). Starting in 2015, cruise lines began looking at better fuel alternatives, one of which is LNG (liquefied natural gas). In the years to come, many other cruise lines have a few LNG-powered cruise ships on order. What exactly is ...

Danfoss Editron has provided the electric power equipment for Tellus, which will become Sweden’s largest hybrid-electric car ferry when it shortly enters passenger operations. The 100-metre ferry will be capable of transporting up to 297 passengers and 80 cars per journey on the 1.8km Gullmarsleden route linking Uddevalla to Lysekil. Commissioned by the Swedish Transport Administration, the Tellus ferry will mainly operate on fully-electric mode, bringing the government agency closer to achieving its target of becoming fossil-free by 2045. Tellus will operate on one of Sweden’s busiest maritime routes, with ...

The Danish/Swedish shipping company ForSea has chosen Swedish Nowhere Networks as a strategic supplier of radio-based broadband. Starting this summer ForSea can offer fast quality broadband to customers travelling between Helsingborg and Helsingør on its vessels Aurora, Hamlet, Tycho Brahe and Mercandia. “Fast and reliable broadband is of strategic importance to us. That is why we have chosen Nowhere Networks complete service consisting of both its innovative communication solution and its continuous around the clock operation of it. A complete solution like this suits us perfectly, the installation and implementation ...

The China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) has announced that because of the accelerated development of cruise ports in China, it has upgraded its Cruise Port Roundtable Talk to the Cruise Port Forum at the 14th China Cruise Shipping Conference & International Cruise Expo (CCS14) taking place in Guangzhou Nov. 15 – 17, 2019. The CCYIA said that ports are important drivers for the economic development of port cities, and that there are 19 cities on the mainland coastline that have built or are planning to build cruise ports. ...

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. yesterday announced that its group company Mitsui O.S.K. Passenger Line, Ltd. (MOPAS; President: Naohiko Yamaguchi; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo) has scheduled a major renovation of its operated cruise ship, the Nippon Maru. The project will take about 50 days from mid-February through early April 2020. The Nippon Maru was renovated in 2010 when the ship marked its 20th anniversary. Additional cabins were constructed on the sixth floor, while the new Horizon Lounge and Spa & Salon were added. The hull was also repainted with the new ...

Oslo-based TMC Compressors of the Seas (TMC) has signed a deal to deliver its energy efficient marine compressed air systems to two new cruise vessels Tersan Shipyard is building for Norwegian shipowner Havila Kystruten. TMC’s scope of work is to deliver a complete marine compressed air system consisting of energy efficient instrument air compressors and air dryers, to each of the two newbuild cruise ships – the Havila Capella and Havila Castor. The equipment will be delivered to Tersan Shipyard in Yalova, Turkey. TMC has not disclosed the value of ...

The Deputy Shipping Ministry aims to commence a ferry link connecting Cyprus with Piraeus by 2020, Phileleftheros reported. According to Deputy Shipping Minister Natasa Pilidou the link will take place once a week between May-September and once every two weeks during the rest of the year. The Ministry will soon submits an application for funding to the European Commission (EC) in order to finance the route. It aims to complete all required procedures by the summer of 2020, depending on when the EC will respond to the application and interest ...

AS Tallink Grupp’s subsidiary Tallink Superfast Ltd. and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH have signed the loan agreement in the amount of EUR 197,6 million to finance the new EUR 247 million LNG powered fast ferry currently under construction in Rauma Marine Constructions Oy. The loan is arranged and long term financing is provided by KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH. Finnish Export Credit Agency “Finnvera” guarantees 95 per cent of this post-delivery buyer credit. The loan is secured by the mortgage on the new vessel and the corporate guarantee of AS Tallink Grupp. This ...

Sichterman not only sets itself apart with its exterior aesthetics and technological innovations. With the mounting cost of furnishing and styling luxury yachts, Sichterman decided to disrupt the interior process as well. The Dutch boutique yacht builder has set up an interior program, which makes it possible to build yachts considerably faster than its competitors at a set price. Sichterman CEO Bart Rehe states: “We often see that prices of yachts from our competitors rise significantly once clients start furnishing their newly acquired yacht. In collaboration with Cor D. Rover ...

As part of the Sea Traffic Management STM Validation project Costa Crociere, part of Carnival Corporation, integrated Costa and Aida ships to exchange information with other actors, utilizing STM supported standardised formats and interfaces. After verifying operations with these initial ships, the rest of the Carnival Corporation fleet has now been added. Costa developed STM support as part of their Fleet Operation Center software Neptune. This new functionality in Neptune allows Carnival to interact with other STM services, ports and shore center operators, and to evaluate voyage optimization suggestions received ...