Royal Caribbean Group reinvents cruise industry’s safety drill

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July 25, 2020

Royal Caribbean Group is replacing one of the least-loved but most important parts of a cruise vacation – the safety drill – with Muster 2.0™, an entirely new approach to delivering safety information to guests. The innovative program, the first of its kind, reimagines a process originally designed for large groups of people into a faster, more personal approach that encourages higher levels of safety.

With Muster 2.0, the key elements of the safety drill – including reviewing what to expect and where to go in case of an emergency, and instructions on how to properly use a life jacket – will be accessible to guests on an individual basis instead of a group approach that has been followed historically. New technology, eMuster™, will be used to help provide the information to guests via their mobile devices and interactive stateroom TVs. Travelers will be able to review the information at their own time prior to setting sail, eliminating the need for the traditional large group assemblies. The new approach also enables everyone on board to maintain better spacing as guests move about the ship, and it allows guests to enjoy more of their vacation with no interruption.

After reviewing safety information individually, guests will complete the drill by visiting their assigned assembly station, where a crew member will verify that all steps have been completed and answer questions. Each of the steps will need to be completed prior to the ship’s departure, as required by international maritime law.

Richard Fain, chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group, said:

“The fact that this will also save guests time and allow the ship to operate without pause means that we can increase health, safety and guest satisfaction simultaneously.”

Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean Group’s senior vice president of digital, said:

“Muster 2.0 represents a natural extension of our mission to improve our guests’ vacation experiences by removing points of friction. In this instance, what’s most convenient for our guests is also the safest option in light of needing to reimagine social spaces in the wake of COVID-19.”

This marks the first dramatic change to the safety drill process in a decade, since Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas moved the life jackets from guest staterooms to the muster stations, which improved the evacuation process and has been widely followed throughout the industry. More than a year in the making, Muster 2.0 is also an initiative that will be part of the comprehensive set of protocols and procedures Royal Caribbean Group is developing along with the Healthy Sail Panel that was recently assembled in collaboration with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel, said:

“This new process represents the kind of innovation that the Healthy Sail Panel is focusing on as part of its mission to enhance the health and safety of cruising. It shows that we can accomplish a lot if we try to think outside the box on safety.”

The distributed muster for ocean-going vessels concept is patented in the United States and is patent-pending in major markets around the world, including the various cruise industry flag states. The company has also worked with international regulators, the U.S. Coast Guard and other maritime and government authorities to ensure it meets all safety requirements.

In addition to introducing the new process on the ships of its own cruise lines – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara – Royal Caribbean Group is offering to license the patented technology to interested cruise operators and will waive patent license fees during the time the world and industry battle the global pandemic. Patent licenses have already been granted to the company’s joint venture, TUI Cruises GmbH, as well as Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Muster 2.0 was first tested on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas in January 2020. Guests who took part in the mock process indicated a strong preference for the new approach and also reported better comprehension and retention of the safety information.

Yang Ming to add two 11,000 TEU vessels to fleet

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July 24, 2020

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Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. (Yang Ming) will add two new 11,000 TEU container vessels, ‘YM Triumph’ and ‘YM Truth’.

Both vessels will join THE Alliance’s Trans-Pacific routes with comprehensive coverage and efficient service by August. With the delivery of these newly built ships, the competitiveness of Yang Ming’s global fleet and service network will be enhanced significantly.

In order to strengthen the company’s mid- to long-term operational efficiency, Yang Ming had ordered a total of fourteen 11,000 TEU newbuildings through long-term charter agreements with ship owners. YM Triumph and YM Truth are the first two ships from the series. This type of vessels has a nominal capacity of 12,690 TEU and is equipped with 1,000 plugs for reefer containers. With a length of 332.2 meters, a width of 48.2 meters, a draft of 16 meters, these vessels are designed to cruise at a speed up to 23 knots.

This type of vessels adopts the twin-island design to increase loading capacity and navigational visibility to ensure more efficiency and safety. The ship hull form optimization and scrubber installation will further increase energy saving and reduce overall emissions. In addition, the ships are designed with shorter length and beam, which makes them easier to maneuver during berthing or departure. The new dimensions enable these ships to call at major ports worldwide and pass through new Panama Canal with no restriction, and provide more flexibility in vessel deployment.

In addition to the fourteen 11,000 TEU vessels to be delivered starting this July until 2022 Q3, Yang Ming will add another ten 2,800 TEU self-owned newly built ships to its fleet by 2021 Q2. These new vessels will lower the average age of its global fleet to achieve energy efficiency and unit cost reduction, and accelerate fleet optimization to proactively cope with the challenges and stricter environmental regulations faced by the fast-changing shipping industry. With the deployment of these modern, eco-friendly and highly efficient new vessels, Yang Ming will be able greatly enhance its service quality and deliver more excellent service to global customers.

The first vessel of the series, YM Triumph will join THE Alliance’s trans-Pacific service PN2 on July 31st, the port rotation of PN2 is Singapore – Laem Chabang – Cai Mep – Haiphong – Yantian – Tacoma – Vancouver – Tokyo – Kobe – Singapore.

OWGP announces £2m support package for UK offshore wind supply chain

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July 24, 2020

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The package includes two new funding calls totalling £600k, as well as intensive business transformation support activities through the £1.5m Sharing in Growth Programme.

The OWGP is a key part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal between industry and the UK Government and is funded by the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC), with a budget of £100m over ten years. The programme supports the growth of UK businesses looking to capitalise on the huge opportunities offered by the global offshore wind sector. A new tranche of funding from OWIC members has enabled these new programmes, which will form part of the UK’s green economic recovery following the global Covid-19 health pandemic.

The two new funding calls include:

A cross-sector call that aims to bring technology and companies from other sectors into offshore wind.
An open call, which provides a wider opportunity for UK companies already working in the offshore wind sector to grow market share through increased competitiveness and development of new products or services.

In addition, expressions of interest to participate in the Sharing in Growth programme will open in August. The Sharing in Growth programme has been highly successful in the aerospace sector, and up to £1.5m will be used to deliver a similar, high-value programme to up to ten supply chain companies in the next 12 months.

This new round of funding builds on the success of the pilot funding calls in January 2020, which saw seven supply chain companies share £400k in projects to drive cost reduction from advanced manufacturing techniques and develop advanced sensors and communications solutions for offshore wind.

Martin Whitmarsh, Chair of the OWGP, said:

“The offshore wind sector has shown remarkable resilience to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK has a fantastic opportunity to use this as a springboard to a green economic recovery. Many engineering sectors have been badly hit by the pandemic and support from OWGP can ensure that the best of UK engineering from all industries can develop UK IP in a sector that is set for strong global growth.”

OWIC Sponsor for the OWGP and vice president for the Dogger Bank Development at Equinor, Halfdan Brustad, said:

“The OWGP is a key part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, supporting the industry’s ambitions to increase UK content and competitiveness in the offshore wind supply chain. It’s fantastic to see the next round of funding from the OWGP being made available to support these growth ambitions. The Sharing in Growth programme and the new calls each offer excellent opportunities for suppliers to access support that can help them capitalise on the growth of the UK and global offshore wind markets. OWIC has huge expectations from the OWGP and looks forward to seeing the projects that come through these programmes and how they may be applied to UK offshore wind farms.”

MPC Capital and Wilhelmsen join forces in technical ship management

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July 24, 2020

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Wilhelmsen Ship Management, a provider of third party ship management services headquartered in Singapore and the Hamburg-based asset and investment manager MPC Capital have agreed to combine their activities in the technical management of container ships. To this end, Wilhelmsen Ship Management partners up with Ahrenkiel Steamship, the technical container ship manager within the MPC Capital Group.

In the future, the joint venture will operate under the brand “Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management”. The company will continue to operate in Hamburg and Rhoon, while supported by Wilhelmsen’s global network. With around 100 employees, the new company will manage a fleet of currently 72 container ships with a focus on feeder container ships with a capacity of 1 000 to 3 000 standard containers (TEU).

The managing director of the joint venture will be Dr. Michael Silies who has been heading up Ahrenkiel Steamship since 2015. He is supported by Jan-Eric Panitzki, who will continue to oversee the operational part of the business.

Carl Schou, CEO and President of Wilhelmsen Ship Management, says:

“We are very happy to strengthen our presence in Germany together with a strong partner like MPC Capital. We believe Ahrenkiel Steamship is a good fit as we share many common values; focusing on quality, heritage and at the same time have ambitious goals to utilize digital technology to enhance and improve the operations. We are looking forward to develop a strong track record together in the container segment through this partnership.”

Christian Rychly, Managing Director of MPC Capital, says:

“We are very pleased to have Wilhelmsen at our side as a strong partner with whom we can consistently expand our shipping activities. We want to offer the best services to our clients and Wilhelmsen’s network and expertise in other shipping segments will improve our position in the container segment.”

The closing of the transaction is still subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

NOVATEK shipped first LNG cargo to Japan via Northern Sea Route

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July 24, 2020

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PAO NOVATEK has announced that NOVATEK Gas & Power Asia Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, shipped the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) from the Yamal LNG project to Japan transported eastbound via the Northern Sea Route.

The LNG cargo was delivered by the LNG tanker “Vladimir Rusanov” under a spot contract and unloaded at the Ohgishima LNG Terminal in Japan in accordance with the contract’s delivery schedule. This LNG cargo is the Company’s first successful experience of entering and unloading an Arc 7 ice-class LNG tanker in a Japanese port, which allows the Company to increase the volume of LNG supplies to this country.

Lev Feodosyev, NOVATEK’s First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, noted:

“We focus a significant amount of attention to develop and enhance the logistical scheme for our LNG projects. The future launch of a transshipment terminal in Kamchatka will significantly expand our opportunities to cost competitively deliver and supply LNG to the entire Asia-Pacific region.”

Samsung Heavy Industries’ shipyard takes delivery of new Pro 4

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July 24, 2020

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Following on the heels of another Pro 4 sale, Triton Hi-Tech, a VideoRay dealer in South Korea, has sold a Pro 4 to Samsung Heavy Industries’ Geoje Shipyard in South Korea.

The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will be used for ship inspection and underwater survey. The shipyard, located in South Gyeongsang Province, has been using a VideoRay Explorer ROV for about 10 years.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is one of the largest shipbuilders in the world and one of the “Big Three” shipbuilders in South Korea. Geoje Shipyard has three dry docks and five floating docks. Among the company’s pursuits is the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and delivery of transportation ships for the commercial industry; drilling and floating production units for the oil and gas sector; and digital instrumentation and control devices for ships.

Just prior to the Geoje Shipyard delivery, Triton Hi-Tech delivered another Pro 4 system to the Busan 119 Nakdong River Water Rescue Team in Busan, South Korea. The team is responsible for overseeing safety, search and rescue activities along the river.

Brittany Ferries to launch new route in 2021

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July 24, 2020

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Brittany Ferries has announced plans to increase services both out of Rosslare and Cork in 2021. In 2021, a totally new route connecting Rosslare with Cherbourg is to be added to the Rosslare Bilbao sailings from Rosslare which commenced earlier this year. And there is further good news for the Port of Cork with the addition of an extra mid-week sailing from Cork – Roscoff.

The new sailings will also see the utilisation of the Connemara (for Rosslare) and the Armorique (for Cork). The Amorique is new to Ireland. The Pont-Aven, one of the company’s flagship ferries will continue to serve the main Cork – Roscoff sailings at the weekend.

The announcement comes on the day the company launches its schedules for 2021 sailings connecting the UK & Ireland with Spain. Reservations for all 2021 routes are now open. Passenger reservations can now be made for services up to the end of October next year on the following routes:

Rosslare – Bilbao
Cork – Roscoff
Rosslare – Cherbourg

The new Rosslare Cherbourg connection promises more choice and greater capacity on ships linking France and Ireland.

Earlier this year, Brittany Ferries opened a service connecting Rosslare with Bilbao and Roscoff. Primarily for freight, the twice-weekly Spanish rotations proved popular. However Irish and French hauliers have asked Brittany Ferries to move the weekly French rotation from Roscoff to the transport hub of Cherbourg.

Brittany Ferries has agreed to their request and has now confirmed that Connemara which operates as a no frills economie service, will serve two weekly rotations from Rosslare to Bilbao, as well as a single Rosslare-Cherbourg rotation as of March next near.

There is however good news for the Roscoff-Cork route too. This primarily serves the tourist market with a near 50-50 split of French and Irish holiday makers. These travellers will now benefit from an additional weekly rotation between the two ports, thanks to the introduction of Brittany Ferries’ Armorique to the route.

Roscoff-Cork will now be served by flagship Pont-Aven at the weekend and with this new rotation by the Armorique during the week, significantly increasing capacity out of and into Cork. It will open more choice for those seeking a shorter break in either Ireland or France, with options to leave and return with Brittany Ferries, either mid-week or at the weekend.

AKVA group ASA has acquired the mooring system Alfaring

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July 23, 2020

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Alfaring is a mooring system that is specially adapted to floating fish farms.

The main component of the system is a flexible coupling ring in polyurethane (with an endless steel rope as core) which acts as a coupling point for anchor lines and attachment point for buoyancy buoy in a frame mooring. The system has low weight, long service life and long inspection intervals.

In addition, the system has a design that reduces the risk of tears in the net or mooring line, and the system satisfies the requirements of NS 9415 that apply to floating fish farms.

Product manager mooring Roar Østebøvik says:

«One of the biggest advantages of Alfaring as a connection point is that we avoid more steel components. This will not be exposed to corrosion in the same way as a traditional connection point, and this will make us better able to deliver to markets that increasingly demand steel-free solutions.»

CMS completes first WinGD X-DF engine major overhaul in nine days

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July 23, 2020

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CSSC Marine Service Co (CMS), the worldwide equipment service subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), has completed the first ever major overhaul on two WinGD X-DF engines in only nine days.

The twin 6X62DF engines overhauled by CMS belong to the first ever X-DF powered vessel in operation, 2017-built 180,000-cbm LNG tanker, SK Audace (Owned and operated by SK Shipping Co. LTD), which was anchored at the Sabine Pass anchorage in Texas.

In the three years since vessel delivery, the X-DF engines installed on SK Audace had reached 18,000 operating hours, >99% of which were gas operation and <1% Diesel operation required for manoeuvring. Therefore, scheduled maintenance was required to ensure continuous uninterrupted operation.

The CMS Korea team completed the two engines full maintenance within nine days, and the ship returned to commercial service after a successful sea trial run. The simplicity of the X-DF engine for maintenance, coupled with the skill and dedication of the CMS team enabled the fast overhaul time.

Although work scopes were varied, CMS and WinGD collaborated to execute the job according to the standard manual for that engine type. Original spare parts such as piston rings and gas components were delivered to the vessel’s location by CMS.

During the overhauls, no abnormalities were found. However, the team overcame the challenge of the unknown and being the first ever to perform maintenance on X-DF technology. The CMS Korea team prepared their work guidelines well which included the reservation of correct materials and real-time support from the WinGD design team. In doing so, the CMS Korea team solved all challenges encountered and were able to reduce the maintenance time to nine days. The CMS Korea team also observed that the 6X62DF engine parts were in incredibly good condition compared to engines historically overhauled by CMS that operate on heavy fuel oil (HFO).

Following the overhaul, the trial run of the engines was performed in service power and optimized engine performance was calibrated. To ensure optimal engine operating standards through to the next periodic maintenance, the CMS Korea team conducted maintenance on common components such as pistons, exhaust valves, flow limiting valve were overhauled and fuel pump component – replacements where necessary. Additionally, the overhaul included more complex gas components such as gas admission valves (GAV), pre-chamber replacements and gas valve units (GVU).

In total, 10 X-DF engines on five vessels will be overhauled by CSSC Marine Service in the coming months. Results of the ongoing condition-based investigation on all five vessels will enable increased TBO (time between overhaul) or CBM (Condition based Maintenance) decisions, to be agreed between the ship owner and classification society.

Royal Caribbean Group extends Cruise with Confidence policy

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July 23, 2020

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For new and existing bookings created by September 30, 2020, guests have the flexibility to cancel their cruise up to 48 hours prior to sailing and receive a full credit of the cruise fare for a future cruise through April 2022. The cruise company will continue to offer their “Best Price Guarantee” and “Lift and Shift.”

“Best Price Guarantee”: Guests can choose to change the price and promotional offer on their reservation up to 48 hours before their cruise.
“Lift and Shift”: This option is ideal for those guests wishing to move their vacation plans to next year. Eligible between now and September 30, 2020, guests can protect their original cruise fare and promotional offering by shifting to a future sailing on the same itinerary type, sailing length, stateroom category, and within the same 4-week period of their original cruise date same-time-next-year.

Royal Caribbean Group chairman and CEO Richard Fain says:

“Guests are reacting positively to our Cruise with Confidence policy, because it enables them to make informed decisions and to better manage complicated travel plans during this unprecedented time of uncertainty.”

“Cruise with Confidence” applies to both existing cruise bookings and those made by September 30, 2020. In addition to easing concerns of booked guests, Fain says the policy enhances consumer confidence to schedule new bookings, knowing last-minute travel adjustments are allowed.

Fain says:

“We want our guests to feel they can safely keep their existing cruise bookings or schedule new sailings. because this policy gives them more freedom and flexibility.”

The policy applies to all cruises with sailing dates on or before April 2022 and across the company’s global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara.