Reporting full-year earnings, TUI Group noted the high demand for its three unique cruise brands TUI Cruises, Marella Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
The company said that short-term bookings continue to represent a large share of overall bookings. Still, encouragingly, the proportion of mid-term bookings is increasing as customer confidence returns.
The company also said that 2023 booked ticket rates for all three brands are above pre-pandemic levels.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique has announced it has manufactured its first carbon-fibre mast in collaboration with Lorima, Mulitplast, Avel Robotics, CDK Technologies and SMM.
Sixty-six meters tall and 2 meters wide, the mast weighs approximately 20 tons and can carry a SolidSail of 1,500 square meters.
SolidSail is a foldable sail made of 100 per cent composite materials and has been created by Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
SolidSail is designed to propel Silenseas, which is currently being developed by the French shipbuilding company, and will be the largest wind-powered cruise ship in the world. The concept can also be applied to cargo ships.
The Aeoldrive rig, which comprises the SolidSail mast and sail, is described as being fully automated, able to rotate 360 degrees, and the masts can rotate or tilt 70 degrees to go under bridges.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique said it is spearheading the design and manufacturing of tomorrow’s ships. Partly wind-powered, these ships may see their CO2 emissions reduced by up to 40 per cent, according to a prepared statement. Further work on energy efficiencies will reduce CO2 emissions by 25 to 40 per cent.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings today announced it has amended and extended the majority of its operating credit facility consisting of its senior secured revolving credit facility and senior secured term loan A facility on December 6, 2022.
The amendment has resulted in the extension of maturities of approximately $1.4 billion of the Operating Credit Facility by one year to January 2025, according to a press release.
The Company is actively pursuing alternatives to address the remaining debt associated with the Operating Credit Facility that will otherwise mature in January 2024.
“We are pleased to have successfully amended and extended the majority of our Operating Credit Facility by one year to 2025,” said Mark A. Kempa, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “As part of this amendment, we were able to modify certain financial covenants and secure additional debt capacity of $1.5 billion, including approximately $0.5 billion of secured debt capacity. While we continue to believe our ongoing and organic cash generation provides a path to restore our balance sheet over time, the increase in debt capacity provides meaningful additional financial flexibility if needed, as we prepare for multiple scenarios in an uncertain macroeconomic environment.”
The Operating Credit Facility consists of the $875.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility and the senior secured term loan A facility with an outstanding principal amount of approximately $1.5 billion as of September 30, 2022. Additional details on the terms of the amendment can be found in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 9, 2022.
