Tag Archives: Aida Prima

Japan’s MHI Scuttles Cruise Shipbuilding Plans After Losses on Carnival Ships

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The AIDAPrima was delayed several times at MHI before its delivery in March 2016, more than a year behind schedule. d

The AIDAPrima was delayed several times at MHI before its delivery in March 2016, more than a year behind schedule.

TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd has abandoned its ambition to build European cruise liners and will stick to making smaller ferries and other medium-sized passenger ships after racking up losses on a venture to build two large vessels.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Japan’s No.4 shipbuilder, booked 238 billion yen ($2.3 billion) in extraordinary losses in the three business years ended March 31 due to cost overruns and delays in the construction of two 100,000-ton class cruise liners for Europe’s Carnival Corp.

“We thought we could somehow manage it, but it showed us that we need a stringent decision making process and risk management, MHI Chief Executive Officer Shinichi Miyanaga said at a press briefing in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The construction of the vessels for Carnival was plagued by faulty engines, late design changes and onboard fires. That delayed delivery by more than a year and increased construction costs for the first of the two liners by almost four times to nearly $2 billion, MHI said in a report.

In the future, MHI’s passenger ship unit will build smaller vessels, such as 40,000-ton cruise ferries, that it can manage with its current workforce and domestic supply chain.

Currently, more than 90 percent of the world’s cruise liners are built in European shipyards.

MHI is more skilled at building merchant vessels, mainly liquefied natural gas carriers.

Earlier this month, a media report said MHI was downsizing its shipbuilding operations due to a slump in orders. Shipyards worldwide, including in Japan, South Korea and China, have been hurt by a slump in demand as a result of oversupply.

Global orders last year fell to 2,197 ships from 2,888 in 2014, according to the Shipbuilders Association of Japan. (Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Himani Sarkar)

Could LNG controls spell trouble ahead for Aida Cruises?

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AidaPrima refueling in Hamburg

Aida Cruises faces LNG challenges due to local restrictions and regulations. Its LNG-fuelled AidaPrima cannot receive this fuel at Rotterdam port, while the LNG-power supply barge used by AidaSol for cold ironing is battling bureaucracy in Hamburg.

First LNG dual-fuel cruise ship AidaPrima can use LNG in all its ports of call except for Rotterdam, where it is still awaiting approval from regulatory authorities.

Carnival (Aida Cruises’ parent company) senior vice president for maritime affairs Tom Strang, told PST at a small press gathering after a recent Cruise Lines International Association regulatory briefing: “That is a little bit more challenging, mainly because Rotterdam has a different set of regulatory requirements, as the port is right in the centre of the city.”

However, he seemed optimistic that this obstacle would soon be overcome, and pointed out that while there were a number of steps to go through to reach approval, Carnival has “a great relationship” with the Port of Rotterdam.

But challenges are also afoot in Hamburg. AidaSol is supplied with electricity when in port from an LNG power supply: Becker Marine Systems (BMS) offers electric power generated using LNG-fuelled diesel engines mounted on an unpowered barge at Hamburg’s HafenCity cruise terminal. AidaPrima is also equipped for this cold ironing.

BMS’ barge Hummel has been contributing to improved air quality in Hamburg for more than a year, BMS managing director Dirk Lehmann said in a statement.

But he said: “Due to some restrictions making the work more difficult, we are continuing to seek a mutual solution together with the relevant authorities.”

Mr Lehmann told PST’s sister publication LNG World Shipping that the most severe restrictions are due to the conditions set out in the barge’s operating permit, notably “the condition to have an expensive harbour tug with running engines on standby during energy supply for cruise ships, and the condition to move the barge back to a night-time berth outside the Hafencity area after every energy supply operation”. This last also requires tug operations.

BMS is negotiating with the authorities to try to improve this situation and Mr Lehmann’s statement showed a very clear warning and emphasised just how crucial these talks were: “This would then enable Hummel to supply environmentally friendly power to cruise ships during their layovers at port beyond the current year.”

These teething difficulties will no doubt get solved – but the cruise sector will be watching with interest as Carnival and its company Aida Cruises pioneer the use of LNG both as a fuel and for cold ironing.

Arson Might Be The Cause Of The Fire On AIDA’s Newest Cruise Ship In the Shipyard

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Arson is being investigated as the cause of a cruise ship fire at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s shipyard in Nagasaki early Sunday, the third such incident to strike in January.

 

According to local police and firefighters, a worker at the Koyagi plant of MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, found cardboard and insulation material ablaze aboard the 124,500-ton AIDA Prima, which is one of two ships it is building German cruise line AIDA Cruises.

 

Firefighters said workers quickly put out the fire and no injuries were reported.

 

Sunday’s incident follows an electrical wiring fire near a theater space on Jan. 11, and a cabin fire involving a piece of cloth on Jan. 13.

 

The fires came after delivery of the ship, originally planned for March 2015, was repeatedly delayed amid design changes. The current delivery deadline is this April.