Concordia, by the numbers

Posted on 15 July, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Although I’m loath to admit it, numbers can tell a story just as effectively as words sometimes. Or images.

We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words. So when it comes to the Costa Concordia, the image of the ship being towed to Genoa, Italy, next week will go further than any number of words in showing that the ship is at last floating again and on its way to oblivion.

More intriguing are the numbers. In a graphic compiled by CNN from numbers released by the Costa Concordia’s builder, Fincantieri, and the salvage consortium Titan Micoperi, some numbers are juxtaposed, making for several eye-opening stories.

First are the dollars. Costa CEO Michael Thamm said this week the meter on the Concordia accident has reached 1.5 billion euros, including the cost of demolition and recycling over the next two years. That’s about $2.04 billion at current exchange rates.

According to the CNN graphic, the Concordia took about $612 million to build. By that math, recovering the wrecked Concordia cost more than three times the price of building the new Concordia. Somewhere there’s a lesson there about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. *TomStieghorst

Likewise, the numbers show it took about 20 months to build the 114,000-ton ship at Fincantieri back in 2004, but will take about 54 months, or four-and-a-half years from the time of the accident, to remove and unbuild it.

The graphic shows a loss of 12,000 tourists since the accident in the island of Giglio, but I think that’s misleading. Most of the tourists lost were likely Italians or Europeans from other nearby countries.

The Concordia accident, for better or worse, made Giglio nearly a household name in countries around the world that never heard of it before. I think over the long term it may lead to more tourism, despite the short-term losses.

Another story told through numbers appears dramatic but again is misleading. Of the 500 people who worked on the salvage team, fewer than 12 were locals, according to the graphic.

I have no idea how that count was made, or if it is accurate, but I do know that salvage work of the magnitude involved in raising the Concordia requires world-class expertise, and is not the kind of thing where local hiring outreach makes a lot of sense.

Another set of numbers is also about people: 3,200 passengers, 32 killed, one missing. With that there can be no argument.

Guide to the New Ship Builds

Posted on 15 July, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

What’s next from the world’s largest cruise lines? Below is our annual list of ocean-going ships on order for major brands such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean, updated to include details of two new vessels recently announced by MSC Cruises.

As in the past, we include only ships from lines that market to North Americans, leaving out such operators as Germany-based Aida Cruises, which caters to the German-speaking market. We also have left off river cruise ships on order (stay tuned for a separate update on the topic).

For the coming year, the big story in cruise-ship building is the development of Quantum of the Seas, the first of a new class of vessel for Royal Caribbean that will boast several groundbreaking features. Also notable are the first ships from new linesPearl Seas Cruises and Viking Ocean Cruises (click through the carousel above for artist’s drawings of all three vessels as well as others on order).

Among the most complex traveling machines built by man, ocean-going cruise ships take years to construct, so any new orders placed in the coming months likely won’t be filled until 2017 at the earliest. We’ll continue to update this page as new orders are announced.

2014

Pearl Mist (Pearl Seas Cruises)
Passengers: 210
Maiden voyage: June 25
Notable: The first vessel of a new small-ship line

Costa Diadema (Costa Cruises)
Passengers: 3,700
Maiden voyage: Nov. 1
Notable: Largest Costa ship ever

Quantum of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 4,180
Maiden voyage: Nov. 2
Notable: First of a new class of ship for Royal Caribbean
See also: New Royal Caribbean ship to have gee-whiz ride

2015

Viking Star (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: April 11
Notable: First ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking
See also: New upscale line to launch in 2015

Anthem of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 4,180
Maiden voyage: April 22
Notable: Sister to Quantum of the Seas

Le Lyrial (Compagnie du Ponant)
Passengers: 264
Maiden voyage: May 9
Notable: Fourth in upscale line’s Boreal class series
See also: Next Ponant ship to have bigger suites

Norwegian Escape (Norwegian Cruise Line)
Passengers: 4,200
Maiden voyage: Oct. 29
Notable: A larger version of Norwegian Breakaway
See also: Norwegian unveils plans for “Breakaway Plus”

2016

Unnamed (Holland America)
Passengers: 2,660
Maiden voyage: February
Notable: First new ship for line since 2010
See also: Holland America orders new ship for 2015

Viking Sea (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: April 3
Notable: Second ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking

Viking Sky (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: June 24
Notable: Third ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking
See also: Fast-growing Viking orders two more ships

Unnamed (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 5,400
Maiden voyage: Mid-year
Notable: Third in the hugely successful Oasis class series
See also: Third Oasis class ship on the way

Seven Seas Explorer (Regent Seven Seas Cruises)
Passengers: 750
Maiden voyage: Summer
Notable: First new ship for luxury line since 2003
See also: New details emerge about Regent’s next luxury ship

Unnamed (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 4,180
Maiden voyage: Mid-year
Notable: Third in new Quantum class series
See also: Royal Caribbean orders another Quantum class ship

Unnamed (Seabourn Cruise Line)
Passengers: 604
Maiden voyage: second half of 2016
Notable: Seabourn’s largest ship ever
See also: New Seabourn ship to be line’s biggest ever

Carnival Vista (Carnival Cruise Lines)
Passengers: 4,000
Maiden voyage: Winter
Notable: First new ship for line since 2012
See also: Carnival orders new ships for 2016

Titanic II (Blue Star Line)
Passengers: 1,680
Maiden voyage: N/A
Notable: A replica of the famed Titanic
See also: Billionaire unveils plans for Titanic II

2017

Unnamed (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: Early 2017
Notable: Fourth ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking

Norwegian Bliss (Norwegian Cruise Line)
Passengers: 4,200
Maiden voyage: Spring 2017
Notable: Second in line’s new “Breakaway Plus” series
See also: Norwegian Cruise Line orders another new ship

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,500
Maiden voyage: 2017
Notable: First in a new class of ship for MSC
See also: MSC Cruises to expand with new, larger ships

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,140
Maiden voyage: November 2017
Notable: First in the Seaside class of ship for MSC
See also: MSC Cruises orders two ‘revolutionary’ new vessels

2018 and beyond

Unnamed (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 5,400
Maiden voyage: 2018
Notable: Fourth in the Oasis class series
See also: Royal Caribbean plans another giant cruise ship

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,140
Maiden voyage: May 2018
Notable: Second in the Seaside class of ship at MSC
See also: MSC Cruises orders two ‘revolutionary’ new ships

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,500
Maiden voyage: 2019
Notable: Second in a new class of ship for MSC

Major lines with no ships on order: Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Windstar Cruises.

Costa Concordia to be refloated in two weeks

Posted on 7 July, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Phil Davies

Costa Concordia to be refloated in two weeks

The wreck of the Costa Concordia is due to be refloated in the next two weeks in the latest stage of the most expensive ship recovery operation in history.

The salvage could involve a semi-submersible boat effectively carrying the ship from its resting place off the Italian island of Giglio to Genoa to be dismantled.

Costs to insurers have spiralled to almost £1.2 billion because wrecks are usually cut into pieces and carried away. But Italian authorities have decided that such a move would risk an environmentally sensitive stretch of coastline so the ship is being removed in one piece.

Captain Rahul Kanna, a ship insurance specialist at insurer Allianz told the Mail in Sunday: “The primary reason for the cost is the method of removal. It sets a very dangerous precedent.”

Costa Concordia hit rocks in January 2012 killing 32 people.

The ship was turned upright last September after salvage contractors reinforced the seabed beneath it.

Modern shipping is creating the possibility for much bigger losses as ships grow in size and start to use remote Arctic shipping lanes, insurers are warning.

“Any losses in the Arctic would be a logistic nightmare to arrange rescue and salvage,” Kenna was reported as saying.