CMV declines to comment on reports over financing talks

Posted on 15 July, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Cruise & Maritime Voyages has declined to comment on reports that it is in talks with investor VGO Capital Management over financing to allow it to navigate the shutdown of the cruise sector.

Sky News reported that the talks were critical to a package being agreed, and a CMV spokesman said: “Financing discussions involving several parties are still ongoing and we are not prepared to make any further comment at this time.”

Last month, CMV confirmed it was in talks with a number of financial institutions and banks to secure additional financing “to improve its liquidity position until sailing will resume again” and said it was confident a deal would be reached.

At that point, Sky said talks with private equity firm Novalpina Capital and existing creditors were halted following a decision by Barclays not to offer a £25 million loan under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Cruise industry defends record after a critical TV documentary

Posted on 6 July, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Zaandam Ship Stats & Information- Holland America Line Zaandam ...

The cruise industry has defended its record in tackling the coronavirus crisis in the wake of a critical ITV documentary screened on Thursday.

The hour-long ‘Billion Pound Cruises: All at Sea’ focused on the plight of various Princess Cruises ships and Holland America Line vessel Zaandam which were caught up in the pandemic.

It highlighted the impact on passengers and crew and detailed the number of deaths involved.

The documentary featured passenger footage taken onboard Diamond Princess, which was thrust into the spotlight as the virus became a pandemic due to an outbreak on the ship as it was docked in Japan which led to guests and crew being quarantined.

However, global cruise industry body Clia said: “While the tragic reality of the pandemic has meant that its impact has been felt across all walks of life, Clia believes that the industry’s rapid response is one reason why the number of cases linked to ships was a small fraction of the global total.”

The association stressed that health and safety are “integral” to the cruise industry, which is currently at standstill across most of the world due to government restrictions.

A Clia spokesperson said: “No other form of travel provides such high transparency in public health reporting, or requires such stringent cleaning and hygiene protocols.

“Within 48 hours of the WHO [World Health Organisation] announcing an international emergency, Clia ocean cruise lines introduced enhanced screening protocols worldwide, including health and travel history checks prior to the embarkation of every passenger and crew member.

“Upon the declaration by the WHO of a pandemic, Clia ocean cruise lines voluntarily suspended operations worldwide, making the cruise industry one of the first to do so.

“Some ships had to travel thousands of miles to return to port, and repatriation was complicated by international air travel and border restrictions; Clia cruise lines have also successfully repatriated many thousands of crew members, and have been working non-stop with governments and health authorities to secure the safe return of crew members to their homes.”

P&O Cruises sets new return date

Posted on 4 June, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

P&O Cruises will extend its operations pause until Oct. 15, the Carnival Corp. brand said Tuesday.

“As a business, our operational focus is not when can we resume sailing but is instead of how can we develop a comprehensive restart protocol that will keep everyone onboard — our crew and guests — safe and well and still give our guests an amazing holiday,” said P&O president Paul Ludlow in a release.

The British cruise line said it is focusing on working in close coordination with relevant public health organizations to approve the enhancement of its health and safety protocols.

“Our aspiration is to be adopting best practice in managing COVID-19 within the travel industry,” Ludlow said, adding that the line already has in place many of the protocols now being adopted for social gathering venues such as hand-sanitizing stations and rigorous cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

P&O’s Iona, a 5,200-passenger ship powered by liquefied natural gas, was supposed to enter service in May. German shipbuilder Meyer Werft has not set a new delivery date.