Tag Archives: North Sea

P&O’s New Ship Arvia Set for Ems River Conveyance

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P&O Cruises’ newest ship, Arvia, will depart Meyer Werft in Papenburg on Saturday, November 5, 2022, when it will be transferred on the Ems River to Eemshaven, Netherlands.

The Arvia is expected to arrive in Eemshaven on Sunday, November 6, where it will see technical and nautical trials before departing for Bremerhaven where it will be delivered to P&O Cruises.

The Arvia will be transferred to the North Sea with the help of two tugs, according to the Meyer shipyard. The Ems River barrier will be closed to traffic. The ship is scheduled to pass the docking log around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and will pass the Ems barrier around 10:30 p.m.

The Arvia, sister ship to the Iona, which was delivered in 2020, is designed to accommodate 5,200 passengers. It is equipped with a SkyDome entertainment area featuring a swimming pool with a glass dome that can be opened.

The conveyance of the ship is expected to be completed on Monday, November 7.

The Arvia is then to embark on its winter itineraries across the Caribbean, starting with a voyage to the Canary Islands. The ship will depart from Southampton, England on December 3 and visit Funchal, Madeira, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Arrecife, Canary Islands, Cadiz, Spain, and Lisbon, Portugal before returning to Southampton, England.

The company’s newest ship will have a busy start to 2023 with a series of cruises in January. The first 2023 cruise aboard the Arvia is scheduled for January 6, when the ship will depart from Southampton, England and make stops at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Castries, St. Lucia, St. Georges, Grenada before reaching Bridgetown, Barbados.

TUI to Add Mein Schiff 6 Back in September, Cruising From Crete

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Mein Schiff 6

The TUI Cruises restart is going so well the company is expanding to three ships as the Mein Schiff 6 will sail round-trip cruises from Crete in September with port calls.

The first week-long sailing will depart on Sept. 13.

Guests will be allowed to take company-organized shore excursions in Athens, Crete and Corfu.

TUI said it will dramatically expand shore excursion capacity so all guests can partake. The ship is expected to operate at 60 per cent occupancy.

The Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will continue with their “Blue Voyages” (no port calls) in the North and Baltic Sea, offering five- and seven-day cruises in September, according to the company.

For the time being all departures of the Mein Schiff fleet (departures from September) will require a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR test). The costs for this are already included in the travel price.

Before the new crew comes on board, they are tested for COVID-19 shoreside. Only crewmembers who have tested negative can come on board and then they also go into 14-day individual isolation on a balcony cabin before they begin working.

Norway Opens Expansive Offshore Areas to Wind Development

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offshore wind farm

The Norwegian government has announced the opening of more than 860,000 acres of the Norwegian Continental Shelf to offshore wind development.

The areas, known as “Utsira Nord” and “Sørlige Nordsjø II”, are located in Norwegian waters in the northern North Sea. Combined, the two areas allow for the development of 4,500 MW of wind power.

“Offshore wind power offers great opportunities for Norwegian businesses,” said Tina Bru, Minister for Petroleum and Energy. “In the immediate future the market will be in other countries, but if the costs for offshore wind power continues to fall it could also become competitive in Norway. It is now time to prepare for future development by allocating space for offshore renewables.”
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A proposal to open areas and a draft regulation were open for public comment in 2019.

The Utsira Nord is located to the west of Haugesund and is ideally suited for floating wind power. The area is also large, encompassing 1,010 square kilometres close to shore.

The Sørlige Nordsjø II borders the Danish sector in the North Sea and could be best suited for “direct export” of electricity. The area spans 2,591 square kilometres in mostly shallow water that would allow traditional wind turbines.

The Norwegian government has set an opening date of 1 January 2021.