Tag Archives: Norway

MS Marco Polo Runs Aground in Norway

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MS Marco Polo Runs Aground in Norway

Cruise ship MS Marco Polo has run aground with 750 passengers on board while manoeuvring to anchor near Leknes in Norway’s northern Lofoten Islands.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), a passenger shipping company headquartered in Essex, UK  informed that due to adverse wind conditions experienced by their cruise ship MS Marco Polo when approaching her berth in Leknes (Lofoten Islands), Norway, it was decided, in the interest of safety, to take anchor.

“Whilst manoeuvring and as the tide was retreating, the ship touched a mud bank and became lodged. A subsequent inspection by divers has revealed that there has been no damage to the vessel’s hull or propulsion systems,” the company said in a release on Saturday, November 1st.

According to CMV, Marco Polo has been successfully manoeuvred off the mud bank with the assistance of the evening high water tide and resumed her 14 night voyage to Norway and the Land of the Northern Lights en-route to Alta.

There has been no oil pollution arising out of the incident and none of the 763 mainly British passengers or crew have been injured.

“Passengers wishing to go ashore were transferred by tender and the local tour programme continued as scheduled,” the release added.

Chris Coates, Commercial Director of CMV commented, “The comfort and safety of our passengers is our top priority and our passengers have been kept fully updated of the situation.”

Miami and Norwegian’s resurgence

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By Tom Stieghorst

*InsightFor years, one of the most impressive sights in the cruise business was the Norway steaming out of the Port of Miami.

Painted a striking blue, the former S.S. France was over 1,000 feet long at a time when most cruise ships were pushing 800 feet. It had the sleek look of a classic liner, which it was before being mothballed in 1974 when trans-Atlantic jetliners made it obsolete.

In 1979, what was then Norwegian Caribbean Line bought the ship and spent $80 million retooling it for use as a full-time cruise ship. For all of its good looks, however, the Norway was something of a white elephant financially.*TomStieghorst

A steamship when others were diesel electric, and completely unique when fleet uniformity was coming into vogue, the Norway helped send Norwegian into a decades-long tailspin.

A weakened rival, Norwegian was unable to compete head-on with new ships from Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International. It had to zig when those lines zagged. With Miami cruises firmly locked down, Norwegian went hunting elsewhere. It abandoned the seven-day year-round Caribbean cruise from South Florida about a decade ago.

So it is noteworthy that Norwegian will have four ships cruising from Miami this winter, including the brand-new Norwegian Getaway, which will stay year round after making its debut in February.

And that’s not all. While Norwegian isn’t confirming it, the Miami-Dade County Commission has just approved a joint marketing agreement for the Norwegian Escape that would keep the ship in Miami for at least three years following its debut in late 2015.

The deal calls for Norwegian to hold the Escape’s naming ceremony at the port, which now styles itself PortMiami. For its part, the county-run port will pay $3 million to help market the ship.

Norwegian’s return to Miami can only help re-establish that port, which once was the undisputed cruise capital of the world but has lost some of its mojo as Port Everglades and Port Canaveral have come on. PortMiami recently crossed the 4 million passenger mark for the first time, keeping it ahead of its rivals, if only by a little bit.

A resurgent Norwegian is even good for its competitors, because they don’t have to contend with all the cabins that the old Norwegian used to price to fill six weeks before sailing.

Norwegian’s new ships no longer have the classic lines of the Norway, but they don’t have its losses either. That’s progress.

Ryanair faces call for boycott in Norway

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Ryanair faces call for boycott in Norway

By Ian Taylor

Ryanair faces call for boycott in NorwayRyanair has been accused of employing cabin crew on “slave contracts” in Norway.

The accusation by a Norwegian trade union follows a claim by two former cabin crew members who are suing Ryanair over their dismissal.

Norway’s Parat union described the flight attendants’ terms and conditions as “a contract of slavery”. The crew allege there was a “culture of fear” at the carrier.

Ryanair hit back by accusing its former crew members of making “false claims” and the union of trying to distract attention from its role in negotiating job cuts at SAS Scandinavian Airlines.

The former crew members released details of their contracts, causing a public furore in Norway and leading to calls for a boycott of the airline.

Ryanair leased the crews from agencies which employ the staff on Irish contracts despite them being based at Rygge airport outside Oslo.

Norwegian media reported the contracts included the following provisions:

  • Employees had to pay for training and uniforms
  • Employment could be terminated at any time, with from 0-14 days’ notice.
  • Crew were required to pay a €200 fee to resign in the first 15 months of the contract.
  • Hourly pay was set at the equivalent of $21 an hour in flight, with no extra pay for weekends or holidays.
  • There was no sick pay.
  • Crew were entitled to 20 days holiday, booked well in advance but subject to cancellation if Ryanair required staff to work.
  • Employees were required to take at least four weeks’ unpaid leave a year.
  • Crew were required to be on standby for work without payment and be able to report within an hour.
  • Participation in union action was grounds for immediate dismissal.
  • Contract terms were to remain confidential, with violation grounds for dismissal.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary dismissed the claims and described the former flight attendants as “unsuccessful and dismissed”.

He told the Norwegian press: “They just invented these false claims some six months after they were dismissed.” O’Leary argued no one was forced to work for Ryanair.

He said there was a waiting list for jobs and suggested the crew were “supported by labour organisations in the process of agreeing thousands of job cuts and 17% pay cuts in SAS”.

O’Leary added: “We’re an Irish airline operating Irish-regulated aircraft. Our employees are employed under Irish contracts.”

However, following questions in parliament, Norway’s foreign minister Espen Bart Eide was quoted on Friday saying he would not fly on Ryanair until the issues were resolved.

Questioned by MPs, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said: “The government fights social dumping, but it’s extra complicated with the airline industry.”