Tag Archives: science

Costa Concordia set to be pulled upright

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Costa Concordia set to be pulled upright

By Phil Davies

Costa Concordia set to be pulled uprightA delicate operation to try to pull the shipwrecked Costa Concordia upright is going ahead today.

This morning’s work was delayed by two hours due to an overnight storm.

But the Italian Civil Protection agency said sea and weather conditions were right to start the salvage attempt off the island of Giglio.

Salvage teams are attaching giant metal chains and cables to the ship, which weighs more than 114,000 tonnes and is roughly the length of three football fields.

Head of the operation, Nick Sloane, told AFP news agency that it was now or never for the Costa Concordia, because the hull was gradually weakening and might not survive another winter.

Engineers will try to roll the ship up using cables and the weight of water contained in huge metal boxes welded to the ship’s sides – a process called parbuckling.

Costa Concordia capsized killing 32 people in January 2012 when the vessel hit rocks.

Five people have already been convicted of manslaughter over the disaster, and the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently on trial accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship.

UBS Sees Conservative Growth in Cruise Capacity

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UBS Sees Conservative Growth in Cruise Capacity

Findings are based on scheduled delivery of new ships during the upcoming yearsBy: Marilyn Green

Cruise
Viking Ocean has newbuilds scheduled for 2015 and 2016, with the potential for additional orders. // © 2013 Viking Cruises

Viking Ocean has newbuilds scheduled for 2015 and 2016, with the potential for additional orders. // © 2013 Viking Cruises

UBS Investment Research periodically publishes an evaluation of cruise capacity and where it is headed. In its current study, UBS said Carnival Corporation may be in discussions with shipbuilders for another Seabourn order, which could be announced before the end of 2013. The new ship is likely planned for 2017, as the analysts think Carnival is finished ordering for 2016, with three orders currently in place. In addition, Royal Caribbean International has an option that expires in December for a fourth Oasis-class order scheduled for mid-2018 delivery — another possible order that could be announced later this year.

UBS expects 3-4 percent compound annual capacity growth in North America for the period of 2012-2016, which is below the 10-year average between 2003 and 2012, which came in at just under 6 percent. Analysts are predicting about three percent average growth in 2013 and 2014, as all ordering for those years is now completed, and further withdrawals of existing ships are likely to be announced later.

Analyst Robin Farley pointed out that Carnival Corporation has reiterated its intention of scheduling delivery of two to three ships per year and has only two ships on order for delivery in each 2014 and 2015. Royal Caribbean had been maintaining capital spending discipline, with one ship on order for delivery in 2014 and one in 2015, and no ships scheduled to be delivered for 2013.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Cruise Line exercised its option for a second Breakaway Plus ship for spring 2017 delivery — the line has the first Breakaway Plus order scheduled for October 2015. The two 4,200-berth vessels will be the largest in Norwegian’s fleet.

Another summer announcement came from Prestige Cruise Holdings, which announced in early July that the company has put in an order for a new 738-passenger all-suite, all-balcony ship for Regent Seven Seas. This will be the largest vessel in the fleet, driving close to 40 percent growth in capacity. Named Seven Seas Explorer, it is scheduled for delivery in summer 2016.

UBS notes that Viking Ocean Cruises has been in discussions for additional orders we may see later this year, related to the December 2012 Memorandum of Agreement with Fincantieri for the construction of two more ocean cruise vessels with an option for another two. Neither the shipyard nor Viking has announced an exact delivery date for the additional newbuild orders at this time, but UBS predicts the timing to be the end of 2016 and the end of 2017. Viking Ocean already has newbuilds scheduled to debut in May 2015 and early 2016.

Paddlewheeling in the Pacific Northwest

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Paddlewheeling in the Pacific Northwest

By Michelle Baran
InsightWhen you think of paddlewheeling, most likely it’s Mississippi that comes to mind, not the Pacific Northwest. But when the 223-passenger American Empress relaunches on the Columbia and Snake rivers in April, it will bring to at least two the number of paddlewheelers sailing along the scenic western routes, paddlewheelers with a somewhat storied and related history in the region.

For U.S. river cruising enthusiasts, the relaunch of the American Empress, which has been dormant since 2008, is likely an exciting offering. The paddlewheeler is undergoing a complete renovation and interior overhaul so that it can once again sail along the rivers it originally plied when it first launched 10 years ago.MichelleBaran

The American West Steamboat Co. introduced the American Empress — then a 235-passenger vessel called the Empress of the North — in Alaska on Aug. 10, 2003, as a reproduction of a 1800s-era paddlewheeler. The vessel’s inaugural 11-day Inside Passage cruise from Seattle to Juneau marked the first overnight sternwheeler cruise in Alaska in more than a century.

In October 2003, the Empress began sailing along the Columbia and Snake rivers out of Portland, Ore., alternating itineraries between Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. In 2006, Ambassadors acquired American West, and the Empress of the North became a part of Ambassadors’ Majestic America Line fleet.

On May 14, 2007, the Empress ran aground en route to Glacier Bay from Juneau. There were no injuries, but the vessel incurred damage to the hull and took on water, causing it to list. After repairs, the vessel returned to service that summer and sailed until the collapse of Majestic America Line in late 2008.

When the Empress relaunches in April, it will join one other paddlewheeler on the Columbia and Snake rivers: the 120-passenger Queen of the West, a fellow Majestic America alum, which American Cruise Lines acquired from Majestic as it was unloading its assets in 2008.

The Queen of the West was originally launched in 1995, also by the American West Steamboat Co., which was founded that same year. Also in 1995, the American Queen launched too, which is now owned by the American Queen Steamboat Co.

So, it would appear, what goes around comes around. Just like a paddlewheel.