Tag Archives: Scrapped

P&O Cruises pulls Dubai and Arabian Gulf programme

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Image result for Oceana in dubai

P&O Cruises has scrapped its entire Dubai and Arabian Gulf 2019-20 winter programme amid rising fears for British-flagged vessels sailing in the region.

The cruise line’s president Paul Ludlow said it had sought advice from “external authorities” have been monitoring the friction between the West and Iran before announcing the decision.

Last month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The majority of the 49 departures between October to next March on Oceana were due to pass through the Strait.

All bookings will be cancelled and guests will be given a full refund.

Ludlow said: “The increased tension in the region highlighted by the attacks on tankers in the strait and the detention of a British-flagged tanker by the Iranian authorities means as a British company flying the Red Ensign it is not advisable for us to maintain our planned Dubai and Arabian Gulf programme this winter season.

“We have therefore taken the unusual step of withdrawing Oceana from the region for the upcoming season.

“Whilst we appreciate our guests will be disappointed, the safety of our guests and crew is absolutely paramount and given our UK status, coupled with the uncertainty in the region, we have had to make this difficult decision.”

Strait of Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz

New itineraries for Oceana are currently being put together and will be put on sale from 9am on August 20.

The line added that the new programme will include ex-Southampton departures to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands, plus a 35-night pre-Christmas sailing to the Caribbean.

Affected passengers have also been given an exclusive offer on 2020-21 Dubai and Arabian Gulf cruises and well as this season’s Caribbean fly-cruises.

P&O launched its first Arabian Gulf programme this year, basing Oceana in Dubai for a series of fly-cruises to destinations such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman from January and April.

P&O Cruises launched a new advert in March starring comic Rob Brydon to promote its 2020-21 Arabian Gulf programme.

Costa Concordia Taken Apart For Scrap Five Years After Tragedy Struck

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Costa Concordia Lounge

The Costa Concordia has finally been dismantled for scrap five years after it tragically sank, killing 32 people.

The ship hit an underwater rock in January 2012 and capsized in Isola del Giglio, near Tuscany.

The vessel had been carrying 4,252 people and 32 of these tragically drowned when the ship sank. The captain of the ship Francesco Schettino was then sentenced to 16 tears in jail for manslaughter. He had caused outrage as he fled the ship before all of the passengers had escaped safely.

His sentence was increased due to the fact he had given false information to the port authorities. The ship had hit the rocks because he was steering the ship too close to shore in order to impress a friend.

The disaster was the worst maritime incident for Italy since the Second World War.

Captain Schettino later appealed his sentence and claimed that Costa was itself to blame, but this was rejected in court.

The wreck of the ship was removed from the sea last year and has now finally been turned into scrap metal in the port of Genoa.

It’s been said that roughly 70 per cent of the 144,500 tonne wreckage will be recycled during these efforts. It will cost up to £1.2 billion to salvage and scrap the ship meaning that it is one of the most expensive maritime wrecks in history.

Since the disaster, cruise lines have worked to make safety procedures clearer and 73% of guests now think cruising is safer

Costa Concordia – Four Years After The Tragedy

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Story by; http://www.cruisediscuss.com/

January 13 marks the fourth year of the tragedy that took the life of 32 innocent cruise passengers after the Costa Concordia sunk off the coast of Italy.

The gigantic wreck of the cruise ship that had been lying on a rock off the island of Giglio is gone now. For the past seven months, the remains of the ship have been gradually dismantled and sent for recycling in a shipyard and a few days ago the huge support to keep the ship afloat were removed.

But the image of Concordia will remain for a long time in the history of the Tuscan island and the Italian Navy.  The disaster that tore thirty-two lives, injured 157 will possibly stay forever in the mind of the survivors and the families that lost their loved ones.

As for the ship’s captain – Francesco Schettino, also known as Captain Coward – he was sentenced on 11 February 2015 to 16 years in prison, however, the sentence is not yet in effect and the ‘brave’ captain is giving interviews and cashing income from world-famous magazines such as GQ.

Even today many cruise ship passengers that survived the tragedy await for compensation for property left on board and lost when the ship sunk. Money in no way can reduce the grief but it was something that the cruise line owed to the people.

“Four years later Costa Crociere has yet to compensate the huge damage ” shared Mara Parmegiani, a journalist, writer and fashion expert that was on board the Concordia during the disaster. “The legal department had assured me that by the end of 2015 I would be notified how the refund will be processed but then no one contacted me further on. Besides my case, there are other outstanding of important value, like that of a jeweler. “

The fashion expert was on board with his precious collection of vintage clothes, as part of an Ambassodor of Fashion Made in Italy display. Glamorous dresses made ​​by the founders of high fashion – the sisters Fontana Valentino, by Antonelli to Ferré, to Gattinoni, Egon Furstenberg and Gay Mattiolo were showcased.

A huge loss,but just from an economic standpoint, which in no case comparable to the psychological and emotional hardships that still disrupt the daily life with frequent panic attacks of the survivors. Among the most moving memories was the one of the small Daiani, the five-year old child whose little body was fished out a few days later by the rescuers.

“The memory comes back constantly before my eyes, I met her just before she died, she was in the arms of her dad on the deck packed with people; she looked at me, recognized me and gave me a pat. I was initially surprised, then I pulled out a little key ring with a teddy bear filled with rhinestones and I gave it to the girl who smiled at me and kissed me. I think Iit was her last smile “, one of the survivors shared.