Tag Archives: ships

NCLH: Measured Cruise Capacity Growth at 28%

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A key cornerstone of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ long-term strategy is measured capacity growth, said Harry Sommer, president and CEO, speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call.

He pointed to the company’s newbuild pipeline of five ships and its 2023 to 2028 capacity growth, which represents 28 more supply for the company’s trio of brands in Norwegian, Oceania and Regent.

That averages out to a compound annual growth rate of five percent, he advised.

“Historically, capacity growth has led to outsized revenue and EBITDA growth and we expect this capacity growth to be no different and deliver meaningful top and bottom line growth,” Sommer noted.

“We believe that these measured capacity additions will enable us to further enhance our long-term profitability and continue to significantly strengthen our balance sheet while providing guests new and innovative experiences,” he said.

“We continue to experience strong and resilient customer demand across all three of our brands. The strong momentum we saw in 2023 has continued into 2024 with an all-time high booked position and pricing buoyed by strong wave season demand. This has led to some of the best booking weeks in the company history, which began with successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.

“In general, we continue to see healthy demand across all markets, brands and products.”

Port Canaveral CEO Supports Executive Order for Cybersecurity Regulations

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Following a new executive order to create cybersecurity regulations for U.S. Ports issued by the Biden administration, Capt. John Murray, the CEO of Port Canaveral expressed his support for the measures, according to a press release.

On Wednesday, Feb. 21., the Biden administration issued multiple cybersecurity directives aimed at shoring up vulnerabilities at US maritime ports that could be exploited by hackers and addressing security risks from Chinese-made cranes, according to CNN.

This new executive order will require U.S. ships and port facilities to report cyberattacks while giving the Coast Guard greater authority to inspect or control ships that present a known or suspected cyber threat.

In addition, the Coast Guard will impose new cybersecurity requirements on the operators of the Chinese-made cranes to mitigate the risk they pose, according to Rear Adm. John Vann, head of the Coast Guard Cyber Command.

Murray hailed the decision and said: “Maritime cybersecurity requires constant and consistent efforts for ports.

“Port Canaveral teams have worked closely with the Coast Guard to ensure our IT and port security practices align with state and federal directives. All measures and protections aimed at securing our port community are welcomed.”

Viking May Be Eying IPO

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Viking could be eyeing an initial public offering as soon as the second quarter of this year, according to a report from Bloomberg.

With a dominant position in the European river cruise market, a fleet of ocean-going cruise ships, two expedition ships, a joint venture in China and a Mississippi river operation, the company continues to expand in the cruise industry, with more riverboats and ocean-going ships on order.

If Viking were to list, it would join the other public cruise companies, including Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Lindblad Expeditions. Of those four, Lindblad was the last go to public in 2015.

According to Bloomberg, the IPO could raise over $500 million and Viking is said to be working with Bank of America, UBS, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan on the listing.