February

Malta(Times)
A Grimaldi ferry chartered by the Chinese government this morning brought 2,216 Chinese workers to Malta from Libya. The Roma also carried 9 Maltese, 20 Croatians, two Italians and four Vietnamese as well as two Bulgarians. Another Chinese-chartered vessel with a capacity of 2,000 left for Libya on Thursday and two left yesterday. There were chartered from Italy and Malta. The Chinese are expected to stay on their ships in harbour until they are flown out from Malta. Several aircraft chartered from China Eastern Airlines are due to arrive in Malta today to take some 500 passengers. More will arrive tomorrow. Meanwhile a Virtu Ferries - Video - catamaran this morning returned to Tripoli to pick up more passengers. The catamaran Maria Dolores arrived in Malta on its first evacuation trip yesterday, bringing hundreds of Americans. more...

the passenger ferry Lisco Gloria, that burnt on Baltic Sea, was delivered from the Odense port to the Klaipeda port. The ferry was bought by Estonian company Vakaru Refonda in the tender from the Danish shipping company DFDS. “First of all we will make an expert examination to determine whether it is possible to restore the ferry,” said the head of the Vakaru Refonda Viktor Sagal. “If the experts find that reconstruction is out of question, then the recyclable parts and equipment will be sold, the ship hull will be utilized as scrap metal,” he explained. According to Victor Sagal, the ferry was not delivered to Tallinn because the sizes of the Tallinn docks that belong to BLRT Grupp do not fit. read more...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed marketing of the first test for the preliminary identification of norovirus. The Ridascreen Norovirus 3rd Generation EIA assay is for use when a number of people have simultaneously contracted gastroenteritis and there is a clear avenue for virus transmission, such as a shared location or food. Norovirus is a leading cause of food-borne disease outbreaks in the United States. more...

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam(AP)
Vacationers from the U.S., Britain, Australia, Japan, Russia, France, Sweden and Switzerland died along with their Vietnamese tour guide Thursday in Vietnam's deadliest tour boat accident - Video - since the country opened to foreign visitors 25 years ago. All were sleeping on the overnight ship, which was anchored in about 30 feet (10 meters) of water near a small island. Ha Long Bay is one of the country's top tourist attractions, drawing more than 5 million visitors a year to the province where 1,600 stunning jagged rock formations rise out of the bay, forming tiny islands. Many visitors stay overnight on wooden boats equipped with sleeping cabins and eating quarters. more...

Dubai Port Rashid
It's just under a year since the Dubai Cruise Terminal building was officially opened. Its operators claim it can handle three ships and up to 7,000 passengers at a time. Dubai handled 390,000 passengers in 2010, and the number is expected to increase to 625,000 by 2015. New facilities, announced this week, will extend its capabilities to up to five ships at once. "We've had a successful first season, " said Royal Caribbean's Lakshmi Durai. Almost all our sailings have been going full. The second season has been far more successful and is already fully booked." Hamad M. Bin Mejren, executive director of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, says: "Cruise tourists are becoming an increasingly important part of Dubai's tourism industry."

Freeport, Grand Bahamas
The most significant transformation ever of a Princess Cruises ship will occur this spring aboard Grand Princess.  During a 24-day makeover the ship, which was the prototype for the line’s “Grand Class” vessels, will undergo a remarkable renovation to receive many of Princess’ trademark features introduced since the ship’s 1998 debut including the signature Piazza atrium.  - Video -
Artist renderings of the Grand Princess changes are available in a Flickr gallery
more...

Bahamas
Norwegian Cruise Line has completed the first phase of enhancements at Great Stirrup Cay - Video -, the line's 250-acre private island in the Bahamas. On Thursday, February 3, the company opened the new marina and dining facility on the island, representing a significant milestone in the more than $20 million enhancement project currently underway. Norwegian Sky's 2,000 guests were the first to experience the opening of the marina basin with four docks for the island's tenders and the new 8,500 square foot dining facility, complete with two bars and four picnic pavilions.

USA TODAY
A labor of love. That, in a nutshell, sums up what the 1,250-passenger Marina - Foto Tour - has been to Oceania Cruises' founder Frank Del Rio and president Bob Binder -- and it shows. The eight-year-old line's first newly built vessel -- unveiled this week to travel agents and the media -- is chock full of elegant and personal touches, from the oak wood floors in the ship's Jacques Pepin restaurant (salvaged from a barn near the famed French chef's hometown) to the centrally located Grand Staircase commissioned from Lalique. Del Rio and Binder reportedly had a hands-on role in the choosing of nearly every piece of art, furniture and fabric on the 66,000-ton vessel, and no expense, it seems, was spared to make it a showpiece for the upscale line. more...

Quark Expeditions has signed a charter contract for the Sea Spirit to operate in Antarctica for the 2011/2012 winter season. In their News Release, Quark’s President, Hans Lagerweij stated "We don’t think polar travel has to mean minimum comfort to ensure maximum adventure. With the addition of the Sea Spirit, we now provide outstanding comfort while continuing to deliver the Quark brand of polar adventure. Sea Spirit is the future of polar travel and we are leading the evolution. he vessel is available for long term charter from April 2012. For further details of the Sea Spirit and other ISP-managed vessels, please visit the company’s website

Kirkenes/Murmansk
Last week, Kirkenes held an international meeting to discuss establishment of cruise and ferry connection between Norway and Russia. The meeting was attended by Sør-Varanger municipality, business stakeholders - Radius Kirkenes, AECO, Rambol, and representatives of tourism industry. The idea of the "sea link" is based on the development of the Murmansk port. The port needs much to work ot be done before the cruising starts: dredging and shore protection operations, lengthening of the main pier, reconstruction and extension of the sea terminal building, establishment of the checkpoint.The cruise tourism is described as a promising direction in the Murmansk regional Strategy for Socio-Economic Development valid till 2025. The decision is taken to include the development of cruise tourism between two countries into Kolarctic ENPI CBC, one of the financing instruments of the European Union implemented on the external borders of the EU.
In 2010, the Murmansk region took its first effort to apply for funding within the Korarctic programme; 9 Murmansk- related projects were approved. Preliminary, Alakurtti technopark is also on the project funding list. 
Barentsnova

In a long-anticipated milestone in the effort to save and redevelop the legendary ocean liner SS United States, the SS United States Conservancy has announced that it will purchase the nation's historic "ship of state." Full details on this major development will be disclosed at a press briefing scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, at 3 p.m., EST at IKEA South Philadelphia, across Columbus Boulevard from the liner.

Color Line reintroduces the rebuilt ferry SuperSpeed 1 - Video - on its Kristiansand–Hirtshals service. The ferry has been converted for NOK 100 million by STX Finland in Helsinki. The ferry has a new restaurant on decks 7 and 8. The capacity of the vessel has increased by 450 persons. The owner has an option for a similar conversion of the sistership SuperSpeed 2.

Sources have told Cruise Industry News that the S.S. United States Conservancy has finally bought the S.S. United States, tied up in Philadelphia, from Norwegian Cruise Line for a reported $3 million. The ship has been out of service since 1969 and has been the subject of much media attention and speculation as scrapping seemed to be the only option. For example, in 1992 the ship was towed to Turkey and then the Ukraine by new owners to remove asbestos, and then towed back. Now, the Conservancy has bought the historic liner and are looking into making it part of a waterfront developed in Philadelphia. Reports claim the group is also in talks with developers in Miami and New York. Sources say the current berthing space in Philadelphia agreement is good for another 20 months.