P&O Cruises to get seventh ship
P&O Cruises' parent Carnival Corporation has signed a letter of intent with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for a new 116,000gt ship to be delivered by its Monfalcone yard at a cost of EUR535m. The newbuild will have a capacity of 3,076 and bring P&O Cruises' fleet up to seven when she enters service in spring 2010.

Float out of new Cunarder
Special ceremonies at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard near Venice on 15 January marked the float out of Cunard's latest liner, Queen Victoria, and saw dignitaries from Cunard and the shipyard ceremoniously 'weld' two coins, a euro and a gold sovereign, into the ship's mast. After the new 90,000gt Queen was blessed and a bottle of wine smashed over her bows, the valves of the building dock were opened and thousands of tons of water cascaded in to wet the £300 million ship's hull for the first time.

Dramas in the North Sea
The atrocious weather which struck the British Isles in early January gave rise to several incidents at sea. A less than traditional Scottish New Year was enjoyed by the six crew members of the coaster Emsland (1,857gt) whose vessel grounded on the Annat Bank at the mouth of the river South Esk, just outside the harbour at Montrose, at the end of December 2006.

Container controversy for cargo ship
During January, the British-registered container vessel MSC Napoli (62,277gt) hit the national headlines after getting into trouble in the storms. She was towed to Lyme Bay and grounded while many of her containers, which had been lost overboard, were washed ashore on Branscombe beach and their contents taken by locals.

Amos on the move
Plans to save John H. Amos, the UK's last surviving steam paddle tug, have moved forward. She has been lying ashore on the banks of the Medway at Chatham for many years, but was due to be lifted in January by the floating crane Atlas, and transferred to the floating pontoon Portal Narvik.

Liberty plans
Hopes are high that another Liberty ship will be saved for preservation. In October 2006, US Congress passed a defence authorisation measure which will allow Arthur M. Huddell to be donated to the Government of Greece. It is planned to moor the ship in Piraeus as a floating museum dedicated to the history of the Greek merchant marine and its impact on the nation, as well as the historic ties of friendship between Greece and the USA.Arthur M. Huddell was built by St John's River SB Co and completed in December 1943. The following year she was converted to a pipelayer to lay fuel lines across the English Channel in the wake of the D-Day landings. She was laid up in Suisun Bay in 1946, but was reactivated ten years later as a cable ship for American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), finally retiring in 1984.

Two to tender
Caledonian MacBrayne, the present service provider, and management company V Ships, have been invited by the Scottish Executive to tender for a network of Clyde and Hebridean ferry services linking 23 islands and four peninsulars that handles 4.7 million passengers, a million cars and 100,000 commercial vehicles each year.

Blue Star 1 switches
The 2000-built Blue Star 1 from Blue Star Ferries is operating the Superfast Ferries service linking Rosyth and Zeebrugge this year, taking over on 30 January, when previous North Sea ship Superfast X (2002/30,295gt) was delivered to Veolia Transport for service with SNCM in the Western Mediterranean.Constructed in Holland at the now closed Van der Giessen-de Noord yard, the 29,415gt Blue Star 1 sails under a 'code share' arrangement with Attica Group sister company Superfast Ferries.

Carnival's joint venture
Carnival Corporation has entered into a joint venture with German tour operator TUI to operate and develop AIDA Cruises and a new TUI Cruises brand. Unlike AIDA, already well-established and a part of the Carnival Group, the new company will provide a more traditional cruise experience for an older clientele.

Power problems disrupt sailings
Holland America's Ryndam (1994/55,451gt) suffered engine problems on 8 December as she sailed from Tampa for a 14-day Caribbean cruise. An hour after sailing with 1,250 passengers, there was a power failure as the fourth engine was being started. The ship's emergency back-up kicked in to provide power for vital systems.

All this and more in the March 2007 edition of Ships Monthly available from the Ships Monthly office as a back issue.