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Broken Bits
February 8: The SOLAS 2010 purge continues with MV BLUE MONARCH (ex RENAISSANCE, HOMERIC RENAISSANCE, WORLD RENAISSANCE, AWANI DREAM, GRAND VICTORIA) being sold for $1.8 million USD to scrap merchants after a plan to use the former Paquet liner, once nicknamed "white dolphin", as an hotel ship at Vancouver for the Olympics fell through. The sleek vessel, last spotted in layup at Perama in October, is reportedly destoring at Skaramanga and preparing for her final voyage to Alang or Aliaga. This follows on the heels of the sale of Louis Cruises' SS IVORY (ex AUSONIA, AEGEAN tWO) to scrap merchants last month. The former Adriatica liner, which is preparing for her final voyage after an 18 month layup in Elefsina, will head to the beach under the name WINNER 5. MV DOULOS (ex MEDINA, ROMA, FRANCA C), the oldest seagoing passenger ship in the world, has moved to a shipyard in Singapore for destoring, as well. Apparently two preservation deals have fallen through and the ship is being prepared for a voyage to Indian scrappers. Reports from India claim PLATINUM II (ex INDEPENDENCE, SEA LUCK I, OCEANIC INDEPENDENCE, OCEANIC), aground and abandoned at Gopnath (some ten miles south of Alang), is beginning to suffer structural cracks and it has been said the ship will never be able to move from her current resting place. At Alang-Sosiya, the Yugoslav-built liners DALMACIJA and GLORY (ex ANNA NERY) are being stripped and cutting continues on REGAL EMPRESS (ex OLYMPIA, CARIBE I), which was half-demolished last month. The two remaining P2 transports, the GENERAL JOHN POPE and the GENERAL EDWIN PATRICK, prototypes of the American President Liners ROOSEVELT and CLEVELAND/WILSON, respectively, are the next to go for scrap, according to MARAD sources. The pair is at Suisuin Bay, near San Francisco, and will be removed from the anchorage, cleaned of toxic paint, and towed to Texas for breaking sometime this year. Meanwhile, the dowager SAGA ROSE (ex SAGAFJORD, GRIPSHOLM) is still lingering off Gibraltar awaiting the next chapter in her long life. An encouraging sign came in the form of her missing anchor being replaced but no firm news of a sale has been forthcoming.

FASCINATION Renovation
February 8:  Carnival Cruise Lines continues to enhance its oldest, smallest class of ship, the 70,000 gt FANTASY class, an eight member, 2,634 passenger (maximum capacity) platform that was introduced between 1990 and 1998. The 1994-built FASCINATION underwent a $34 million dry docking and has returned to four and five day cruise service from Jacksonville, FL with a new water park, an adults-only "retreat", redesigned main pool area, new carpeting, more dining stations in its buffet restaurant and 98 tacked on balconies..

ROYAL IRIS Floods
February 6: The ROYAL IRIS, a 1950-built River Mersey ferry, one of Liverpool's most cherished vessels, is sinking in the River Thames in London. Built by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton, Scotland, the ROYAL IRIS sailed on the Mersey for 42 years. In the 1960s, numerous bands associated with the Merseybeat scene performed on the ferry, including The Beatles and Gerry & The Pacemakers. In 1991 she was retired and towed to Cardiff, Wales where she was sold for conversion into a floating nightclub, however the venture was abandoned. Since 2002, the vessel has been laid up on the River Thames awaiting further possibilities. Yesterday, police and lifeguard crews were called after reports that there were people on board the decaying vessel. No one was found on board ROYAL IRIS but the vessel was swamped in mud, with water over her hull.

Life After Knego
February 6: Peter Knego appears on the US TV channel History in the show "LIFE AFTER PEOPLE - Holiday Hell" episode, which airs February 9, at 10pm. Peter is interviewed regarding Alaska cruising and the XANADU/FAITHFUL/(ex WAPPEN VON HAMBURG) recently featured in his Sea Treks Blog Restoring the FAITHFUL . The segment will also include video footage Knego shot in Alaska last summer aboard SAPPHIRE PRINCESS and HANSEATIC.

The History Channel schedule can be located www.history.com

New Home Port For BAHAMAS CELEBRATION
February 5: The Port of Palm Beach, Florida has approved the move of Celebration Cruise Line's BAHAMAS CELEBRATION (ex PRINSESSE RAGNHILD) from Port Everglades. BAHAMAS CELEBRATION will begin a new itinerary from her new home port on March 15. The new service, two night voyages from Palm Beach to Freeport (instead of Nassau), will offer a full-day stay at Freeport. Click here for an illustrated article, BAHAMAS CELEBRATION by Michael Bennett, July 2009 on MaritimeMatters

MV MARINA, A "Reveal" With Appeal!
February 4: One of the most exciting and attractive new ships in years is reaching a milestone in her completion. On February 26, Oceania Cruises' first purpose-built "Oceania Class" vessel, the MV MARINA will be floated out at Sestri Ponente and begin fitting out for her debut in early 2011. We will report live from the scene at the Fincantieri shipyard but in the meantime, Peter Knego attended the Gala Premiere for media and the travel industry at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills this week. Oceania executives were on hand to reveal some of the ship's secrets. Click here for Peter Knego's "Oceania MARINA Gala Premiere (A Reveal With Appeal)" Sea Treks blog, featuring six exclusive video clips and many renderings.

Inchcape Shipping Could Be On The Block
February 3: Reported in UAE business press today, the investment unit of Dubai World, Istithmar World, is looking to sell Inchcape Shipping (ISS). With Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group both advising Istithmar on the sale, about six private equities groups are working on potential bids. Istithmar's portfolio includes QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 and a stake in Cirque du Soleil. Istithmar had bought ISS from a London-based private equity fund Electra Investment Trust for US$285 million.

Olympic Beauty
February 2: Trevor Mills shares a photo of the recently arrived MONA LISA at Squamish, British Columbia in her role as an accommodation ship for the Winter Olympics. Following her stint in Canada, the 1966-built vessel will operate in Europe based cruise service for Lord Nelson Seereisen this summer. The former KUNGSHOLM, SEA PRINCESS, VICTORIA, SCHOLARSHIP, OCEANIC II's fate remains uncertain after that but there is an effort to bring her to her former homeport of Gothenburg to serve as a floating hotel.

NORWEGIAN STAR Charter Cancelled
February 1: Newwest Special Projects of Edmondton, Alberta has abruptly cancelled the Olympic charter of Norwegian Cruise Lines NORWEGIAN STAR, which had been slated to serve as an hotel ship at the Winter Olympic Games in Vanouver. Originally, the charter company was also planning on operating a Pacific Coastal cruise from Los Angeles on February 6th to Vancouver, with the return voyage set for February 28th, prior to NCL resuming Mexico cruises on March 6th. Newwest had priced the rooms starting at over $1,000.00 per night for an inside cabin, which included onboard meals and entertainment. Even with prices slashed to half that amount, apparently demand was simply insufficient to even partially fill the 1,100 available rooms. The ship had been scheduled to berth at the Kinder Morgan Sulphur Docks in North Vancouver, an industrial area across the harbor from downtown Vancouver. The cost of the ship charter alone is estimated at $10 million, which does not include renovations at the temporary industrial terminal.

SS ROTTERDAM Set To Open
February 1: This month is the countdown to the long-awaited public opening of the 1959-built SS ROTTERDAM in the city of Rotterdam. Holland America Line's SS ROTTERDAM was the last great Dutch "ship of state" and sailed from 1959 until her final retirement from cruising in the fall of 2000. After the collapse of second operators, Premier Cruises, the ship, which had been renamed SS REMBRANDT, was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas. She was eventually towed to Gibraltar where work began to turn her in to a museum, hotel and tourist attraction in her old home port of Rotterdam. After more restoration in Cadiz, Spain and Wilhelmshaven, Germany, she returned to the city of Rotterdam on August 4, 2008. SS ROTTERDAM is scheduled to open to the public February 15, 2010.

FaceBook Pages
Both MaritimeMatters and MidShipCentury maintain pages on Facebook:
Click here for the MaritimeMatters Facebook page with regular features such as Ship o'the day, etc. and Peter Knego's the MidShipCentury Facebook page "Fittings From Famous Ocean Liners And Cruise Ships" for frequent updates.

CARNIVAL MIRACLE Sails
January 31: CARNIVAL MIRACLE with her port side temporarily patched, returned to cruising. At about 5:40 PM today, CARNIVAL MIRACLE sailed on an 8-day 8-day western Caribbean cruise to Panama, Costa Rica and Belize.

CARNIVAL MIRACLE Returns
January 31: CARNIVAL MIRACLE returned to Ft. Lauderdale just before 9AM today after rapid repairs were made overnight to a 15 foot gash in the ship's hull at St. Kitts(see item blow).

CARNIVAL MIRACLE Scrapes Pier
January 28: It was reported today that CARNIVAL MIRACLE remained in St. Kitts while repairs were made to a 15-foot gash in the ship's hull. At about 8:35 AM at Port Zante during a docking manoeuvre, a gust of wind may have been responsible for thrusting the ship onto one of the pier's fenders. There were no reports of any injuries. Carnival released a statement that repairs are continuing and the ship will be ready to disembark passengers at Ft. Lauderdale only about four hours behind schedule on Sunday.

Click here for previous SHIPPING NEWS January 2010

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