PANAMAS president has endorsed a $5.25
billion plan to build a new lane and set of locks chambers in the
Panama Canal that would make the canal 180 feet wide and 60 feet
deep, large enough to accommodate the worlds largest cruise ships.
A more environmentally sound system of pumps would recycle 60% of
water used to fill the locks -- presently the fresh water from
reservoirs is flushed out to sea. Proponents of the plan say the
expansion would be funded by canal tolls; opponents say the plan
would cost as much as Panamas annual budget. Voters must approve
the project in a national referendum.
IN THE
WAKE OF the March fire on the Star Princess, the U.K.
Maritime Accident Investigation Branch warned that there are
"serious shortcomings" in fire protection on cruise ship balconies
that require "urgent attention." Tests, for example, showed that
materials on the balconies were "readily ignitable" and that
"polycarbonate balcony divisions generated intense heat and copious
amounts of dense, black smoke as they burned."
THE AGENCY did not
determine the cause of the blaze but said the fire started on a
balcony on Deck 10 and spread to the five decks above within 10
minutes, scorching 79 cabins and damaging another 204 with water or
smoke. The MAIB suggested cruise lines implement the fire safety
guidelines that the International Council of Cruise Lines put forth
in response to the fire.
AMBASSADORS
CRUISE GROUP acquired the first preferred ship mortgage on
the Columbia Queen river vessel and is exploring the possibility of
gaining the ships operating rights, according to Joe Ueberroth,
Ambassadors president and CEO. Ambassadors bought the mortgage for
$5 million from the U.S. Maritime Administration, which had held it
since 2004, when it sold the vessel to the investor group CQ
Acquisitions LLC. CQ Acquisitions operated the ship in 2005 under
the brand Great American Journeys but canceled its 2006 season. CQ
Acquisitions still holds the operating rights to the
ship.
NCL
CORP. broke from tradition by tapping Senator Daniel
Inouye (D-Hawaii) as godfather of its newest ship, the Pride of
Hawaii. Inouye will be the first senator to godfather an NCL ship,
and the first man to do it alone -- Norwegian Cruise Line had all
its employees as godparents of Norwegian Sky. NCL said the senator
will give the keynote address and officially name the ship at its
May 20 ceremony in Los Angeles. The Pride of Hawaii is the third
U.S.-flagged NCL ship sailing under legislation sponsored by
Senator Inouye and passed by Congress in February 2003.
Cruise
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