Cruise operator Royal Caribbean Group said on Tuesday it reached a deal to sell its Azamara brand to private-equity firm Sycamore Partners for $201 million in cash, as it grapples with biting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.Sycamore Partners will acquire the entire Azamara brand, including its three-ship fleet—Azamara Quest
Three people were rescued from a 71-year-old tugboat that sank south of Puerto Rico on Thursday.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector San Juan fielded a mayday call from the crew of the 112-foot U.S.-flagged tug Proassist III, stating they were taking on water approximately two miles south of Yabucoa Harbor.
Shipbuilding group Austal announced Friday that its Vietnam yard opened in 2018 has delivered its first vessel fully constructed at the Vung Tau shipyard.The 94-meter high-speed catamaran A.P.T James was officially handed over from Austal Vietnam to the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCo)
Cruise operator Royal Caribbean Group said on Monday it would stop all its cruises through the end of the year, extending previous suspensions, as coronavirus infections continue to increase globally.The company's announcement comes days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a framework for a phased resumption of cruise ship operations
Royal Caribbean Group reported a billion-dollar net loss for a third straight quarter on Thursday, as the cruise operator suffered from a COVID-19-driven halt to voyages.The cruise industry has virtually come to a standstill as the pandemic halted voyages that had become a hotbed of infection.
U.S. Coast Guard air and surface rescue crews at Sector San Juan responded and assisted the distressed M/V Island Express Wednesday afternoon, after the ship started taking on water when it departed the Port of San Juan for storm avoidance in anticipation of Tropical Cyclone 9.The M/V Island Express, a Cyprus flagged 412-foot ro-ro cargo ship
Delivery of the world's largest cruise ship Wonder of the Seas has been delayed due to coronavirus impacts at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The shipyard delays mean Royal Caribbean's new record-breaking cruise ship will not enter service from Shanghai in spring 2021 as planned
Shipbuilder Austal Australia has delivered a new 118-meter fast ferry to Fred. Olsen Express.The high-speed trimaran ferry Bajamar Express is the first of two identical vessels ordered by Fred. Olsen Express in a €126 million ($142.8 million) contract in October 2017. The second vessel, Bañaderos Express, is under construction at Austal Philippines shipyard in Balamban, Cebu
Royal Caribbean Cruises on Wednesday launched a $3.3 billion bond offering, pledging 28 of its ships as collateral and forecast heavy losses for the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic brings the sector to a virtual standstill.Royal Caribbean, which was forced to suspend its cruises globally and cut about 26% of its U.S.
Operational trials of unmanned equipment in Norway offered a glimpse of the UK Royal Navy's autonomous future. Royal Marines small boat specialists 47 Commando have been working alongside HMS Albion, the Royal Navy’s autonomous accelerator NavyX and the Office for the Chief Technology Officer to see how the kit can be put to use in real world situations.
Longtime cruise industry executive Adam Goldstein has left Royal Caribbean Cruises after more than 30 years with the company.Goldstein was most recenlty Vice Chairman of RCL from 2018. From 2014 to 2018, he served as President & COO and from 2007 to 2014, he was President & CEO of the Royal Caribbean International brand. Goldstein has been with RCL since 1988.
Austal Limited announce that Austal Australia has launched Hull 394, the first of two 118-meter high-speed trimaran ferries currently under construction for Fred. Olsen Express of the Canary Islands.The aluminum vehicle-passenger ferry, to be known as Bajamar Express, was launched at Austal’s Henderson, Western Australia shipyard on February 4, and is now in the final stages of fit out