Cruise ship Queen Elizabeth 2 was sold for scrap

   The oldest operating cruise ship of the world Queen Elizabeth 2 will be sold for scrap to Chinese Buyers. The vessel was a former flagman of Cunard Cruises and the oldest operating cruise ships, but the project for transforming it to floating luxury hotel failed and the Chinese breakers contracted to buy it for 20 million GBP. The ship is now moored in the commercial port of Dubai, as there was a big project to continue operating as floating hotel, but the O2 Arena calculated it as unprofitable. The cruise ship is one of the most interesting and most beautiful cruise ships built ever, having own old-style classical design same as Titanic. During its career Queen Elizabeth 2 carrier more than 2.1 million passengers and sailed more than 5.5 million nautical miles.

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Passenger ship with 162 students on board ran aground in Japan

   The trip cruise ship Ginga ran aground off Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. On board of the vessel were 162 high school students and teachers, who were on cruise trip around the coast. Due to navigation mistake and hit by the current, the cruise ship ran aground on rocky shoals on 1 nautical mile off Suo-Oshima Town shores. The duty officers on board of the ship Ginga sent a distress signal and the coast guard sent immediately several rescue boats at the scene of the accident. All the passengers and crew members were rescued without any serious injuries. The local authorities and coast guard started salvage operations to tug the vessel and refloat it, but the hull is broken and there is water ingress.

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Two cruise ships detained in Marseille for debts

   The two cruise ships Athena and Princess Danae, which are operated by the company Classic International Cruises were arrested in Marseille, France. The owner and operator of the ships had serious debts for crew wages and fuel bunkers from the port companies. The two vessel were detained in the port and all the current and coming cruises were canceled. The company Classic International Cruises promised that all the passengers will be repatriated and the money for their cruises will be returned. The preliminary information was that cruise ships will leave Marseille with delay, because of the strong winds, but later the cruise was canceled and the company explained the exact situation.

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Queen Victoria suffered technical failure in propulsion system

   Technical failure in propulsion system of the cruise ship Queen Victoria canceled a Mediterranean cruise of the vessel. Thee engineers suffered serious damage in one of the propulsion units and the ship was able to operate with half speed only, which caused interruption of the voyage. The officers informed all the passengers about the technical malfunction and navigated the cruise ship to the home port of Southampton. The 16 night cruise in Mediterranean was canceled as the engineers of the company were not able to repair the propulsion unit. The new part was ordered and the ship will enter in the dockyard for repair and inspection. The maintenance is planned to take between 5 and 7 days, which definitely means that the operator from Cunard Cruises will cancel the future voyage and to brake the holiday of thousands of customers.

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Azamara Quest will be drydocked in Spain

   Azamara Quest will be repaired and partitially refurbished in November 2012 in Cadiz, announced from Azamara Club Cruises. The cruise ship will be drydocked and the hull and superstructure will be repaired by the damages and will be refreshed with new dark blue facelift. According to the schedule the ship will enter into Navantia Shipyard on 7th November 2012 and will spend eight days in the drydock. The plan is the hull and super structure to be recovered from rust and slight damage, getting a new impressive facelift. A partial refurbishment will be done to the lobby and the VIP suites on board. After the repair the cruise ship Azamara Quest will start a 13-night cruise in Madeira and Canary Islands, which will present the new look of the vessel. In December the vessel will head to South America, where will start the next season and will have several voyages in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and etc.

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Carnival Breeze broke lines in Venice

   The cruise ship Carnival Breeze cut its lines, while being mored in Venice. The accident was caused by strong winds of more than 70 mph and heavy sea. The vessel was berthed at the quay, when two of the transverse lines broke and the captain reacted immediately, releasing the other lines and started maneuvering with the vessel. During the accident on board of the cruise ship Carnival Breeze were more than 3000 passengers, who were informed about the situation. The master was able to stabilize the movement of the ship, keeping it away from the pier. The master of Carnival Breeze started again the maneuvering operations and berthed the cruise ship again in less than an hour. No-one was injured during the accident and the ship caused no damages. The port authorities admired the accurate and adequate actions of the captain, which saved the port and the ship. The ship was in 11-night Mediterranean sailing cruise and one of the ports was Venice, where the acciden…

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Cruise ship Yorktown ran aground in Detroit River

   The cruise ship Yorktown ran aground in Detroit River, carrying 100 passengers on board. The accident happened near West Jefferson Avenue in Ecorse. The ship was on 8-day trip to Canada with 100 passengers and 26 crew members, when due to the low tide and officer's mistake hit a sand bank and ran aground. The distress signal was sent to the port authority, which send tug boat, to help in the salvage operations. The vessel was successfully re-floated and headed to Detroit for survey and inspection. The hull has no serious damages and the cruise ship Yorktown continued its voyage to Canada passing through Cleveland, Montreal and reaching Quebec City. During the accident there were no injured people and no water pollution in Detroit River. The local port authorities are investigating the reason for the accident and might head accuse to the shipowner and fine it, for the grounding.

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Birka Paradise

   The cruise ship Birka Paradise is part from the fleet of Birka Cruises and definitely one of the most beautiful and most luxury cruise ships built ever. The the length of the vessel is 177.00 m, the beam is 28.00 m and the depth is 9.40 m. The cruise ship has summer draft of 6.50 m, when operating fully bunkered and loaded. Birka Paradise has deadweight of 4,400 DWT and gross tonnage of 34,728 GRT. Such large dimensions and tonnage are showing the majesty of the ship, but even from the first sight can be noted the luxury interior and design. The cruise ship Birka Paradise has capacity for 1,800 passengers with double occupancy. The vessel has 10 passenger decks from total eleven stages. The interior is luxury and comfortable, providing really great cruise for all the guests. In any case on board the passengers have not only great accommodations and service, but also many public facilities and places. On board of Birka Paradise there are sports fields, fitne…

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Cruise ship Dawg Daze exploded in USA

   The charter passenger vessel Dawg Daze got explosion on board 28 miles off Portland, USA. The explosion was followed by fire on board and the officers sent immediately distress signal to the coast guard. The officers reported for one injured passenger during the explosion. The coast guard sent rescue boat with fire fighting equipment to the scene of the accident, which reached the vessel 8 nautical miles off shore. All the passengers were transfered to the rescue boat and the max was transported to the Maine Medical Center for treatment. The condition of the injured passenger is unknown, but according to the press release there is no danger to his life. All other passengers are reported to be in good health condition and to have no serious injuries. The port authorities and coast guard started investigation of the accident and found that the source of fire is butane stove, which exploded due to technical malfunction.

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Cruise vessel Didim Mavisi caught fire in Turkey

   The cruise ship Didim Mavisi caught fire with 100 passengers on board in Aegean sea. The vessel was operating on shore cruise near the coast of Sarimsakli, Turkey, when suddenly fire started from the public places on board. The captain and the crew started fire fighting and maneuvering to the shores, where ship dropped anchor. None of the passengers is seriously injured during the accident, but the ship is fully damaged. Many of the passengers jumped overboard and swam to the shore, as the weather in the region was good and the coast was on less than half a mile. The good actions of the crew were awarded by many passengers, but they did not missed to tell that vessel was in bad condition and there were not enough life saving appliances. The coast guard and port authorities of Sarimsakli started investigation of the accident and the reason for the fire.

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