Page 32: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1999)

Cruise Industry Report P&O Stakes Claim In German Cruise Market P&O will enter the German cruise market with an initial investment of $80.6 million in a 51 percent stake in a joint venture cruise company it is form-ing with privately owned German group Arkona Touristik. The new company, Aida Cruises, will reportedly order two new ships to com-plement the 1,200 berth Aida. P&O has an option to take full control of the ven-ture once the ships are delivered. The company maintains that Germany is the next big market to be developed for ocean cruises, and will allow P&O to build on its strengths in the three exist-ing key markets - the U.S., Britain and Australia. P&O is also acquiring the Seetours International business from Arkona for an undisclosed sum; the Aida and See-tours business combined representing 25 The Revolutionary New Shaft Seal for Water-Lubricated Sterntubes... From The Makers of The Original SIMPLEX SEAL - Blohm + Voss Keep The Pressure On With SIMPLAN® Exclusively Distributed and Serviced in North America by: i I SIMPLEX-TURMAR Effective in Both iM^ Blue & Brown Water ? Eliminates-Shaftwear, pUw Water in Bilge & Wm Frequent Maintenance m Lr W Work Boats, Fishing Boats & Pleasure Craft SIMPLAN"' features a unique neoprene seal body whose flexibility compensates for large axial and angular shaft movements, which provides greater operational reliability and a longer life. SIMPLAN® contains a revolutionary breakthrough for operation in poor conditions. The seal faces are composed of a SiC/SiC pairing, which is the first time ever that two hard materials have been combined. This innovation makes the life of SIMPLAN® Seals practically unlimited. OUR WORLDWIDE around-the-clock service network for all Simplex-Compact prod-ucts is in effect for SIMPLAN® Shaft Seals. Also,its modular design, along with its split carbon ring and its simple installation tool, make the SIMPLAN® Seal extremely user friendly. For More Information Call: 888-357-3257 Or Visit Our Web Site: www.simplex-turmar.com Regional Offices: Great Lakes ? East Coast ? West Coast ? Gulf Coast percent of the German cruise market. Arkona is owned by the Rahe family through the former East German ship-ping group DSR, privatized in 1993. Aida is aimed at younger to middle-aged Germans and offers health and fit-ness facilities on board. The two new ships, to be built by the Aker MTV Werft are scheduled for delivery in 2002 and 2003. Last month P&O said its Princess Cruises business performed strongly in the third quarter with occupancy reach-ing 103.8 percent from 101.7 percent a year earlier. P&O Cruises (U.K.) had occupancy of 99.7 percent against 99.9 percent. Princess yields for the year to date were in line on a like-for-like basis with last year despite a 24.4 percent increase in capacity, it added. P&O said demand for cruises ? which account for some 40 percent of group operating profit ? remained high with Princess bookings for 2000 particularly strong in the Caribbean and Alaska. P&O Cruises (U.K.) bookings for 2000 were also pro-gressing well with yields in line. Princess Cruises includes nine ships operated from the U.S. and one in Aus-tralia. P&O Cruises covers three British-based ships and the Swan Hel-lenic ship Minerva. AMCV Vessels Taking Shape 32 Circle 331 on Reader Service Card The much-watched progress of two new cruise vessels under construction for AmericanClassic Voyages at Ingalls Shipbuilding are quickly taking shape, at least in the area of equipment selec-tion. The ships are destined for Hawaii inter-island service, and will be the largest U.S. flag cruise ships ever built, and the first large passenger vessels built in the U.S. in more than 40 years. The project has generated an under-standable amount of interest in the world shipbuilding community, and competition to secure an order on the ship has been fierce. Last month it was divulged that the Mermaid podded propulsion system was selected to propel the first two ves-sels, with an option for a third. Each ship will be equipped with two Mermaid propulsors, each with a rated power of 12.5 MW. The Mermaid system was jointly developed by Kamewa and ALSTOM, with Kamewa responsible for hydrodynamics and ALSTOM for _ the electric drive. The $28.5 million Maritime Reporter/Engineering News