Plantours Kreuzfahrten‘s cruise ship Hamburg (above) returned to Kiel on 10th August ready for service after spending over two months receiving extensive repairs. The German cruise line had to charter the 600-passenger Deutschland after their 420-passenger ship developed a propulsion issue off the coast of Kent when a fishing line became tangled in the propellers. A few days later the 15,067gt/1997 built ship called at Tobermory en route from Dublin to Hamburg on 11th May 2015. The ship contacted the seabed when heading into Tobermory Bay and the propeller struck a rock causing the ship to temporarily black out. The port engine could no longer be used and the ship then limped on to Belfast. After arrival in port the ship was inspected and a visit to dry dock was instructed. The Deutschland conveyed 13,200 Plantours passengers over 2,200 nautical miles in the 62 days that she was on charter.

Celebratory Welcome for Veteran. On 13th August, day 21 of a 36 night Commemorative Voyage, which departed London Tilbury on 24th July, saw the 50 year old CMV ship Marco Polo welcomed in style to Montréal.

Carnival Cruises’ Carnival Liberty suffered an engine room fire whilst in St. Thomas on 7th September. The on board fire suppression system extinguished the fire and there were no reported injuries to guests or crew. All guests were ashore in St. Thomas at the time. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the ship spent two days in port.

Cunard: The QE2 has been moved to Port Rashid, Dubai. Her external condition is now simply awful and clearly the ambitious plans for her have evaporated once again. Projects to relocate the ship to the River Clyde or Thames have been mentioned but without an incessant supply of money this seems unlikely considering the ship’s neglected state and huge upkeep costs.

Holland America Line’s Ryndam made her final call at Rotterdam and The Netherlands for HAL on 13th September prior to her transformation into a P&O Australia ship.

Hurtigruten announced in early September that its newest ship, the 7,025gt/2009 built Norway Explorer, will be renamed the Spitsbergen after the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago. This very northernmost part of Norway is also where, in 1896, Hurtigruten’s founder Richard With first started explorer tourism in the Arctic. The name was chosen following a competition in which more than 15,000 suggestions were submitted from all over the world. The company has also announced that it is seeking tenders from shipyards for 2+2 combined expedition cruise ship/Hurtigruten vessels. This “future proof” concept will prepare the company for a future where Hurtigruten loses the contract after which it is named. The Norwegian yards of Noryards Fosen and Kleven will bid.

MSC Cruises: Something a little unusual took place aboard the MSC Splendida in Southampton on 1st September when MSC Cruises set a new World Record for the ‘Fastest mile by a marching band.’ Musicians from the British Imperial Military Band completed multiple laps of a specially-measured circuit of the cruise ship’s pool deck, completing the one-mile march in an impressive 14 minutes 26 seconds. The record-breaking feat was watched by hundreds of guests aboard the 137,936grt/2009 built ship, which was in the middle of an 11-night round-Britain cruise from Hamburg, Germany.

Semester at Sea’s World Odyssey (above), the former Deutschland, arrived at Southampton from Kiel on 9th September to be made ready for her first voyage in her new guise on 13th September when she sailed outward via the Western Solent.

Tender Incident: On 24th August the 85,619gt/2003 built Costa Mediterranea came close to losing a tender craft whilst at anchor in the fjord of Kotor in Montenegro. As the tender (lifeboat No.6) was being lowered ready for use a cable failed on the stern of the tender, leaving it hanging in a near vertical position. The errant craft fell again as it was being retrieved before a successful recovery was achieved. Costa Cruises cancelled the subsequent call in Argostoli in order to complete repairs. The ship had departed from Trieste on 22nd August and was bound for Rhodes, Greece.