Peace Boat and Arctech signed a letter of intent for their new Ecoship on 30th May. Peace Boat is Japan’s largest cruise organisation and Arctech is a shipyard based in Helsinki. The Ecoship is described as the most innovative and ecologically friendly cruise vessel ever. A final contract for the 2,000-passenger, 750-cabin and 60,000gt vessel is expected to be signed shortly with the new ship scheduled for delivery in spring 2020. The Ecoship, with her natureinspired architectural design by Spanish company Oliver Design, will be the platform for Peace Boat’s round-the-world cruise carrying 6,000 people per year.

Ponant Cruises held a steel cutting ceremony in May for the third and fourth expedition yachts which are due to be delivered in 2019. The vessels will become Le Bougainville and Le Dumont-d’Urville which will be built as 1C class ice Ponant Explorer ships. The quartet of 131m long ships will feature 92 guest cabins and the first two ships in the quartet will be operational in 2018.

Etstur, a major Turkish tour operator, has chartered the former Louis Aura for a season operating out of Cesme (Izmir) offering cruises to the Greek Islands. The season will run from 24th June to early October with three and four-night cruises offered. The 15,781gt/1968-built and 550 passenger capacity Louis Aura will be renamed Aegean Queen for the season. She was originally launched as the Starward for Norwegian Cruise Line. Etstur had previously chartered the 652 passenger capacity Delphin. Starting as a tour operator in 1991 in Istanbul, Etstur has grown and chartered various ships under its own brand since 2012.

Noble Caledonia’s 4,200gt/1991 built Caledonian Sky made contact with a coral reef in Indonesia on 4th March, causing considerable damage to the reef. The ship was understood to have run aground during low-tide while on a bird-watching theme cruise. Now, the Indonesia government has levied an Rp6 trillion fine, the equivalent of $450 million. The Indonesian environmental ministry said the ship destroyed some 13,270m2 of the coral reef. The company’s insurance company is now negotiating with the government.

Crystal Cruises will offer a second crossing of the Northwest Passage on 15th August when the 68,870gt/2003 built Crystal Serenity will navigate a route through territories of Alaska, Canada and Greenland that are rarely explored by recreational travellers, remaining the only luxury cruise line to make the intrepid trip.

TUI Cruises’ christened the newest fleet member, the 98,811gt Mein Schiff 6, in Hamburg on the evening of 2nd June. The ceremony, accompanied by a firework display and a light show, was held in front of the Elbphilharmonie. The 2,534 passenger capacity and 294m long ship departed from the port on 3rd June on her maiden voyage to Norway and North Cape.

Cunard Line’s 149,215gt/2003 built Queen Mary 2 rescued a sailor taking part in a trans-Atlantic yacht race after several vessels were damaged in rough seas in June. The Royal Western Yacht Club in Plymouth, said that three yachts had set off emergency beacons on 9th June amid 69mph winds and 50-foot waves during their Plymouth-Newport (Rhode Island) race. Canada’s coast guard sent ships and air support to the craft whilst the QM2 rescued a lone yachtsman as part of the operation. The QM2 then continued on her way to Halifax.

Ulstein Design & Solutions AS announced on 29th May that it had been awarded a very important contract by China Merchant Group (CMG), China, who will be constructing an expedition cruise vessel for owner SunStone. The contract includes the design and equipment package for one and options for additional nine vessels. The Ulstein CX103 expedition cruise ship (above) is 104.3m long and 18.4m wide. The ship will accommodate 255 persons including passengers and staff. The hull will be built in accordance with polar class PC6 and complies with the notation Safe Return to Port and Virtual Anchorage. The ship will be built at the China Merchants Heavy Industry yard for SunStone and delivery is scheduled for 2019.

Royal Caribbean Cruises’ next newbuild has been assigned the name Melody of the Seas according to reports. On 10th June the 230,000gt Oasis Class Symphony of the Seas was floated out of her building dock for the first time ahead of her service debut on 28th April 2018 at St. Nazaire.

Celebrity Cruises’ 90,940gt/2002 built Celebrity Constellation was delayed in Barcelona for two days, reportedly due to propulsion issues, departing 29th May on a revised itinerary. The ship had undergone a two-week refit earlier in the month.

Silversea Cruises’ 6,130gt/1989 built Silver Explorer made local headlines on 10th June when she suffered mechanical issues upon departing from Pembroke. The vessel subsequently struck the Traynor Buoy and was assisted back to her berth at the Pembroke Dock Ferry Terminal by two tugs. Some minor delays were caused to shipping movements whilst the situation was addressed.

Star Cruises was voted “Asia’s Leading Cruise Line 2017″ on 4th June at the 24th Annual World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony held in Shanghai.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 43,537gt/1988 built Balmoral commenced her second cruise season from the Port of Tyne, Newcastle on 25th May 2017. She will be departing on a total of 13 voyages from Newcastle in 2017. Meanwhile that Black Watch commenced the company’s 2017/18 cruise season from Dover on 4th June 2017, and the Boudicca returned to Liverpool on 9th June 2017 for her 2017/2018 season that involves 10 cruise departures.