This represented a small decrease in business, down from 126,844 passengers in 2001. This year 230 calls are scheduled although 'more tonnage may arrive if lines take the decision to move Med-based tonnage westwards to perceived safer waters,' Raymond Ceccaldi, president CCI of Ajaccio and South Corsica told Seatrade Insider.

The summer season officially started in Ajaccio two weeks ago with the visit of Seven Seas Voyager. HAL's Noordam will call six times and Brilliance of the Seas once but with Americans accounting for only 9% of the passengers on the 131 calls at Ajaccio in 2002, the port is expecting once again mainly European cruiseships this season.

A new 1,500sq mtr congress centre 'Millenari' located portside in Ajaccio is now completed which can double as a passenger terminal if required. A EUR15m berth investment has also been approved and construction of a 260mtr long quay should start next year. The pier would take 18 months to complete. The port is hoping to attract turnarounds 'within two years' added Ceccaldi.

At South Corsica's other ports Bonifacio, which welcomes mainly luxury ships is expecting a 50% increase in calls this year with 79 ships scheduled and EUR15m is being invested on infrastructural improvements at Porto Vecchio and Propriano which will start at the end of this year. A mooring buoy closer to the shore will be added at Porto Vecchio this summer which will shorten the journey time from anchorage.

The yard is now discussing restructuring measures with staff unions and the job cuts will take place over the coming nine months through to year-end. It is unclear at this stage where the losses will occur but they will be across all departments and involve skilled labour.

Meyer Werft started reorganising at Papenburg in 2001. A second covered building dock and modern laserwelding plants were added. Organisational procedures were also modified. With these measures in place and the projected job cuts, the yard is in a position to internally compensate phases of underemployment says Hackmann.

The current orderbook consist of four ships, two 90,000gt cruiseships for Royal Caribbean, a 40,000gt ferry for Brittany Ferries and a smaller ferry for Indonesia. These will all be delivered by summer 2004. Options for two Radiance-class ships have been extended to this September. If the yard is successful in gaining these options, the 800 job cuts will still go ahead says Hackmann.

Tor Bolme heads the office at Støperigaten 16 B and can be reached at [email protected] Oslo-based ScanNautic also operates branch offices in Bergen, Ålesund (ScanWeco), Hammerfest and Longyearbyen and has subagents in most Norwegian ports.

'There is not a better place in the world than Monaco, synonym of great hospitality and style, for such a ceremony,' said Mark Conroy, president and ceo of Radisson Seven Seas. 'When we entered the industry 11 years ago with Radisson Diamond, we had 15,000 guests a year. In 2000, 75,000. With Voyager, we reckon with 100,000 in 2003.'

Godmother Barbara Carlson Gage, daughter of founder Curtis Carlson and co-owner/director of Carlson Companies broke the ceremonial bottle of champagne on the white hull, adding: 'If my father was here, he would have a twinkle in his eyes, a large smile and be very happy...'

Crown Prince Albert said, 'It is a great pleasure to welcome this fine ship, the first one to moor alongside our new pier, a facility which is for us also an opportunity to reiterate our dedication to the sea. It will allow us to better shelter the harbour, accommodate several ships and emphasize our committment to maritime tourism.'

The 352mtr long semi-floating breakwater used by Voyager was built in Spain and towed to its home last August. This unique facility will be used for cruiseships from this summer although work is still on-going, including the building of a 360-car garage underneath.

Work on the 2,350-passenger Royal Caribbean International ship will begin discreetly in mid-April while the vessel is in service, followed by what RCI called 'major demolition and rebuilding' beginning in mid-May in Freeport.

Some changes planned for the 1991-built Monarch are borrowed from the newest RCI vessels, such as the additions of a rock-climbing wall, an Asian-fusion buffet in the Windjammer Cafe, a coffee and ice cream parlor serving Seattle's Best Coffee and Ben & Jerry's ice cream and a Latin-themed music bar, Boleros. Also, Monarch's fitness center will be relocated and expanded, the main dining rooms will be refurbished and renamed ('Claude's' and 'Vincent's,' with color palettes inspired by Monet and Van Gogh), space for the youth program will triple, a lounge will transform into a disco, and a new conference center will add three meeting rooms seating a total of 240. All cabins and cabin bathrooms will be updated.

At the free programs, agents will learn about Delta Queen itineraries, theme sailings, group policies, commissions and preferred supplier arrangements. Seminars are set for Norfolk (April 24), Charlotte (April 29); Pittsburgh, San Diego and Austin (May 6); Newport Beach (May 7), Louisville (May 12), Houston and Ontario, Calif. (May 13), Detroit (May 14), Dallas (May 20), Milwaukee (May 22), Rochester (May 27), Newark (May 28), Hicksville, NY (May 29), Atlanta (June 3), Orlando (June 4), Tampa (June 5), Monterey (June 10), Cleveland and Sacramento (June 17), Portland, Ore. (June 24), Dubuque (July 16), St. Paul (July 19) and St. Louis (September 14). Information at Delta Queen's US agent hotline: 888-888-2628.

The Miami station under Consul General Guro Vikor was particularly active in the shipping community and held responsibility for Florida, South and North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.

Starting on May 15, the Miami station becomes an honorary consulate led by new Consul General Trond Jensen (president and ceo of the Bounty Group) and Honorary Consul Leif Griffin (of High Seas Trading Co.). Astrid Henriques continues as consulate secretary. Responsibility for the territory will be dispersed among four stations.

Ending a long stateside posting, Vikor will return to Norway's Foreign Ministry in Oslo, where she hopes to continue working with international commercial interests, particularly shipping. Vice Consul Brita Ve Magnusson will move to the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC to serve as vice consul under Ambassador Knut Vollebaek.

House Bill 207 was introduced in the Alaska legislature last week by Rep. Carl Gatto, a Republican from District 13, which includes the Kenai Peninsula.

'We're going to talk with the legislators and make sure our key message about the importance of tourism and cruise passengers in Alaska is understood and how detrimental a bill like this would be,' said John Hansen, president of the North West Cruiseship Association.

The bill has been referred to the House Special Committee on Economic Development, International Trade and Tourism and the Transportation and Finance committees.

Seatrade Insider was unable to reach a yard spokesman late in the day for comment.

The Papenburg yard is due to deliver Serenade of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International's third 90,000gt Radiance-class vessel, late this year, followed by sister Jewel of the Seas in June 2004. Additional Radiance options have been repeatedly postponed.

'We have been assured by the yard that the reduction in workforce will not have an impact on the building of our ships,' Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Lynn Martenstein told Seatrade Insider.

Serenade of the Seas is scheduled to leave the covered building dock in mid-June and move to the outfitting pier. Passage on the Ems River is set for mid-July.

Deilmann is combining seven-night sailings on the 50-passenger tall ship to ports in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland with six cruise-tours of 13 to 16 days adding such destinations as Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Oslo, the fjords of Norway and an Elbe River cruise on the MV Dresden from Dresden to Hamburg.

Lili Marleen will sail two alternating itineraries in the Lower Baltic roundtrip from Neustadt, Germany. The Western Baltic sailings call at the islands of Aeroskobing and Funen in the Danish archipelago, Copenhagen and the towns of Falkenberg in Sweden and Wismar in Germany. The Eastern Baltic sailings call at Ystad, the Polish port of Gydnia (for Gdansk) and the Danish island of Bornholm.