Marine Log - June 2008 - (Page 28)

CRUISESHIPPING BY BILL EBERSOLD GREEN AT SEA: Grass and trees will be part of the Central Park concept on the Oasis of the Seas, the first of two 220,00 grt ships, which will debut in 2009 OPTIMISM ABOUNDS DESPITE SLOWING ECONOMY espite spiraling oil prices, a weak dollar and general concern for the state of the global economy, the cruise industry has begun 2008 with a strong performance. All 2007 traffic figures have been reported, and first quarter 2008 results reported by the publicly traded Carnival and Royal Caribbean have exceeded expectations. The orderbook remains strong, and pricing has firmed in the Caribbean. Once again, the U.S.-based cruise lines are off to Europe for seasonal deployment, to take advantage of double-digit growth in demand to further establish strong bases from which to compete with European-based brands, supplementing their seasonal deployment with acquisitions (Pullmantur by RCI) joint ventures with European brands (Iberojet Cruceros and Carnival), new brands (CDF Croisieres de France and TUI Cruises), and increasingly, year-round deployments in Europe. D FLEET Four new ships were delivered by May 1, adding more than 11,000 berths and 429,000 gt to the global fleet. Three of the four are for European brands, while RCI’s Independence of the Seas will be deployed in Europe until fall. On May 1, 2008, the global fleet of ocean-going cruise ships greater than 1,000 gt stood at 328 ships of 13.7m gt and 360,000 lower berths. Six more new ships are expected by the end of the year, bringing total deliveries for 2008 to 26,000 berths and just over 1 million gt, (up 7.6% for the year). Even more new tonnage is expected in 2009, with 12 ships totaling 1.1 million gt adding 7.7% to the fleet. Another banner year in 2010, before the current orderbook begins to taper off, assures three years of compound annual growth rates in excess of 7.5%, and a fleet of 16.5 million gt (431,000 lower berths) by the end of 2010. ORDERBOOK The global cruise ship orderbook on May 1, 2008 comprised 43 ships (3.9m gt tons and 98,000 lower berths) for delivery through 2012 at an estimated cost of $25.5billion, or about $261,000 per lower berth. The estimated cost is somewhat inflated by conversion of euro contracts to current dollars. The sharp rise in the average cost per berth is due partly to this conversion and partly to an increasing number of small luxury vessels on order. The orderbook still amounts to 29 percent of the gt and 27 % of the lower berth capacity of the current fleet. Virtually all the current orderbook is being built in Europe, with Italy (42%), Germany (28%), France (18%) and Finland (11%) building more than 99% of the berth capacity. Nineteen separate brands are represented in the current orderbook. Celebrity has the largest number of lower berths on order (14,125), followed by Costa www.marinelog.com 28 MARINE LOG JUNE 2008 YEARBOOK http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - June 2008

Marine Log - June 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Innovation Needed to Meet Crew Shortage Optimism Abounds Despite Slowing Economy Can Shipping's Shopaholics Keep Up the Buying Binge? Can Congress Keep Navy Shipbuilding Off the Rocks? Fitting the Ultra-deepwater Pieces Together Generation Next Higher Demand, Higher Prices Demand Up For Large Combination Vessels The Dirty Truth About Emissions SSAS: Realizing Its Potential Fuel Saving Technology Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Buyer's Guide Website Directory ML Marketplace Tech Talk

Marine Log - June 2008

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