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SCHIFFFAHRT | SHIPPINGShip NameOperatorViking MiraViking Ocean CruisesViking LibraViking Ocean CruisesViking 15Viking Ocean CruisesViking 16Viking Ocean CruisesViking 17Viking Ocean CruisesViking 18Viking Ocean CruisesViking 19Viking Ocean CruisesViking 20Viking Ocean CruisesStar SeekerWindstar CruisesStar ExplorerWindstar CruisesTotalSource: Hader, February 2025GT53,80053,80053,80053,80053,80053,80053,80053,8009,3009,3007,764,019Lower beds998998998998998998998998224224169,962Delivery20262026-122027202820282029203020302025-122026-12ShipyardFincantieriFincantieriFincantieriFincantieriFincantieriFincantieriFincantieriFincantieriWest Sea, PTGWest Sea, PTGthe owner of the old ship accepted acharter contract as floating hotel for asylumseekers in the Netherlands, the cruiseoperator lost his only seagoing ship.German and British passengers mayremember the »Berlin« of Deilmann, thefirst Dreamship in German TV. Followinga lengthening she had 412 beds in9,570 GT. Later known as »Spirit of Adventure«and »FTI Berlin« she was sold inthe Pandemic and spent years in lay-upin Greece. Now she is under moder -nization in China for regional cruises outof Penang as »Berlin Oceanis«.The famous shipyard Meyer at Papenburgran into financial difficulties,caused, among others, by delays and lackof orders during the pandemic and by risingprices. While the European competitorsFincantieri and Chantiers de l’Atlantiqueor Waigaoquiao are either stateownedor subsidised by defense contracts,Meyer Papenburg is owned by the Familysince 1795 and focuses on commercialships, mainly cruise ships. Being an importantplayer in the German and localindustry, the Governments of Germanyand Lower Saxony have bought 40 % ofthe shares. This way cruise ship constructionwill remain mainly in Europe forsome years more and not go to China likemost of the shipbuilding market.In a strengthening market the numberof ships in lay-up is going down. TheGreek ferry operator is still waiting for abuyer of the former »Majesty of the Seas«,»Veendam« and »Oceana«. Moreover,The 744 passenger vessel »Asuka III«, owned by NYK Cruises, left the Meyer Werft ship dock in January 2025© Meyer Werft26 HANSA – International Maritime Journal 04 | 2025
SCHIFFFAHRT | SHIPPINGonly a few small ships are charter-free fordifferent reasons.The fate of the former »Song of America«which recently sailed from Greece toTurkey under the new name »Bella Fortuna«,for an undisclosed owner is nowdecided. She made her last trip from theArabian Golf to India to be scrapped.PortsThe Bahamas cruise port Nassau showshow the cruise business is recovering: In2023 it welcomed 4.4 million passengerscompared to 3.2 million in the previousyear. In 2024 the count rose to 5.6 million.Miami, however, remains the busiestcruise port in the world with 8.2 millionpassenger movements during the businessyear 2023/24 – plus 14.5 % more asone year before. Port Canaveral, the secondbusiest port, reported 7.6 million.The three leading ports in Florida altogetherhad 30.2 % more passengers thanbefore the pandemic in 2019. In Germanynot all cruise ports were able to reportrecord figures in 2024:• Hamburg is the leading German cruiseport counting 1.3 million passengers,100,000 more than in 2023. 266 shipsvisited Hamburg where the modernizedterminal in the »Hafencity« willreopen this year. 48 % of the ships usedshore power during the port stays.• Second in Germany is the Baltic Portof Kiel with 184 cruise ship calls and1.1 mill. pax.• At Rostock-Warnemünde the figurerose from 419,000 to 532,000 guests.• The number of cruise passengers wentdown to 290,000 from 320,000 in 2023at the famous Columbus pier of Bremerhaven.Aida and Costa had noWeser port calls last year. From 2025the terminal will be operated by GlobalPorts Holding.Whereas ports of departure are pride oftheir rising passenger figures, ports ofdestination are suffering under overtourism.The latest example is the Greekisland Santorini which set a maximum of8,000 passengers per day for the 2025 season.The calls of »Aidablu« and »CostaFascinosa« were cancelled. The taxes perpassenger and day rise to 20 € during thesummer season.In the French ports of Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mera size limit of 900 passengersfor ship calls is heavily discussed.Several big American ships have theseports in their 2025 itinerary.© FincantieriCruise ship »Norwegian Luna«Borderless boom?Most operators are reporting record figures,the share prices are climbing andmultiple orders for new big or largest everships are clear signs of a branch whichseems to have forgotten the pains of thepandemic.One year ago, Carnival Cruise Lineshad placed the first building contract fora mega ship after the pandemic. Othersfollowed soon and during the last 12months the orderbook rose from 114,000to 170,000 beds. The new ships aremainly for the mass market, no more forexpeditions as in the years before.This leads directly to the question howto avoid more actions against the bigships flooding small villages with thousandsof tourists? In Europe more portswill limit the number of ship calls per dayor the size of the ships. Entrance fees fortourists including cruise passengers areanother reaction.Private islands are a good alternative tosmall ports for sightseeing visits of remainsfrom colonial times or older history.This works very good in the Caribbeanwhere many islands are availableand the climate is more cruise-friendlythan in Europe, especially in winter. InEurope an alternative would be »cruisesto nowhere«, at least more days at sea.For younger people looking for actionthis may work in the Mediterranean. KLOSKA & AIDABinding partnershipfor five yearsRostock-based cruise line Aida and theequipment supplier group Kloska haveagreed to continue their cooperation.The shipping company, which is part ofthe US group Carnival, will thus continueto rely on the equipment supplierservices of Basté & Lange, a subsidiaryof Kloska Group. Founded in Bremenin 1981, the group, after various expansionsand acquisitions, now comprises20 companies at 30 locations in Germanyand abroad. For Aida, the goodcoverage is one of the reasons for continuingthe cooperation. The agreementstipulates that the »long-standingcooperation will be continued for thenext five years.«»The extension of this partnershipunderscores the great trust in our capabilities,«says Nadine Kloska, ManagingPartner of Kloska Group. Theequipment supplier is responsible forsupplying the entire Aida cruise fleet.»This requires precise planning, reliableprocesses, and maximum flexibility– especially during the doubleloading period in October, shortly beforethe majority of the eleven ships departfor their global winter cruisinggrounds,« says Kloska.To ensure this, the group initiatedextensive steps to optimize its logisticsprocesses last year. These include investmentsin infrastructure, such asthe modernization of the vehicle fleetand software solutions, as well as thecontinuous optimization of softwareprocesses. »Innovative technologiesand a well-thought-out infrastructureare two important prerequisites for optimallyimplementing the complex logisticsrequirements and ensuringpunctual delivery to the ships – regardlessof where in the world the elevenships are located,« explains AlexanderDoden, Managing Director ofBasté & Lange.Anne Albrecht, Director of Logisticsat Aida Cruises, said: »To supply ourfleet, we are looking for a partner thatmeets the highest quality standards.We are therefore pleased to havefound a service provider in Basté &Lange and Kloska Group that is committedto continuous developmentwith us.«MMHANSA – International Maritime Journal 04 | 202527
