Woman names largest cruise ship

One of the world's largest cruise ships has been officially named by a member of the public who won a national competition for the honour.

Elizabeth Hill, from Baslow in Derbyshire, won the chance to name and christen the 160,000-tonne Independence of the Seas. Built in Finland, the £400m vessel will sail to and from Southampton. Five times Olympic gold medallist Sir Steven Redgrave attended the naming ceremony. Standing upright on its bow, the Independence of the Seas would dwarf the UK's tallest building London's One Canada Square at Canary Wharf which is 771ft tall (235m). The ship, longer than three-and-a-half football pitches, boasts shops, restaurants and bars on a man-made "street" which is longer than the pitch at the new Wembley Stadium. Independence of the Seas is expected to set sail on its maiden voyage on 2 May for a two-week cruise of the Mediterranean. Last week, Cunard's three Queens - QE2, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria - met in Southampton for the first and last time. Independence of the Seas can take nearly 4,400 passengers.

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Cruise Ship Docks Safely After Crack in Hull

A Greek cruise ship carrying more than 1,200 passengers and crew docked safely at the Aegean island of Milos after discovering a large crack in its hull.

The crack, which is above sea level was discovered after the Aquamarine cruise ship left the island of Crete for a tour of the Aegean with 872 Greek and foreign passengers and 407 crew, it said. The Aquamarine, owned by the Louis Group LCL.CY, had left the Cretan port of Herakleion at 0800 GMT and shortly afterwards the crew heard a loud noise and discovered a 1 metre-by 30 cm hole on the side of the vessel, about 2.5 metres above the water level. The official said all passengers were safe.
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First geothermal permit issued in Queensland

The first exploration permit for geothermal energy exploration in Queensland was issued earlier this month to New South Wales-based company Granite Power Ltd.

Two other companies, Kuth Exploration Pty Ltd. and Clean Energy Australasia Pty Ltd., have commenced the native title process, the final step before the granting of their exploration permits. Queensland Mines and Energy Minister Geoff Wilson said there were nine tenement areas located across Queensland. "Queensland has the potential to be a world leader in geothermal energy and the Bligh Government is backing this clean, green energy industry to the hilt," Wilson said. "The granting of this Exploration Permit is a significant milestone in the development of a geothermal energy industry in Queensland." Preferred tenderers for the third round of geothermal permit tenders will be announced shortly. Wilson said there had been an amount of uncertainty with some explorers in the application of the Commonwealth Native Title Act to geothermal exploration. "There has been some question as to whether the definition of 'mining' in the Commonwealth Act includes geothermal exploration," he said. "Queensland was the first state to pass a Geothermal Exploration Act and we're working on a new Geothermal Act to provide for world's best practice in geothermal energy production, he stated. Planning is underway for coastal geothermal exploration near major population and industry centres and we've also invested A$15 million in the Geothermal Centre of Excellence."

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Power glitch halts BP Alaska work

British supermajor BP said up to 400,000 barrels per day of oil production was shut down by a power outage in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay early Friday.

The outage downed six Prudhoe Bay processing plants and the Northstar field. “We anticipate by end of today three of the Prudhoe processing plants plus the Northstar will be operational,” BP spokesman Steve Rinehart. The three other Prudhoe units were expected back on Saturday, he said. A snowplow ran into a power line early on Friday causing the outages, he said.

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Vinalines' US$3 billion expansion plans

Mai Van Phuc, director of Viet Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), said that the company plans to invest around US$3 billion through 2010.

Phuc said the money would go towards fleet expansion, transport services development and port infrastructure. Vinalines is currently acquiring newbuilds and secondhand vessels, to increase its total capacity from 2.1 million tonnes at present to 2.8 million tonnes by the end of 2008 and up to five million tonnes by the end of 2010. I talso aims to replace older vessels with newer and bigger ones. Phuc said Vinalines also had 11 infrastructure projects in the works, most notably the Van Phong International Ship Container Terminal, to be Vietnam's biggest, due to start construction in June.

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Tigers sink ship 'loaded with bombs'

Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger rebels sank a navy vessel while it was moored at the island's east coastal town Trincomalee, hours before the government held elections in the area.

The guerrillas said their Sea Tigers underwater naval commandos launched a pre-dawn attack while it was loaded with explosives to be transported for troops operating in the island's north. "Commandos from Kangkai Amaran unit of the Sea Tigers took part in the naval mission in destroying the 80-metre long vessel," the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said. The Sri Lanka navy said the MV Invicible A-520 logistic vessel sank when an underwater explosion ripped through it, while it was moored at the Ashroff jetty in Trincomalee harbour. "No lives were lost due to the explosion," the defence ministry said. Under a million residents in Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara will cast their ballots today to elect officials to run the eastern provincial council. Built in the 1970s, the A-520 was a merchant vessel was handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy, following a court order after it was apprehended while transporting 254 illegal migrants off eastern coast in Tangalle in 2003. Tens of thousands have died since the Tamil Tiger rebels launched a separatist campaign in 1972, to carve out a homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north and east.

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MSC Ships Complete at-Sea Offload

Two Military Sealift Command ships completed the at-sea offload of more than 350 pieces of equipment and supplies belonging to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Thailand.

The cargo, including wheeled and tracked vehicles, ammunition and supplies, will be used in Cobra Gold – an annual exercise designed to promote regional stability and security throughout Southeast Asia. Maritime propositioning ships USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez and USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin arrived off the coast of Chuk Samet, Thailand April 27. Anchored about three miles from shore, Lopez and Martin offloaded a total of 16 pieces of lighterage – a type of barge used to move cargo from ship to shore – Apr. 27. Six pieces of this lighterage were pieced together to form a 180-foot by 63-foot floating platform called a roll-on/roll-off discharge facility, which was placed at the end of Lopez’s stern ramp. Offload operations began April 28 as rolling stock was driven down Lopez’s ramp onto the floating platform and then onto powered lighterage, which transported the cargo to shore. Containerized cargo was lifted onto the powered lighterage for transport ashore by one of Lopez’s three shipboard cranes. A complex operation, this offload involved multiple Navy and Marine Corps commands including MSC, the 3rd MEF, Naval Beach Group One, Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One and Amphibious Construction Battalion One. The ability to offload cargo at-sea is necessary when operating in areas when port facilities are either nonexistent or too damaged or primitive for ships to pull pierside. Martin and Lopez will remain in Thailand through early June to backload their prepositioned cargo.

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