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Shipyard De Hoop has engineered three luxury ocean going expedition cruise ships (150-200 passengers) in a move that combines its skills within both the offshore and river cruise market.

Says the chief executive of Shipyard De Hoop, Patrick Janssens, “It’s the next logical step for us.”

The project marks a first within the small cruise ship expedition market as there has never before been a dedicated newbuild expedition cruise vessel, Mr Janssens said. The norm is for ships to be converted to ice class to sail in expedition areas. “We are talking to companies about our concept and they are very interested, they see real market potential,” he said

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South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that it will start the salvage operation of the Sewol passenger ship next month and complete it before the end of July. The 6,825-ton ship, sank off the country’s southwestern coast two years ago while en route to the southern resort island of Jeju killing 304 people mostly high school students on a field trip.

CNN reports that Yeon Youngjin, deputy minister for the Marine Policy Office, told journalists Thursday that the ministry has used long-term maritime data to put together a salvage operation plan, which is projected to finish by the end of July. The operation will attempt to lift the 140-meter long ferry from beneath the water without having to cut it into pieces. Doing so will help recover bodies believed to be still trapped inside of it. Nine bodies are still unaccounted for.

Continue reading “South Korea outlines plan to lift sunken Sewol by July”