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UN visit may put Galapagos on ‘danger’ list, end tourism |
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After a fact-finding mission to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador in April, a team from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) confirmed serious threats to the World Heritage site caused by encroachment by invasive species, uncontrolled tourism and other challenges, according to a report from the U.N. News Centre. The international association welcomed measures to deal with these threats, such as closing the archipelago to tourists. “The mission confirmed the threat to the outstanding value and physical integrity of this iconic World Heritage site mainly from: the growing encroachment of invasive species, increasing human immigration, uncontrolled development of tourism, and the failure of various institutions and agencies to deal with these threats,” the agency said in a press release. “The mission welcomed the decisive action taken by the president of Ecuador to address comprehensively the long-standing problems of the Galapagos Islands, with a series of new policies to be adopted in the coming two weeks,” it stated. The full findings of the mission will be presented to the World Heritage Committee at its next meeting from June 23 to July 2. |
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Two Regent Seven Seas Cruises ships meet in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean |
Two Regent Seven Seas Cruises ships met in the middle
of the Atlantic Ocean this week during a
 surprise
rendezvous for passengers orchestrated by their captains. Captains
Dag Dvergastein of Seven Seas Voyager and Jarle Jensen of Seven Seas
Navigator arranged the event when their vessels were a few hundred
miles west of the Canary Islands. Seven Seas Voyager was en route to
Fort Lauderdale and Navigator was heading east for the start of the
European season. Voyager cruise director Jamie Logan, wearing a
tuxedo, water skied between the ships for the amusement of the
passengers, an inflatable shark hot on his trail. |
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Mega-Yacht market is
hot with one company's sales exceeding US$1.2bn
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Camper & Nicholson International (CNI) have had a very successful session of new build orders. With 30 new builds of an average Length Over All (LOA) of 58 mt. contracted with 10 different building yards, these orders represent a total value of over US$1.2bn. Placed together they would cover an area in excess of 14 football fields. It would appear the big boat end of the yacht market is in great shape. I understand from friends in the industry that the big problem is actually finding qualified crew to man these monsters. Worldwide, regulations on manning big yachts have changed dramatically in recent years with licenses comparable to those required for the Captain of your cruise ship, even the lowly steward/stewardess has to have a certificate of competency and these licenses etc. do not come cheaply. The time it takes to earn one, the dollar cost of taking the required courses and final exams is not insignificant. Add to this the fact that this is something of a transient industry where owners come and go depending on whether the stock market is up or down and crew can be out of a job at a moments notice depending on the whim of the owner or his captain. There are no unions, most crew job have no pension schemes, limited medical insurance, and often no accident insurance either. Moral being, don't get sick or hurt on-board as you are just as likely to be dropped off on the quay when the yacht hits port. |