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With all the recent publicity generated by
NCL's push to
have the Jones Act / Cabotage laws beefed up to ensure their virtual
monopoly on cruising the Hawaiian Islands remains viable, we
at Worldwide have received numerous calls from clients and other
asking us to explain what in fact the Jones act is and how it
applies to their cruise plans (cabotage). We have had quite a lot of information posted on our web-site for some years now, but the application as it applies to cruise passengers can be a confusing issue to outsiders. The Jones-Shafroth Act (the Jones Act as it is known) was signed into law on March 2, 1917, by President Woodrow Wilson. Even today, close to 90 years later, many provisions of the Act are very pertinent. The statute covering cabotage as it applies to passengers is known as the Passenger Services Act (PSA) and became law in 1886. In our industry (cruise shipping) it mainly effects passengers who wish to travel between contiguous US Ports. In brief it states that no foreign vessel shall transport passengers between ports or places in the United States, under penalty of a fine. For a complete explanation of all of the above - visit our website - The Jones Act / Cabotage |
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New evidence confirms that the Titanic probably sank because of poor quality rivets used in it's construction. |
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This is a follow up on an article in an earlier
edition of the Cruise Insider - Scientists have discovered that the
builder of the Titanic struggled for years to obtain enough rivets
and riveters and ultimately settled on faulty materials that doomed
the ship, which sank 96 years ago today. The builder's archive, the scientists say, harbors evidence of a deadly mix of low-quality rivets and lofty ambition as the builder labored to construct the world's three biggest ships at once — the Titanic and two sisters, Olympic and Britannic. For a decade, scientists have argued that the storied liner went down fast after hitting the iceberg because the ship's builder used substandard rivets that popped their heads and let tons of icy seawater rush in. When the safety of the rivets was first questioned 10 years ago, the builder ignored the accusation and said it did not have an archivist who could address the issue. Historians say that the new evidence uncovered in the archive of Harland & Wolff, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, settles the argument and finally solves the riddle of one of the most famous sinkings of all time. The company now insists that findings are deeply flawed. Each of the ships under construction required 3 million rivets that acted like glue to hold everything together, and the scientists in a new book say the shortages peaked during Titanic's construction. "The board was in crisis mode," Dr. Jennifer Hooper McCarty, a team member who studied the archive, said in an interview. "It was constant stress. Every meeting it was, 'There's problems with the rivets and we need to hire more people.'" The team collected other clues from 48 Titanic rivets recovered from the wreck, modern tests, computer simulations, comparisons with century-old metals and careful documentation of what engineers and shipbuilders of that era considered state of the art. The scientists say the troubles all began when the colossal plans forced Harland & Wolff to reach beyond its usual suppliers of rivet iron and include smaller forges, as disclosed in company and British government papers. Small forges tended to have less skill and experience. Adding to the threat, the company, in buying iron for Titanic's rivets, ordered No. 3 bar, known as "best" — not No. 4, known as "best-best," the scientists found. They also discovered that shipbuilders of the day typically used No. 4 iron for anchors, chains and rivets. So the liner, whose name was meant to be synonymous with opulence, in at least one instance relied on cheap materials. The company also faced shortages of skilled riveters, according to archive papers. The scientists discovered that Harland & Wolff also used steel rivets — but only on Titanic's central hull, where stresses were expected to be greatest. |
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Worldwide's President -Jim Castle will be attending the IMEX show in Frankfurt next week. |
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Look out of Jim Castle at the IMEX Show next week -
Jim is visiting the show to follow up on with a number of our
European suppliers as well as review the show's potential for
Worldwide to add to their future exhibition dates. Corporate enquiries for cruises to Europe continue to be a large part of Worldwide's business. Our long standing relationships with the European cruise industry which goes back to the 1980's when Worldwide had offices in the South of France gives Worldwide a unique perspective and relationship with many of the European cruise lines as well as with the all important port and ship's agents. Many of our clients appreciate the different it can make to their program having the inside track to the products, berths and shore excursion connections that Worldwide brings to the table. Call us to take advantage of our years of experience with cruising in the region. |