On Waves Ehf, the leading maritime mobile services provider, announced today that it has been awarded a Fleet wide contract that covers all MSC Cruises ships. The agreement covers ten vessels and will include additional vessels in the future. On Waves services will enable voice, SMS and Data connectivity in so far uncovered by terrestrial networks areas at open seas. Further, On Waves services will include Crew Calling pre-paid cards, live on board generated informative messages and live TV and Video transmission over compatible GSM mobile phones and devices. "This major agreement is a milestone in the industry and we are very proud to participate by offering our maritime GSM and CDMA services to the passengers of MSC Cruises," said Constantin Simeonidis, CEO for On Waves.

At this year's ATM in Dubai ISO introduces for the first time ever their new "ISO Dynamic Travel Components" strategy in hall 1, stand TT 345, from 6-9 May 2008. ISO has developed several new solutions as fully web based systems. All developments are done as Java components (J2EE) and thus can be used web-based and integrated in a service-oriented architecture (SOA). As a result ISO can offer a new tour operator solution (Pacific), a travel web portal with full SAP integration (Atlantic) and a Customer Relationship Management System (Emerald). ISO has developed a new IT solution for tour operators called "Pacific".

CONVOTHERM combi steamers are made in Germany for customers all over the world. They are specially designed for galleys for cruise vessels, passenger and freight ferries, naval ships, luxury yachts and merchant marine. CONVOTHERM is the technical market leader in combi steamer with the unique +3 feaures: The energy saving Advanced Closed System (ACS) with Crisp&Tasty function automatically maintains humidity levels based on the type of food being prepared while providing faster cooking times than other combi ovens. The Crisp&Tasty function keeps moisture inside of food while producing crispier, perfectly-browned appearance and texture.

How can cruise shipping manage the issues of size? New ships being planned today will carry well over 8,000 people. How can they be kept safe and evacuated if there is a fire, collision or grounding? IMO has set down new regulations which are aimed at protecting core systems and allowing the ship to get safely to port after an incident. MSC82 agreed amendments to SOLAS which detail the casualty threshold concept that is the amount of damage a ship must be able to withstand and still safely return to port. The amendments also provide regulatory flexibility so that ship designers can meet any safety challenges the future may bring, extending the alternative design provisions implemented in Ch II-1 and III.

Becker Marine Systems is the leading and most innovative maritime supplier of high-performance rudders, rudder systems, Automated Material Handling (AMH) and communication systems for all kind of vessels. The German based company currently equippes six of the world's largest cruise liner new buildings under construction at Aker Yards St. Nazaire in France and Fincantieri in Italy. The order includes two high-performance TLFKSR® twisted flap rudders for the Mediterranean Shipping Company as well as two TLFKSR® rudders for Norwegian Cruise Line. The new cruise vessels MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida will have a length of 296.

Arcos Hermanos S.A. is the first Spanish company and one of the most important at an international level in producing high quality cutlery for professional and houseware use.

Founded in 1875, the company owns several plants in the province of Albacete (Spain) with an important team of more than 500 people and a total surface of around 30.000m².

We produce more than 600 different items and more than 70.000 pieces per day. Additionally, we have the most modern machinery and equipment, including the highest technology in robots for the cutlery production, updating them continuously.

The objectives of ARCOS are clear: quality, design, service to our customers and environment protection.

ARCOS has a market share in Spain of 40% and from the total turnover a 60% goes to the export and a 40% to the local market.

We now export to more than 60 countries and our aim is to continue the increase of the export market, being present in the most important international shows for catering, gifts and household, as well as different investments in advertising and marketing.

Our company also has the Quality Certificate UNE-EN-ISO 9001:2000 granted by ENAC.

Additionally to its existing out-of-the-box tour operator systems OCEAN, TOPIX and Canary, with the Pacific platform ISO Travel Solutions breaks a completely new technological ground for the future IT landscape of companies in the tourism sector. Pacific is the new product name for the ISO dynamic travel components. Pacific can be used by tour operators as 'Software-Kit' with several so-called 'Services'. These services are well-developed software components, which cover all necessary tasks of the daily work of a tour operator. Each service fulfils an individual task, simply speaking for example Base Data Management, Booking Kernel, Business Partner Management, etc.

BP Marine has collected its third accolade after the innovation of its SEA Card - Ships' bunkers' Easy Acquisition Card - solution was recognised by the US Government. Created as a solution to the US Defense Energy Support Center's (DESC) search for a more efficient marine fuel procurement process, SEA Card played a significant role in the Government Fuel Card Program winning the 2007 David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award. The award honours superior Department of Defense acquisition teams and is named after the late David Packard, founder and chairman of Hewlett-Packard and later, deputy secretary of defense.

ACO Marine, part of the ACO Group of companies, received enquiries for galley water systems from the shipyard Jos L Meyer GmbH in Pappenburg for their new AIDA cruise liner (3,100 people on board, 250 m3/day of galley water). To meet the customer requirement ACO Marine offered their automated grease separator, the LIPATOMAT NS15. The shipyard recognised the LIPATOMAT's unique features and in particular that, unlike most other separators, the LIPATOMAT range does not need to be fully discharged at regular intervals. Grease and/or sediments are separated within the process and then disposed of separately without interrupting the operation of the unit.

Adamarine are working alongside two major cruise operators in providing their crew with medical care in Turkey. Adamarine manage every stage of the patient care process from beginning to end, including transportation, lodging, arrangements of medical visits, independent examinations or second opinions, distribution of entitlements and training of medical staff.

The company have also launched a new service called "Supplier Accreditation Program" aimed at assisting Ship owners in the profiling and auditing of prospective suppliers in their jurisdiction.

Hamburg based specialist in air-conditioning and ventilation technology, Noske-Kaeser, has developed CabinCon, a new serial of a fan coil unit. Due to the new room control unit, the room temperature can be adjusted individually - the passengers will enjoy an excellent and extremely silent air-conditioning. The air volume can be regulated in three steps or - as an option - stepless and is adapting automatically to the room ambient conditions. Installation is very quick and easy, because the CabinCon is compact and with a weight of only app. 18 kg much lighter than comparable units. The fan coil will be delivered ready for operation.

Ruskin Air Management has launched an updated and improved version of the successful Actionair A-60 Marine Fire Damper. Units are now available in an extended range of sizes from 100mmx100mm up to 1m square, with the option of multiple units to meet the needs of even larger applications. Actionair's A-60 Marine Fire Damper was the world's first to achieve the coveted USCG-EU MRA Certification. Every unit also bears a stainless steel plate showing the distinctive 'ship's wheel' logo that symbolises Marine Equipment Directive compliant (MED) approval and an individual number so that it can be tracked throughout its life cycle.

New tourist attraction for Cruise Passengers in the Port of Hamburg With a grand opening, the first mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ole von Beust, inaugurated this morning the BallinStadt museum. He was assisted by Duane Butcher, consul general of the United States of America, Michael Behrendt, executive chairman of the Hapag-Lloyd AG and Dr Werner Marnette, executive chairman of the Norddeutsche Affinerie AG About 650 guests attended the festivities, which took two hours and were filled by speeches and music played by the state orchestra of Hamburg. The Museum of Emigration, called BallinStadt museum, is located on the peninsula Veddel amid the Port of Hamburg.

Baltic Bunkering Company (BBC) was founded in St Petersburg in August 1995. Backed by strategic alliance with Petersburg oil terminal, the biggest oil storage facility in the northwest Russia, the company succeeded to create reliable and high quality bunkering service. Today, BBC is one of the biggest and most dynamic companies amongst bunker suppliers in St Petersburg. The company supplies high-quality bunker fuels including low sulphur products. All the fuels are closely monitored and controlled to ensure that they meet ISO 8217:2005 standards. BBC has a wide experience of bunkering all type of vessels: reefers, bulkers, container ships, tankers and, primarily, passenger ships.

Fouling of marine surfaces by barnacles and other organisms that attach to ship's surfaces is an expensive and challenging problem for all seafaring vessels. Whether pleasure boats or commercial shipping, the added weight and increased drag caused by these biofoulant organisms reduces speed, increases fuel consumption and necessitates significant downtime and increased maintenance expense. Equally challenging is developing a coating that resists fouling, but does not pose a risk to the environment or to human health. Until recently, the universal approach to this problem relied on anti-fouling coatings applied to surfaces that contain biocides (poisons) in order to kill the marine growth.

Tor Shipping, resident in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, operates domestically and internationally focusing on four inter-related areas: ship management, port agency, chartering and ship brokerage. FAROE ISLANDS SHIP MANAGEMENT Tor Shipping manages administrative details for owners of ships registered in the Faroese International Register of Shipping - FAS. Currently, Tor Shipping represents and manages tankers, dredgers and offshore vessels for ship owners that have taken advantage of the many benefits of FAS. FAS has proven to be an excellent alternative to other ship registers in the region.

Metizoft provides planned maintenance software and spare part control systems designed for the shipping market. Since the 2006 proposal of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) environmental shipping guidelines, 'The Green Passport', Metizoft's focus has shifted to the development of complete software solutions relevant to this policy. We meet the international software requirements of both new buildings and ships already in service. GREEN PASSPORT CERTIFICATION Sustainable ship management is often directed towards achievements on operational performance. The remainder cycles, those associated to building and disposal, are often ignored.

Next Gaming provides a wide range of gaming equipment including slot machines, automatic roulette machines and gaming tables as well as gaming chips and seating. Next Gaming will meet all your casino needs from live gaming, accessories, electronic gaming, design and set up, to full operations management. LIVE GAMING TABLES Gambling, gaming, entertainment - this is a casino&squo;s world. Next Gaming offers a wide choice of tables for live gaming, to satisfy every operator and player&squo;s needs. Blackjack Poker Punto Banco Roulette Roulette wheels Display and electronic equipment Table games layout CASINO ACCESSORIES AND SUPPLIES Next Gaming: more than just games.

In mid-2005 Norwegian Cruise Line Corporation (NCL) announced a new ship order with Meyer Werft, in Germany, for delivery in October 2007. "Once this tenth ship is delivered in October 2007, over 75% of NCL's inventory of beds will be on ships less than eight years old." The 93,500t vessel, which will be called Norwegian Gem (hull S.670), will have 15 decks and a capacity of 2,400 lower berths (1,200 cabins). It will be a sister ship to Norwegian Jewel, which was delivered in August 2006. The contract price for the ship was approximately $510m. This new order will be the tenth big new ship to join the NCL fleet since the fleets modernisation began in late 1999.

MSC Cruises will add several new ships to their fleet in 2008, including the lastest in its 'Musica' class of Panamax vessels (the MSC Poesia) and its largest ship ever ‐ the MSC Fantasia. "Both the MSC Fantasia and MSC Serenata will offer an exclusive privately accessed area; the 'Happy Island'." The MSC Fantasia (along with its sister ship, the MSC Serenata -debuting in spring 2009) will be the largest ships commissioned by a European ship owner to date. At 133,500grt, 1,093ft long and 125ft (37.9m) wide they offer a passenger capacity of 3,900 (1,650 cabins) with 1,313 crew.

Costa Crociere SpA is an Italian company based in Genoa and is part of Carnival Corporation. Their fleet includes a total of 15 ships in active service and eight on order. "She will boast 772 cabins with private balconies, out of a total of 1,130 cabins." The Costa Luminosa will be a sister ship to the Costa Serena. The Luminosa, at 92,700t, is slightly smaller than the 114,000t, 292m Serena, which can accommodate 3,780 guests in 1,500 cabins. The Serena launched in may 2007. The Luminosa is being constructed by Fincantieri Maritimo and is scheduled to come into service in April 2009 (the ship was ordered in 2006).