INS Shakti (A57)
INS Shakti is a Deepak-class fleet tanker in service with the Indian Navy. She was built by an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, she is the final ship of her class. Shakti, along with her predecessor Deepak, is one of the largest ships of the Indian Navy. Construction of the vessel began in November 2009 and it was launched in October 2010, she was handed over to India by September 2011 and was commissioned on 1 October 2011. The construction of the vessel was completed in a record time of 27 months, after the contract worth €159.32 million was signed in April 2008. INS Shakti can refuel four ships at a time, with a fuelling speed of 1,500 tonnes per hour while her predecessors had a speed of 300 per hour, she is equipped with state-of-the art electronics, medical facilities and storage spaces. According to Admiral Nirmal Verma, Shakti would add to the Indian Navy's ability to conduct and sustain operations distant from the coast. INS Shakti has a beam of 25 m and a draught of 9.1 m.
The ship displaces about 27,550 tonnes at full load. The complement is about 200, including 20 officers; the ship is powered by two MAN diesel engines providing a total power of 19.2 MW. This allows the ship to reach a maximum speed of 20 knots and an endurance of 10,000 nautical miles at 16 knots. To help prevent accidental oil spills the ship features a double hull configuration, in compliance with MARPOL 73/78; the Deepak-class tanker can carry 17,900 tonnes of cargo, including 15,500 tonnes of liquid cargo and 500 tonnes of solid cargo. The modern cargo handling facility on board the ship enables transfer of heavy solid cargo via a 30 tonne capacity deck crane, simultaneous fuelling of multiple ships at sea, can refuel at the rate of 1,500 tonnes per hour. Workshop facilities on the ship can support other ships of the fleet and it is capable of supporting heavy helicopters; the ship has self-defence capability and is equipped with an indigenous anti-missile defence chaff system. On-board systems include automatic engine controls, power management and battle damage control systems.
According to the navy, the ship was designed to operate as a command platform. The ship is fitted with four AK-630 Close-in weapon systems, which can fire at a rate of 4,000 to 10,000 rounds a minute. Fincantieri was awarded the contract to construct Shakti in April 2008, at a cost of US$300 million; the Deepak-class tankers were the first warships constructed for India by Fincantieri. The construction of the ship began in November 2009 at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente shipyard in Italy; the sea trials started in December 2010. The ship was formally handed over to the Indian Navy on 23 September 2011, in under two years. Admiral Nirmal Verma, the chief of the Naval Staff, commissioned the tanker at Visakhapatnam, the home of the Eastern Naval Command, saying that the ship enhanced the reach of the navy well beyond the limits of the Indian Ocean. INS Shakti is the third tanker of the same name of the navy; the first Shakti had a displacement of 3,000 tonnes and was commissioned during World War II.
She was in service with the Indian Navy from 29 January 1954 and decommissioned on 31 December 1967. Malabar 2012 In April 2012, Shakti took part in the Indian navy's annual maritime exercise with the US Navy, Malabar 2012, in the Bay of Bengal. During these exercises, the ship replenished USS Carl Vinson, flagship of the US Navy's Carrier Strike Group 1. South China Sea and the North-West Pacific In May 2012, Shakti, as part of a battle group of four ships, began a sustained operational deployment to the South China Sea and the North West Pacific Ocean; the other three ships were INS Rana, a Rajput-class guided missile destroyer, INS Shivalik, a stealth frigate, INS Karmuk, a Kora-class corvette. This battle group was under the command of Rear Admiral P Ajit Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command. According to the Ministry of Defence, the two-month deployment, far from India's usual area of operations, along with naval exercises with a number of countries, aimed to demonstrate the Indian navy's operational reach.
During the deployment, the battle group participated in passage exercises with the navies of the countries visited. The'Passage Exercises' focussed on maritime security cooperation, which included humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations and'Visit, Board and Seizure' drills for anti-piracy operations; these exercises aimed to increase naval inter-operability, enabling the two navies to function with enhanced coordination during possible HADR operations. In addition, during the port visits, the Fleet Commander along with the Commanding Officers of the ships met high-ranking officials of the navy, state administration, port management, coastal security organisation and other stakeholders of maritime security in the countries visited, to share professional experiences and exchange best practices in areas of mutual interest. JIMEX 2012 The ship was deployed in the North West Pacific for JIMEX 2012 with the four ship group, took part in India's first bi-lateral maritime exercise with Japan.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force was represented by two destroyers, one maritime patrol aircraft and a helicopter. The four ships entered Tokyo on 5 June 2012 after visiting Singapore, Vietnam and Republic of Korea, they stayed in Tokyo for three days. This visit co
Diesel–electric transmission
A diesel–electric transmission, or diesel–electric powertrain, is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion. A diesel–electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors. No clutch is required. Before diesel engines came into widespread use, a similar system, using a petrol engine and called petrol–electric or gas–electric, was sometimes used. Diesel–electric transmission is used on railways by diesel electric locomotives and diesel electric multiple units, as electric motors are able to supply full torque at 0 RPM. Diesel–electric systems are used in submarines and surface ships and some land vehicles. In some high-efficiency applications, electrical energy may be stored in rechargeable batteries, in which case these vehicles can be considered as a class of hybrid electric vehicle; the first diesel motorship was the first diesel–electric ship, the Russian tanker Vandal from Branobel, launched in 1903.
Steam turbine–electric propulsion has been in use since the 1920s, using diesel–electric powerplants in surface ships has increased lately. The Finnish coastal defence ships Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen laid down in 1928–1929, were among the first surface ships to use diesel–electric transmission; the technology was used in diesel powered icebreakers. In World War II the United States built diesel–electric surface warships. Due to machinery shortages destroyer escorts of the Evarts and Cannon classes were diesel–electric, with half their designed horsepower; the Wind-class icebreakers, on the other hand, were designed for diesel–electric propulsion because of its flexibility and resistance to damage. Some modern diesel–electric ships, including cruise ships and icebreakers, use electric motors in pods called azimuth thrusters underneath to allow for 360° rotation, making the ships far more maneuverable. An example of this is Symphony of the Seas, the largest passenger ship as of 2019. Gas turbines are used for electrical power generation and some ships use a combination: Queen Mary 2 has a set of diesel engines in the bottom of the ship plus two gas turbines mounted near the main funnel.
This provides a simple way to use the high-speed, low-torque output of a turbine to drive a low-speed propeller, without the need for excessive reduction gearing. Early submarines used a direct mechanical connection between the engine and propeller, switching between diesel engines for surface running and electric motors for submerged propulsion; this was a "parallel" type of hybrid, since the motor and engine were coupled to the same shaft. On the surface, the motor was used as a generator to recharge the batteries and supply other electric loads; the engine would be disconnected for submerged operation, with batteries powering the electric motor and supplying all other power as well. True diesel–electric transmissions for submarines were first proposed by the United States Navy's Bureau of Engineering in 1928—instead of driving the propeller directly while running on the surface, the submarine's diesel would instead drive a generator that could either charge the submarine's batteries or drive the electric motor.
This meant that motor speed was independent of the diesel engine's speed, the diesel could run at an optimum and non-critical speed, while one or more of the diesel engines could be shut down for maintenance while the submarine continued to run using battery power. The concept was pioneered in 1929 in the S-class submarines S-3, S-6, S-7 to test the concept; the first production submarines with this system were the Porpoise-class, it was used on most subsequent US diesel submarines through the 1960s. The only other navy to adopt the system before 1945 was the British Royal Navy in the U-class submarines, although some submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy used separate diesel generators for low-speed running. In a diesel–electric transmission arrangement, as used on 1930s and US Navy, German and other nations' diesel submarines, the propellers are driven directly or through reduction gears by an electric motor, while two or more diesel generators provide electric energy for charging the batteries and driving the electric motors.
This mechanically isolates the noisy engine compartment from the outer pressure hull and reduces the acoustic signature of the submarine when surfaced. Some nuclear submarines use a similar turbo-electric propulsion system, with propulsion turbo generators driven by reactor plant steam. During World War I, there was a strategic need for rail engines without plumes of smoke above them. Diesel technology was not yet sufficiently developed but a few precursor attempts were made for petrol–electric transmissions by the French and British. About 300 of these locomotives, only 96 being standard gauge, were in use at various points in the conflict. Before the war, the GE 57-ton gas-electric boxcab had been produced in the USA. In the 1920s, diesel–electric technology first saw limited use in switchers, locomotives used for moving trains around in railroad yards and assembling and disassembling them. An early company offering "Oil-Electric" locomotives was the American Locomotive Company; the ALCO HH series of diesel–electric switcher entered series production in 1931.
In the 1930s, the system was adapted for the fastest trains of their day. Diesel–electric powerplants became popular
Carnival Miracle
Carnival Miracle is a Spirit-class cruise ship. Like the majority of her sisters, she is owned by Carnival Corporation & plc and operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, she was floated out on June 5, 2003, christened by United States Army soldier Jessica Lynch in Jacksonville, Florida, on February 27, 2004. Soon after the conclusion of the christening ceremony, she departed on her maiden voyage, a three-day cruise to the Bahamas. Carnival Miracle has an eleven-story atrium with a ruby-red glass ceiling, part of the "whale tail" funnel. Next to every room is a large picture of a famous fictional character such as Long John Silver or Sherlock Holmes. Prior to April 2012, Miracle undertook Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay, Florida during the winter months and during the summer months from New York City. From April 2012 to March 2013, Carnival Miracle sailed year-round from New York City, New York to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
In March 2013, Carnival Miracle sailed through the Panama Canal repositioning to the West Coast sailing alternating cruises from Long Beach, California & Seattle, Washington. On March 8, 2015 the Miracle entered "Drydock #2" operated by BAE Systems at Pier 70 in San Francisco, California to be refurbished. In October 2015, Carnival announced that Carnival Miracle, would be repositioned to China in 2018 offering year-round short cruises; this plan was subsequently cancelled in May 2016 and in November 2016, Carnival announced that Miracle would relocate to Tampa, Florida in January 2018 to undertake cruises to the western Caribbean. On January 27, 2018, Carnival Miracle departed on her first sailing from the new homeport. Before reaching Tampa, the ship transited the Panama Canal. In June 2018, the cruise line announced that Carnival Miracle would reposition to San Diego, California in late 2019, it is intended that she will operate from there until February 2020. Official Website Carnival Miracle Photo Gallery at HanBan Photos
Roatán
Roatán is an island in the Caribbean, about 65 kilometres off the northern coast of Honduras. It is located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras; the island was known as Ruatan and Rattan. It is 77 kilometres long, less than 8 kilometres across at its widest point; the island consists of two municipalities: José Santos Guardiola in the east and Roatán, including the Cayos Cochinos, further south in the west. The island rests on an exposed ancient coral reef, rising to about 270 metres above sea level. Offshore reefs offer opportunities for diving. Most habitation is in the western half of the island; the most populous town of the island is Coxen Hole, capital of Roatán municipality, located in the southwest. West of Coxen Hole are the settlements of Gravel Bay, Flowers Bay and Pensacola on the south coast, Sandy Bay, West End and West Bay on the north coast. To the east of Coxen Hole are the settlements of Mount Pleasant, French Harbour, Parrot Tree and Oakridge on the south coast, Punta Gorda on the north coast.
The easternmost quarter of the island is separated by a channel through the mangroves, 15 metres wide on average. This section is called Santa Elena in Spanish. Satellite islands at the eastern end are Morat and Pigeon Cay. Further west between French Harbour and Coxen Hole are several cays, including Stamp Cay and Barefoot Cay. Located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea, Roatán has become an important cruise ship, scuba diving and eco-tourism destination in Honduras. Tourism is its most important economic sector, though fishing is an important source of income for islanders. Roatán is located within 40 miles of La Ceiba; the island is served by the Juan Manuel Gálvez Roatán International Airport and the Galaxy Wave Ferry service twice a day. The Indians of the Bay Islands are believed to have been related to either the Paya, the Maya, the Lenca or the Jicaque, which were the tribes present on the mainland. Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage came to the islands as he visited the neighbouring Bay Island of Guanaja.
Soon after the Spanish began trading in the islands for slave labour. More devastating for the local Indians was exposure to Eurasian infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox and measles. No indigenous people survived the consequent epidemics. Throughout European colonial times, the Bay of Honduras attracted an array of individual settlers, pirates and military forces. Various economic activities were engaged in and political struggles played out between the European powers, chiefly Britain and Spain. Sea travellers stopped over at Roatán and the other islands as resting points. On several occasions, the islands were subject to military occupation. In contesting with the Spanish for colonisation of the Caribbean, the English occupied the Bay Islands on and off between 1550 and 1700. During this time, buccaneers found the vacated unprotected islands a haven for safe harbour and transport. English and Dutch pirates established settlements on the islands, they raided the Spanish treasure ships, cargo vessels carrying gold and silver from the New World to Spain.
During the War of the Austrian Succession, a detachment of the British Army under Lt. Col John Caulfeild garrisoned the island from 1742 to 1749; the garrison was found from two companies of Gooch's Virginia Regiment, but these were amalgamated into Trelawney's 49th Foot. In 1797, the British defeated the Black Carib, supported by the French, in a battle for control of the Windward Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Weary of their resistance to British plans for sugar plantations, the British rounded up the St. Vincent Black Carib and deported them to Roatán; the majority of Black Carib migrated to Trujillo on mainland Honduras, but a portion remained to found the community of Punta Gorda on the northern coast of Roatán. The Black Carib, whose ancestry includes Arawak and African Maroons, remained in Punta Gorda, becoming the Bay Island's first permanent post-Columbian settlers, they migrated from there to parts of the northern coast of Central America, becoming the foundation of the modern-day Garífuna culture in Honduras and Guatemala.
The majority permanent population of Roatán originated from the Cayman Islands near Jamaica. They arrived in the 1830s shortly after Britain's abolition of slavery in 1838; the changes in the labour system disrupted the economic structure of the Caymans. The islands had had a seafaring culture. Former slaveholders from the Cayman Islands were among the first to settle in the seaside locations throughout western Roatán. During the late 1830s and 1840s, former slaves migrated from the Cayman Islands, in larger number than planters. Altogether, the former Cayman peoples became the largest cultural group on the island. For a brief period in the 1850s, Britain declared the Bay Islands its colony. Within a decade, the Crown ceded the territory formally back to Honduras. British colonists were sent to compete for control, they asked American William Walker, a freebooter with a private army, to help end the crisis in 1860 by invading Honduras. In the latter half of the 19th century, the island populations grew and established new settlements all over Roatán and the other islands.
Settl
Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi is an Italian aircraft carrier, the first through deck aviation ship built for the Italian Navy, the first Italian ship built to operate fixed-wing aircraft. She is equipped with short vertical landing aircraft aircraft and helicopters. Giuseppe Garibaldi was involved in combat air operations off Somalia, Kosovo and Libya; the Giuseppe Garibaldi is the fourth ship of the Italian Navy to be named after the 19th century Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi. All four ships, including the missile cruiser, together with an image of Garibaldi, are depicted in the crest. Built by Fincantieri at the Monfalcone shipyards on the Gulf of Trieste, she was laid down on 26 March 1981, launched on 11 June 1983, commissioned on 30 September 1985. Garibaldi is classed as an anti-submarine warfare carrier, is based in Taranto; the ship is powered by four Fiat COGAG gas turbines built under license from GE, offering a sustained power of 81,000 hp. Driving two shafts the ship has a maximum speed of 30 knots and can travel for 7,000 nautical miles at around 20 knots.
The ship was equipped with four Otomat Mk2 short range surface-to-surface missile system installed at the stern of the ship and two ILAS three triple tube torpedo launchers. Defences are provided by two eight-cell SAM launchers firing the SARH Aspide missile, three Oto Melara Twin 40L70 DARDO CIWS; the ship has many countermeasures including two SCLAR twenty-barrel launchers for chaff, flares, or jammers, the SLQ-25 Nixie and SLAT anti-torpedo systems and ECM systems. The air arm consists of a maximum of sixteen AV-8B Harrier IIs and two search and rescue helicopters, or eighteen Agusta helicopters or a mix of helicopters and fighters; the flight deck is the characteristic off-axis design with a 6.5 degree ski-jump for STOL aircraft. A 1937 law gave control of all national fixed-wing air assets to the Italian Air Force and the navy was only permitted to operate helicopters. At the time of the ship's commissioning the Garibaldi the Italian Navy Aviation did not receive her Harriers so she was reclassified as an Incrociatore portaeromobili.
Until 1988 only Italian helicopters landed on her deck, as well as Royal Navy Sea Harriers during NATO joint maneuvers. The ban on fixed-wing aircraft was lifted in 1989, the Italian Navy acquired Harrier II fighters to fly from the Giuseppe Garibaldi. In 2009 Giuseppe Garibaldi was replaced as the flagship of the Italian navy by the new and larger carrier Cavour; the ship underwent a modernization in 2003 and a major restructuring in 2013. In 1999 with the Kosovo War in the Balkans, Italy committed Harrier AV-8B II+ fighters embarked aboard Giuseppe Garibaldi, from 13 May to early June 1999; the planes carried out 30 sorties in 63 hours of flight. The planes used Mk 82 GBU-16 AGM-65 Maverick missiles; the Italian naval force in addition to the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, with its air group, included the Maestrale-class frigate Zeffiro. Following the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the war on terror declared by U. S. President Bush, Italy participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Giuseppe Garibaldi was engaged as the command ship of GRUPNAVIT I, 1 Italian Shipping Group, which included Zeffiro, the patrol team and the airman supplier in Etna. The group set sail from Taranto on 18 November 2001, they trained in the Indian Ocean from 3 December 2001 to 1 March 2002 and returned to Taranto 18 March 2002. During the mission, the AV-8B Harrier unit carried out 288 missions for a total of 860 hours of flight. Tasks carried out included interception/interdiction and air support, aircraft interdiction in Afghanistan. Participating in the 2011 military intervention in Libya after the transfer of authority to NATO and the decision to participate in strike air-ground operations, the Italian government assigned under NATO command four Italian Navy AV-8B plus in addition to Italian air force aircraft; as of 24 March, the Italian Navy was engaged in Operation Unified Protector with the light aircraft carrier Garibaldi, the Maestrale-class frigate Libeccio and the auxiliary ship Etna.
Additionally the Orizzonte-class frigate Andrea Doria and Maestrale-class frigate Euro were patrolling off the Sicilian coast in an air-defence role. In total, until the end of the mission in Libya, the eight Italian Navy AV-8Bs flying from the carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi dropped 160 guided bombs during 1221 flight hours. Italian Navy Aviation Italian aircraft carrier Cavour Italian aircraft carrier Trieste List of naval ship classes in service Media related to Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi at Wikimedia Commons
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. Its logo is the funnel like the funnels found on their ships, with red and blue colors; the funnels are shaped like a whale's tail. Carnival is the largest cruise line in the world, based on passengers carried annually, annual revenue, total number of ships in fleet. Carnival is one of ten cruise line brands owned by the world's largest cruise ship operator, the American-British Carnival Corporation & plc. In 2018 Carnival Cruise Line was estimated to hold an 8.9% share of cruise industry revenue and 22.0% of passengers. It is the largest fleet in the Carnival group; the ships fly flags of convenience. Its headquarters are in Miami, the United States; the North American division of Carnival Corporation has executive control over the corporation and is headquartered in Doral, Florida. Carnival Cruise Line was founded in 1972 by Ted Arison. To finance the venture, Arison turned to his friend Meshulam Riklis, who owned Boston-based American International Travel Service.
Arison and Riklis set up the new company as a subsidiary of AITS. AITS was to promote the new venture. In 1974, due to regulatory issues, Riklis sold AITS's interest in the company to Arison for $1, but subject to Arison taking over the substantial company debts; the split enabled Arison to enter into new relationships with independent travel agents. He promoted his cruises to fun-loving younger people; the format was successful financially. Until 1975, the line consisted of the Mardi Gras. In 1975 another ship was acquired, the Carnivale. In 1996, Carnival Destiny of 101,000 GT became the largest passenger ship in the world at the time and first to exceed 100,000 tons. In 2001, Robert H. Dickinson President and CTC, participated in a BBC documentary, Back To The Floor. Dickinson went to work at the lowest crew levels on the MS Imagination in the Caribbean, where he shadowed a Romanian cleaner, Alina. In 2004, Carnival Corporation ordered for a development program for Carnival's new ships, the Pinnacle Project, calling for a 200,000 GT prototype, which would have been the world's largest cruise ship at the time.
The ship was cancelled and after that they came up with a project called Next Generation. In 2009, Carnival released their biggest ship at the time, the Carnival Dream, a new 128,000 GT ship. Carnival Dream entered service on 21 September 2009. After several voyages in the Mediterranean, she was set to offer weekly Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral from 5 December 2009. A sister ship, Carnival Magic, debuted on 1 May 2011. On 1 December 2009 it was announced, it entered service in June 2012 and its homeport is now Galveston. On May 10, 2010, Carnival selected a name for their new Dream-class vessel in 2012 - Carnival Breeze. On 26 October 2012, it was announced that Carnival had ordered a brand new 133,500 GT ship for their Carnival Cruise Line brand; this ship, built by Fincantieri, was the largest ship they have built. It sailed its maiden voyage on May 1, 2016; the new ship was named Carnival Vista. In January 2017, Michael Thamm was appointed CEO of Carnival Asia to oversee operations in China and the surrounding region.
A sister to Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon, joined the fleet with their inaugural voyages from Trieste and Barcelona, Spain on May 1, 2016 and April 2, 2018, respectively. Queen Latifah is the Godmother of Horizon for its christening in New York on May 23, 2018. Carnival Panorama is set to join the fleet in December 2019. In February 2018, the company's officials unveiled a major port development project in Ensenada, Mexico. In 2016, Carnival extended their contract with Port Everglades cruise port to 2030; the port began a $54 million renovation in anticipation of the deal. The agreement brings over $200 million in personal income. In 2018, Carnival brought the Carnival Fantasy to Alabama. Economists anticipate an increase in tourism to revenue at an estimated $35 million; the company has been paying wages under $1.50 per hour to employees with low-to-nonexistent benefits, such as holidays or minimal vacations. Monthly salaries of the high-paid workers are around $1,300. Employees report strenuous working conditions such as 14-hour shifts with no days off.
Retirement benefits were revoked in October 2013. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, three of the Carnival cruise ships were chartered by the United States government for six months to serve as temporary housing until the houses can be rebuilt. After being chartered for six months, their planned voyages were cancelled, passengers were refunded. Holiday was docked in Mobile and Pascagoula, Ecstasy and Sensation were docked at New Orleans, Louisiana; the six-month contract cost $236 million. The contract was criticized, because the vessels were never utilized, Carnival received more money than it would have earned by using the ships in their normal rotation. Since 2017, Carnival Cruise Line has been on probation, after having been found to "illegally dumping oil into the ocean from its Princess Cruises ships and lying about the scheme." Carnival Cruise Line had to pay a $40 million fine. By 2019, the US prosecutors found that "ships have dumped gray water into Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, prepared ships in advance of court-ordered audits to avoid unfavorable findings, falsified records and dumped plastic garbage into the ocean."
Carnival Cruise has acknowledged these incidents. As a result, a US federal Judge "threatens to stop Carnival ships from docking in US." See al
Cruise ship
A cruise ship is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages when the voyage itself, the ship's amenities, sometimes the different destinations along the way, form part of the passengers' experience. Transportation is not the only purpose of cruising on cruises that return passengers to their originating port. On "cruises to nowhere" or "nowhere voyages", cruise ships make 2-to-3 night round trips without any ports of call. In contrast, dedicated transport-oriented ocean liners do "line voyages" and transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips. Traditionally, shipping lines build liners for the transoceanic trade to a higher standard than that of a typical cruise ship, including higher freeboard and stronger plating to withstand rough seas and adverse conditions encountered in the open ocean, such as the North Atlantic. Ocean liners usually have larger capacities for fuel and other stores for consumption on long voyages, compared to dedicated cruise-ships, but few ocean liners remain in existence—note the preserved liners and Queen Mary 2, which make scheduled North Atlantic voyages.
Although luxurious, ocean liners had characteristics that made them unsuitable for cruising, such as high fuel-consumption, deep draughts that prevented their entering shallow ports, enclosed weatherproof decks inappropriate for tropical weather, cabins designed to maximize passenger numbers rather than comfort. The gradual evolution of passenger-ship design from ocean liners to cruise ships has seen passenger cabins shifted from inside the hull to the superstructure and provided with private verandas. Modern cruise ships, while sacrificing some qualities of seaworthiness, have added amenities to cater to water tourists, recent vessels have been described as "balcony-laden floating condominiums"; the distinction between ocean liners and cruise ships has blurred with respect to deployment, although differences in construction remain. Larger cruise ships have engaged in longer trips, such as transoceanic voyages which may not return to the same port for months; some former ocean liners operate as cruise ships, such as Marco Polo, although this number is diminishing.
The only dedicated transatlantic ocean liner in operation as a liner as of December 2013 is Queen Mary 2 of the Cunard Line. She has the amenities of contemporary cruise ships and sees significant service on cruisesCruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, accounting for U. S.$29.4 billion, with over 19 million passengers carried worldwide as of 2011.. The industry's rapid growth has seen nine or more newly built ships catering to a North American clientele added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing European clientele. Smaller markets, such as the Asia-Pacific region, are serviced by older ships; these are displaced by new ships in the high-growth areas. As of 2019 the world's largest cruise-ship was Royal Caribbean International's Symphony of the Seas along with its three sister ships Harmony of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas which round out the top 4 largest cruise liners in the world; the birth of leisure cruising began with the formation of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company in 1822.
The company started out as a shipping line with routes between England and the Iberian Peninsula, adopting the name Peninsular Steam Navigation Company. It won its first contract to deliver mail in 1837. In 1840, it began mail delivery to Alexandria, via Gibraltar and Malta; the company was incorporated by Royal Charter the same year, becoming the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. P&O first introduced passenger cruising services in 1844, advertising sea tours to destinations such as Gibraltar and Athens, sailing from Southampton; the forerunner of modern cruise holidays, these voyages were the first of their kind, P&O Cruises has been recognised as the world's oldest cruise line. The company introduced round trips to destinations such as Alexandria and Constantinople, it underwent a period of rapid expansion in the latter half of the 19th century, commissioning larger and more luxurious ships to serve the expanding market. Notable ships of the era include the SS Ravenna built in 1880, which became the first ship to be built with a total steel superstructure, the SS Valetta built in 1889, the first ship to use electric lights.
Some sources mention Francesco I, flying the flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, as the first cruise ship. She was built in 1831 and sailed from Naples in early June 1833, preceded by an advertising campaign; the cruise ship was boarded by nobles and royal princes from all over Europe. In just over three months, the ship sailed to Taormina, Syracuse, Corfu, Delphi, Athens, Constantinople, delighting passengers with excursions and guided tours, card tables on the deck and parties on board. However, it was not a commercial endeavour; the cruise of the German ship Augusta Victoria in the Mediterranean and the Near East from 22 January to 22 March 1891, with 241 passengers including Albert Ballin and wife, popularized the cruise to a wider market. Christian Wilhelm Allers published an illustrated account of it as Backschisch; the first vessel built for luxury cruising, was Prinzessin Victoria Luise of Germany, designed by Albert Ballin, general manager of Hamburg-America Line. The ship was completed in 1900.
The practice of luxury cruising made steady inroads on the more established market for transatlantic crossings. In the competition fo
Italy
Panama
