Helping Us With Boats

Introduction

Before one can get into the intricate commercial details involved in operation of a fleet of cruise ships, one must first understand the definition of the term itself. Cruise ships are normally passenger ships that clients use to go for voyages or for leisurely trips. Consequently, cruise ships form a major component of the tourism industry. Most cruise ships operate in such a way that they can come back to their original ports; that is, they move in a circle. This is sharp contrast to ocean liners that move from one port to another without returning to their original port. The Cruise ship industry mostly focuses on North American and sometimes European clients. Clients in the Asian Pacific areas are usually served by older ships. (Terri, 2007)

Cruise ships make up a huge part of the global economy; this especially true when trips to be made involve the entire world. Statistics show that in the year 2001, there were about 167 cruise ship fleets. In the year 2005, there were about 200 hundred cruise ships; it has been projected that by the end of this year, the number will have increased by about thirty five percent. Most of the passengers who take up or enjoy services offered by cruise ships come from North America. It has been estimated that there are about seven million passengers who have boarded cruise ships in 2006. (Business Research and Economic Advisors, 2002)

Trade for operation of a fleet of cruise ships

Selecting appropriate constructors

Cruise ships normally carry large numbers of passengers. Consequently, one cruise ship will bring in numerous returns to a given business. Therefore, chances of making or building new cruise ships are minimal. However when one is operating a fleet, there may be a need to first construct. This should be done by involving only the best teams in the business. The proprietor should consult a reputable organisation that has experience in the construction of such infrastructures. One such Company found in the US is Kiewit Offshore Services. This company has been very effective in the process of creating a Bullwinkle jacket (main frame of a cruise ship) that weighed about fifty thousand tonnes and was almost one thousand four hundred feet tall. (Hershman, 1988)

After the main frame of the cruise ship has been constructed then a proprietor should approach a hotel constructing company. The purpose of such a team is to make the cruise ship more habitable by passengers. This is critical aspect of the ship building process because most people take up cruise ships for leisure purposes. They will therefore need all the recreational facilities that are associated with tourism such as hotels. Besides this, there may be a need to incorporate certain features like swimming pools, tennis courts to fill up space and add more activities for the potential clients.

Consideration of laws

After completion of the building process, it is important to familiarise oneself withal the laws and regulations governing the cruise ship industry. If the cruise ship will be operating in foreign waters, they need to consider getting permission from the respective countries where they will be operating. It should be noted that there are certain countries that still prohibit the operation of foreign flagged ships and proprietors must watch out and determine which countries those are. However, modern and developed economies are usually open-minded about the use of their waters by other foreign owned ships. (The Ocean Conservancy, 2002)

Availability of labour

There are always chances of finding good labour for the construction of a fleet of ships when the area chosen is characterised by deep waters. Therefore a proprietor should locate areas that have those characteristics before he can embark on his activities. Besides that, it is also necessary to check on the ship building facilities present within certain locations. Some areas my not be well endowed with this and it my therefore be necessary to choose appropriate site facilities.

Labour will also come in during operation of the cruise ships. This is because there may be numerous hotels within that fleet. There will therefore be need to recruit personnel from the hospitality industry. These are people who are familiar with the operations of hotels including housekeeping, bar or pub management and other aspects that will require attention in the process of operation. (Hill, 1997)

Adherence to industrial and environmental regulations

There are certain laws that have been instituted concerning the dispensation of waste products for cruise ships. It should be noted that cruise ships and especially a fleet of them have the potential to cause a lot of pollution if left unchecked. It is therefore the duty of the proprietor to make sure that the following types of wastes are kept on check;

solid wasteshazardous wastes
oily wastes
gray water
black water (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2000)

One law which ought to be followed strictly is the Plastic Pollution and Control Act. This law prohibits the disposal of plastic material in waters. Besides this law, there are certain industry violations that must be fooled. The International Council of Cruise lines have come up with certain laws that govern the way cruise ships operate. First and foremost cruise ships must make sure that they adopt technologies that have recently come up in the industry. This applies to the operation and construction of cruise ships. Besides this, cruise ships are expected to adopt strategies that will lead to conservation of resources. On top of this, they are also expected to educate their staff. Another principle adhered to by the association is the minimisation of waste. (Bluewater Network, 2003)

Identification of routes

One should be very careful about the routes that are available to them during the operation of a fleet of cruise ships. This is because there are certain factors that will make life easier for passengers and the management itself. Here are some of the issues that should be considered before choosing a port

availability of terminals
nearness to airports
nearness to tourism sites
accessibility to important parts of the country (Terri, 2007)

Companies should make sure that they settle for terminals that are already in existence. It is usually advisable to take up old military terminals because those ones have been tried and tested. Besides that, military terminals usually outlive their purpose and are subsequently closed thus necessitating very little efforts in the achievement of their objectives.

Another aspect that the operation of a fleet of cruise ships could incorporate is the use of airports. This is because tourists may feel the need to see what a certain country has to offer and most of them prefer the use of air transport. On top of that, airports are essential in bringing customers to the collecting ports. Some of them might come from very distant places just to access the cruise ship. It will therefore be necessary to have a form of transport that will facilitate fast and efficient transport on land. (Bauer & Jack, 1988)

Ports should also be located where there are other tourist sites nearby. For example if it is in the US, a proprietor could choose a location in which there is accessibility of the statue of liberty. On top of this, there should be certain well known cities near those harbours. This is because there are certain areas that tourists may need to visit once they have reached land. It would be better if the sites chosen are world renowned.

Economic benefits to one’s country

Operation of a fleet of cruise ships can create numerous jobs for ones country. Some of the professions that can be accommodated include;

sports instructors
maintenance staff
chefs, waiters and restaurant managers
salesmen
seminar organisers (Marcus et al, 1976)

The world is becoming increasingly global. Therefore one can obtain a lot of benefits from the operation of cruise ship fleets for a given country. This stems from the fact that the country can collect lot of taxes from the business. Sometimes just one cruse ship can have about seven thousand passengers in it. Those passengers will have to pay for their trip in advance. This is normally taxed by the government. On top of that, there are a lot of economic activities that go on inside the cruise ships. There will be restaurants, shops, spas, sporting amenities, shopping facilities, conference rooms and even bars. Here, there will be exchange of currencies and those passengers will also be paying their taxes indirectly. (Kendall, 1979)

Besides bringing in revenue through taxes, operation of a fleet of cruise ships can also contribute to reduction of a country’s trade deficit. The North American passengers who happen to be the largest consumers of cruise ship services (90% of the consumers in the cruse ship industry coming from the US have contributed towards the booming state of the industry). That same country has highlighted that among the many contributors to their trade deficit, cruise ships fall in the ninth place. This implies that if the US was to start creating their own cruise ships instead of supporting foreign business then their trade deficit would have diminished drastically.

Conclusion

One can therefore conclude that the operation of a fleet of cruise ships has numerous economic considerations. One needs to choose the right constructors, the right ports, one also needs to follow rules and regulation in the cruise ship industry and they also need to consider availability of labour both during operation and construction. However after all these factors have been adhered to then the economic benefits will speak for themselves.

Reference:

United States Environmental Protection Agency (2000): Cruise Ship White Paper, Washington D.C.

Bluewater Network (2003): Petition to Promulgate Regulations to Prohibit Cruise Ship Discharges in Marine Sanctuaries, September 2003

Business Research and Economic Advisors (2002): The Contribution of the North American Cruise Industry to the U.S. Economy in 2001; Exton, PA

The Ocean Conservancy (2002): Cruise Control: A Report on How Cruise Ships Affect the Marine Environment

Bauer, K. & Jack, A. (1988): Maritime History of the United States: The Role of America’s Seas and Waterways; Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press

Hershman, J. (1988): Urban Ports and Harbours Management. New York: Taylor & Francis

Hill, G. (1997): Roads, Rails, and Waterways: The Army Engineers and Early Transportation. Norman, OK; University of Oklahoma Press

Kendall, C. (1979): The Business of Shipping; Centreville, MD: Cornell Maritime Press

Marcus, H. et al. (1976): Federal Port Policy in the United States. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press

Terri, A. (2007): Navigation at Sea; McGraw Hill Publishers

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