posted 06-05-2000 12:51 AM                    

SeaAmerica Cruise Line Confirms U.S.-Flag Cruise Ship Project


Hollywood, Florida, April 7, 2000 - SeaAmerica Cruise Line Inc. today provided additional details about its plan to build large cruise ships in the U.S. for service in domestic markets under U.S. registry.

The SeaAmerica initiative - separate from "Project America", the U.S.-flag cruise ship construction venture launched by American Classic Voyages Co. - was announced March 27 by SeaAmerica Cruise Line and Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Ingalls is a division of Litton Industries.

An agreement between the line and the shipyard calls for cruise vessel design and the negotiation contract for two 45,000, 1,012 passenger ships. The agreement includes an option for two additional ships.

The ships will offer itineraries along the East, Gulf and West Coasts, said SeaAmerica Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David W. Turner. The first ship is expected to make its maiden voyage in late 2003 or early 2004.

Designed primarily as luxury cruise ships, the vessels will also feature the largest conference centers afloat to attract U.S. business, labor, public interest and civic groups known to want alternatives to land-based conventions and seminars. SeaAmerica Cruise Line will also cater to U.S. and European leisure travelers.

Markets for SeaAmerica Cruise Line's intended services are strong, according to an independent analysis by PriceWaterhouse Coopers, a worldwide accounting and hospitality consulting firm. Sustained growth was forecast for the domestic cruise industry, especially in the convention and business meeting sector.

SeaAmerica Cruise Line has alliances, contracts, or letters of intent with:

Tillberg Design USA and Tillberg Design-Sweden to provide architectural services. Tillberg is the world's leading cruise ship design firm.

Kvaerner Masa Marine USA and Kvaerner Masa Yards-technology of Finland as the principal engineering services vendor. Kvaerner Masa is the world's foremost cruise ship engineering and construction concern.

V. Ships USA and V. Ships Monaco to provide technical support services.

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to establish design and construction standards and survey the ships to ensure passenger safety. ABS is one of the world's premier ship classification societies.

The American Maritime Officers (AMO) to provide the U.S. Coast Guard-licensed engine and deck officers for the vessels. AMO is the only U.S. merchant marine officers' union with current cruise ship experience.

Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) to provide HVAC, propulsion and control monitoring equipment.

"These organizations are the acknowledged experts, the leaders in the cruise industry worldwide," Turner said of the contractors. "They have the know-how and the experience."

He added: "SeaAmerica Cruise Line has advanced the development of an American cruise product and industry. We are proving that we can build in America, operate in America, and deliver a quality American product to our passengers."

Turner credited American Classic Voyages and its "visionary" chairman, Sam Zell, for "proving that American-built cruise ships are possible with their two new build cruise ships for Hawaii, to be operated under the historic United States Line. They paved the way for others like us, SeaAmerica, to succeed."

The SeaAmerica project is financed privately through American Marine Advisors (AMA) of New York, one of the world's leading ship financing firms. SeaAmerica intends to apply for shipbuilding loan guarantees from the Maritime Administration under a proven program authorized in Title XI of the 1936 Merchant Marine Act. Title XI guarantees make commercial ship construction credit easier to obtain. Northeast Capital of West Virginia provided additional funding for SeaAmerica.

"We will provide an all-American cruise product, and we will operate in the tradition of American enterprise in markets where demand is known to be strong," Turner concluded. "SeaAmerica will create thousands of productive, rewarding jobs in various industries in many states and give American cruise consumers exciting new options."

By law, domestic cruise markets are reserved for vessels owned, built, registered and crewed in the U.S. Under the current tax code, expense deductions are permitted for business meetings and conventions held at sea aboard U.S.-built and flagged vessels.

For more information, contact Ann Kaar at AKaar@SeaAmerica.com

posted 06-05-2000 09:40 AM                    

For those of you who have sailed from Charleston in recent years, you boarded your vessel (probably) at the South Carolina State Ports Authority terminal which is built, partially, on the site of the old Clyde Line docks.

posted 06-05-2000 10:06 PM                       

Here's the photo of the model (...actually it's a computer generated image).

Based on what I've read, these folks still have a ways to go...

Joe at TravelPage.com

posted 06-06-2000 01:59 PM                    

[This message has been edited by Joe at PwC (edited 06-06-2000).]

posted 06-11-2000 12:47 PM                   

--Tim