My thoughts exactly. There are plenty of vessels that have endured far worse, and are still afloat.

Lets either hope that the Supreme Court rules against demolition, and that she is saved, minus all of her NCL additions.

IMPORTANT NEWS !

I am happy to inform you of the latest news from the interested party in purchasing this vessel:

quote:

The France's hull is sound and undamaged-
The ship can also be moved from its current position,
the recent photos were taken at the lowest tide- and from a prospective
that makes it appear the ship is completely out of the water-
We are in the midst of negotiations

More information when it comes.

Positive news at last

Good to hear, do we know of this party who is interested in saving her/ i understand if you cant reveal that info. If the GMB want her sold wouldnt they at the least have some basic pumps operating to keep her hull dry?

You can register on the interested parties website for further information:

http://www.ss-france.com

Something isn't right here.

Why is Navillus suddenly being portrayed as a new found "interested party"?

I signed up on his website...months ago...and got nothing concerning this update.

Once bitten (Project Dubai), twice shy (Le Club Prestige), after that.....better have DNA evidence to back up your words.

Talk is cheap. Internet chatter is cheaper.

By the way...my comments are not aimed at Pjswansea in any fashion at all.

I understand that he/she is just the messenger in this case.

I'm still waiting for an update also having signed up weeks ago . Anyone other than Pjswansea received the information??

A bit off topic - sorry , but still related.
NCL have announced that POH will be withdrawn from Hawaii and repositioned in Europe.
Will this mean any hope of refurbing SSUS has just gone right out of the window and that she will likely follow the Norway?

I dod not mean to portray this group as a new one, or the latest in a chain of groups.

I am only the messenger, but I am putting my trust in them.

It is good to know that the TSS France is in good condition and can be removed form the beach. This allows us to fully discount the efforts of SSNorway.no, whose sole goal is to stip the ship and sell at vastly inflated prices.

We need to have a little faith (I know it's difficult and pessimissm is much easier), and get behind putting pressure on the courts.

In all this secrecy (and deleting of related posts), I don't seem to remember if we have been provided with any information about what Mr. Sullivan intends to do with the Norway once she is purchased.

I know he has dealt with buying and refurbishing historic buildings....but what is his goal for the Norway?

I mean.....shouldn't he be force-feeding us with information so we can get on his bandwagon?

What is the master plan....his vision for 5 years from now?

Let us in on the secret, Mr. Sullivan....set the record straight.

I take it that from the lack of response here that still no one else has had any direct info from Navillus. Now that is strange - just to tell one person.

I'm sure I signed up for updates some time ago, but I have never received a word.

quote:

Posted April 11, 2007 09:23 AM Hide Post
I take it that from the lack of response here that still no one else has had any direct info from Navillus. Now that is strange - just to tell one person.

Look, I was quite vocal in getting Navillus LLC to justify themselves when they first posted.

From what I have been able to ascertain they are a serious group interested in the purchase of the current SS Blue Lady.

This effort had been in close contact with Rueben Goosen's SSMaritime, and Navillus LLC and my exchange was deleted as Raoul (on Rueben's advice,) believed that our postings had a negative impact.

I can tell you that Navillus LLC are businessmen, and would like to purchase the vessel as they can see a commercial future in her.

I recieved an email as there had been little good news apart form the scavengers photo's etc.

This had resulted in a lot of us giving up hope, and becoming more concerned on other issues.

Navillus LLC have informed me that they are still in negotiations with the breakers. The team of engineers have agreed that the ship is in good structural condition, and that she can be removed from the sands of Alang.

The message I recieved also confirms that the vessel is still srrounded by water. She only looks bad in SSnorway.no's photo's as they were taken at the lowest tide and from an angle to make the situation of the ship appear far more dire than it is.

I can guess that Navillus LLC are determining on the purchase of the vessel to rename her TSS France, but this is only a guess from their website name.

I think the subject at hand - getting her off the beach is more important.

What Navillus do to the ship does not concern me. They could paint her bright pink and use her for weddings - so long as she is afloat and safe from the breakers torch.

I will post the full email later.
In the meantime we need to continue putting pressure on the courts and the Indian government. It doesn't take that long to send an email.

THE FULL E-MAIL:

quote:

Peter-

We are contacting you so that you may post correct information on our
behalf.

The France's hull is sound and undamaged-

The ship can also be moved from its current position,
the recent photos were taken at the lowest tide- and from a prospective
that makes it appear the ship is completely out of the water-

We are in the midst of negotiations- please understand that I can not
give more
details to you at this time-

It may be a good idea for you to post that you have heard from us-
and relay the message
that we are still negotiating.

In addition, it is important that you keep the pressure on the court
as well.

Thank you,

Navilus LLC

THE FACTS:

Let's assess the reality of our situation. We are all camgaining and hoping that the current SS Blue Lady is removed from Alang and spare the indigity of scrapping.

Currently there are two groups actively doing something about this situation.

1) The environmental groups petitioning the Supreme Court of India, and the Parliament of the Republic of India.

Gopal Krishna, Indian Platform on Ship breaking, krishnagreen@gmail.com, 9818089660

Ramapati Kumar, Greenpeace, rkumar@dialb.greenpeace.org, 09845535414


2) Navillus LLC, who are in the midsts of negotiations on purchasing the ship.

We either have to support these two parties, or shut-up. Complaining and negativity..eg. comments such as:

quote:

Weak hull, rust, mildew, old age, no upkeep.........ya, where do I sign up? Just let her die.

do not help. If you want to help, sign up to Navillus LLC on:

http://www.ss-france.com

or contact and help the environmentalists who are trying to protect the Indian workers in the breakingh yards, and the beautiful Gujarati coastline from contamination from toxic chemicals and waste.

Sorry for my rant...but we need to be serious! In four days time the SS Blue Lady will have been eight months on that beach. If we work together and support these efforts she could be soon back on the oceans where she belongs!

quote:

What Navillus do to the ship does not concern me. They could paint her bright pink and use her for weddings - so long as she is afloat and safe from the brakers torch.

If you are not concerned....then you'd better hope Navillus isn't negotiating on behalf of a Chinese breaker.

All I'm asking is a statement like "We envision the Norway as a static hotel with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background".....

Is that asking too much?

Guess so.

Therefore....whats the purpose of signing up on his website? Seems we are giving him more information (email addresses, etc.) than he is giving us.

I hope that Navillus will be able to give information when they can.

I'd rather wait and hear, rather than speculate.

I know the information I received would generate 1001 more questions.

I am aware that many of SS France/Norway affectionado's are nervous over the future of this vessel.

We need to keep the pressure on the courts and keep the SS Blue Lady in the news. I ask everyone to contact all media possible; email the court, email the Indian government. It is also essential that we keep the pressure up. Remember, if we keep quiet thousands of Indian workers are going to suffer form mutilations, and damage from the metric tonnes of pops, chemicals and asbestos.

If the Indian authorities think that they can get away with the scrapping of the Norway , the Stockholm and Basel convention become worthless. India must uphold its commitments to international law

I have been provided with some additional information that is significant. I am aware that the vessel will be treated with the repsect and care that she deserves by Navilus LLC. There are plans for drydocking and a major re-fit

Keath's idea that the effort is to purchase her for breaking in China is abhorrent and rubbish. I am aware that this effort has serious plans for a new career as the SS France.

Please lets all get to task with the issue at hand. Stop bitching and get on with putting the pressure on the Indian government, courts and especially the breakers. Remember the more negative publicity we gnerate about Alang the better. It's about time that the world opened its eyes to the terrible condtion's in Alang. The more attention we put on Alang, the greater the difficulty for the ship breakers in Alang in scrapping ships in the manner they have become accostomed to. They need to know that the longer the ship sits in Alang, the less likely things will be as easy as thay have been since shipbreaking came to Alang.

Can everyone please send an email to:

STOCKHOLM CONVENTION PERSISTENT ORGANIC
POLLUTANTS (POPs)

ssc@pops.int

India signed this agreement and is bound by its terms. KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT AND COURTS.