From the Norway Department:

The US National Transportation Safety Board issued their final report on Norway's 2003 boiler explosion, which eventually caused the ship never to return to service.

While the report at the link mentioned above won't be for everyone, most of it is surprisingly "nontechnical" and interesting reading for those interested in cruise ships.

The Board found fault with the way the boiler was operated over the years, the way it was maintained and the way it was inspected.

It is important to note that NCL accepted responsibility for the accident right away. For those concerned about continued operation, NCL notes that no one who was directly responsible for operation, maintenance or inspection of Norway's boilers is any longer employed by the company, and the line has changed classification societies since the accident.

NCL issued the following statement:
Yesterday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its report on the 2003 S/S Norway steam boiler accident at the Port of Miami. NCL CEO and President Colin Veitch said "as evidenced by the highly technical nature of the discussion and the fact that it took 4½ years to complete the report, this was clearly a unique and unusual accident. NCL immediately accepted responsibility for the accident and compensated all of the victims. The Norway, which was the only steamship in the fleet, was sold in 2004. None of the management or contractors who were involved in the operation, maintenance or inspection of the Norway’s boilers are employed by NCL."

Veitch continued: "We appreciate the Board’s hard work and believe that the lessons learned from the report will benefit both shipping companies and classification societies. As evidenced by the lack of agreement among the investigating experts, NCL does not concur with all of the conclusions in the voluminous report, but we are hopeful that its publication will help bring to a close this tragic event."

As the NTSB noted in its report, in the months following the accident, NCL implemented a number of improvements and preventive measures to enhance its Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS). NCL’s SEMS is now widely regarded as one of the best safety management systems in the maritime industry.

From the good-bye to an old friend department:

Reuters reports that scrapping has begun at Alang (India) on the 46,000-ton Blue Lady which is Norwegian Cruise Line's former SS Norway and SS France prior to NCL's purchase of the classic liner.

The ship has been at the center of protracted legal battles due to the amount of asbestos it is believed to contain. Nonetheless, according to the Reuters article, the workers at Alang are happy for the work, saying they would rather risk death while working than starve to death due to lack of work.

The ship was severely damaged by a boiler explosion, and after months of negotiating with the insurance company, NCL and Star Cruises decided to sell the ship since it became evident that it would not be economically feasible to repair it for use again as a cruise ship. NCL spent months trying to find a buyer for the ship with a workable plan for another use of the ship. When one couldn't be found, the ship was transferred to Star which worked on their own plan for an alternate use for the ship. When a buyer stepped forward during that process, Star made the decision to sell the ship.

NCL told CND at the time of the transfer to Star that they had removed the important artifacts from the ship and placed them in storage for future use.

CND Headlines - The Beginning of the End

India's Supreme Court today gave final approval to begin dismantling the former SS Norway, now called Blue Lady.

A little more than a year ago, the ship was run aground at Alang (India) in preparation, but several court challenges have prevented the demolition work from beginning. Now all that's standing in the way is the actual paperwork.

Work is expected to start in about a week, and the demolition project should be completed in about a year.

Norway may be gone, but at least its passengers still have wonderful memories of a beautiful ship that came to the end of its useful life. NCL assured CND that before they sold the ship - to the buyer who ultimately made the decision to scrap it - they had removed the important artifacts and placed them in storage to use again at the right time. So in some way, Norway will sail on into the future - at least in spirit and in our memories.

Details were in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.