OVERSEAS SKOPELOS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday issued a framework for a phased resumption of cruise ship operations after a no-sail order issued in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic expires on Saturday.The CDC said it was requiring testing and additional safeguards for crew members. A U.S. House of Representatives committee is investigating if the White House blocked the CDC from extending the no-sail order through mid-February.The no-sail order issued in March came amid a rising number of coronavirus cases on cruise ships. On Friday, shares of major cruise lines Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises jumped following the CDC order.

Iran accused the United States on Friday of acting like the "Pirates of the Caribbean" after Washington said it had sold off Iranian crude oil shipments that it seized on their way to Venezuela.Washington said on Thursday it had sold 1.1 million barrels of previously seized Iranian oil that was bound for Venezuela, in the Trump administration's latest move to increase pressure on Tehran less than a week before the November 3 U.S. presidential election."The Pirates of the Caribbean openly boasting abt(about) their booty... No one civilized brags abt stealing," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Twitter.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri said it has handed over the second of three new “Muse” series ultra-luxury cruise ships it is constructing for Royal Caribbean's Silversea Cruises.Silver Moon, built at Fincantieri's Ancona yard and delivered on Friday, is a sister ship of Silver Muse, that went out to sea in 2017 from the Sestri Ponente (Ge) shipyard, and of Silver Dawn, to be delivered in 2021 in Ancona. At 40,700 gross tons, the newbuild has capacity for 596 passengers in 298 all-suite cabins.

CMA CGM has taken delivery of CMA CGM Champs Elysées, its second 23,000 TEU capacity containership powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).The newbuild, which follows flagship CMA CGM Jacques Saadé delivered in Setember, is part of a series of nine ordered by the French shipping line from CSSC’s shipyard in Shanghai, designed as the world's most efficient ultra large container vessels.LNG fuel, which enables a 99% reduction in sulfur dioxide and fine particle emissions and an 85% reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions, is a key component of the CMA CGM Group's environmental ambitions. The group has previously outlined its objective to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Greece on Friday received nine non-binding bids for a 67% stake in Igoumenitsa port, its privatization agency said on Friday.Bids were submitted by Aegean Oil, Attica Holdings and a consortium of Archirodon Group and ANEK & Trident Hellas Group.The other bidders were a consortium of Grimaldi Euromed and Minoan Lines, Danthia Shipping, MRG Ltd, Portek International, Quintana Infrastructure and Thessaloniki Port Authority , the agency said.The deadline for bidding expired at 1500 GMT on Friday.