View Comments Stage and screen star Joely Richardson will star in the off-Broadway revival of The Belle of Amherst, William Luce’s one-woman play that captures the revered career and private life of poet Emily Dickinson. Under the direction of Steve Cosson, performances will begin on October 7 at the Westside Theatre. Opening night is set for October 19. In The Belle of Amherst, Emily Dickinson’s poems, diaries and letters are woven into an illuminating portrait of the prolific wordsmith. Dickinson’s encounters with close friends and family and her often-amusing observations come to life on stage. The play originally premiered on Broadway in 1976. Richardson has appeared on stage previously in Side Effects, The Lady from the Sea, Ivanov and Madame Melville. On screen, she has appeared in Nip/Tuck (for which she received two Golden Globe nominations) and numerous films, including The Patriot, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 101 Dalmations, Thanks for Sharing and Endless Love. The Belle of Amherst will feature set design by Antje Ellermann, lighting design by David Weiner and sound design by Daniel Kluger.
Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus has went trough a major overhaul for the foundation installation project on the Norther offshore wind farm.The installation of the first of a total of 45 foundations marks the start of the Norther offshore wind farm project.The wind farm will be located 23 kilometers from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge and will have a total capacity of 370 MW.As main contractor, Van Oord is responsible for the engineering, procurement, delivery and installation of the 45 foundations for the wind turbines, the offshore high-voltage station and the entire electrical infrastructure, as well as for installing the wind turbines.In addition to the Aeolus, Van Oord will also be deploying its cable-laying vessel Nexus on the project in the next few months.Van Oord began deploying the Aeolus on offshore wind projects in 2014.To keep up with the changing offshore wind market, the vessel required a major upgrade, including boosting the vessel’s loading capacity, increasing the number of onboard accommodations to 99, widening the vessel, reinforcing the deck and adding a helideck.The spud poles – the vessel’s ‘feet’, as it were – have also been enlarged. According to Van Oord, the most critical modification was a new crane with a lifting capacity of 1,600 tonnes. That makes the Aeolus one of the biggest heavy-lift crane vessels in its class and ready to handle the latest generation of foundations and wind turbines.
zoomIllustration; Source: Pixabay under CC0 Creative Commons license Miami-based cruise major Royal Caribbean Cruises closed the quarter ended June 30, 2019, with record second-quarter earnings.US GAAP net income for the quarter was USD 472.8 million, compared to USD 466.3 million posted in Q2 2018.In addition, adjusted net income stood at USD 532.7 million in the second quarter of 2019, against USD 482.2 million seen in the corresponding three-month period a year earlier.As explained, the improvement over last year was mainly driven by increased revenue from Royal Caribbean’s global brands. “We are elated to see our brands executing so effectively, keeping our business in an exceptionally strong position,” Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO, pointed out.The overall positive results were achieved despite the United States’ decision to ban cruise ships from docking in Cuba, preventing group tours and cruise ship stops to the island nation.“Better demand for onboard experiences as well as strong close-in demand for our core products fully offset the impact from the travel restrictions to Cuba which equated to 30 basis points for the quarter,” according to the company.Due to an increase in costs related to the travel restrictions to Cuba, current fuel pricing, as well as other factors, Royal Caribbean estimates 2019 adjusted EPS to be in the range of USD 9.55 to USD 9.65 per share.“The company’s booked position for the remainder of 2019 continues to set new records with all core products in line or ahead of the company’s previous expectations,” Jason T. Liberty, executive vice president and CFO, commented. “While it is too early to provide detailed color on 2020, we are delighted that bookings are already off to a very strong start.”Royal Caribbean Cruises controls and operates four brands including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea Cruises. It is also a 50% joint venture owner of the German brand TUI Cruises and a 49% shareholder in the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros. Together, these brands operate a combined total of 63 ships with an additional 13 on order as of June 30, 2019.