findashipmate.com 'launches' to reunite the worlds' cruise passengers

A website to reunite the worlds Cruise Ship Passengers and Crew has been 'launched from the United Kingdom this week.

The website, findashipmate.com, is the brainchild of ex-merchant seaman, Paul Outen, who worked as a musician on some of the worlds most prestigious cruise ships. With his knowledge of shipping and the people who cruised and worked on passenger ships he knew there was a large -- and until now unmet -- demand for a web site of this nature.

Paul Outen said: Ships produce very close knit communities. Passenger ships are unique and the passengers and crew, who cruise, often establish long lasting relationships, sometimes even leading to marriage! Due to the global nature of cruising it is sometimes impossible to stay in touch with all the shipmates that were made during a voyage. The Internet has provided the opportunity for these global communities to reunite and share stories with long lost friends."

The valuable role of cruise ships in World War II has not been overlooked. Interest has already been expressed by organisations looking to reunite service personnel who were stationed on Passenger ships that were used as troop carriers and hospital ships through the last war.

The site has already generated a lot of excitement from many organisations looking to reunite communities who either for leisure, or work, were together on some of the most famous passenger ships". Paul Outen added: The hunt is on to find the earliest voyage one of our members has been on".

Paul matched his in-depth knowledge of the industry with the technical skills of the findashipmate.com team to provide the perfect opportunity to develop and grow a unique site catering for devotees of passenger shipping.

A database of passenger ships had to be compiled - no mean task considering no single source of such information previously existed. Expert use of many resources and a lot of dedication has resulted in the largest database of its kind, including; more than 3,500 ships, with a total tonnage in excess of 24million tonnes, on voyages over a 100-year period.

Following the launch, the site is tempting as many 'shipmates as possible to ensure a rapid growth in the on-line cruise community. Six months free registration is currently being offered for 'early-bird passengers who become members.

The site is due to add many more features over the coming months.

Editors Notes

1. The findashipmate site can be found at www.findashipmate.com and is aimed at both the passengers and crew from the worlds fleet of passenger ships, both past and present.

2. The offer of 6 months free registration is limited to the first 500 recipients who sign up who in turn receive 18 months registration for the price of 12 months. The current cost of registration is 6 per year in the United Kingdom.

3. The first 500 shipmates also have the opportunity to win 1 of 10 bottles of champagne to 'break across the bows to mark the launch.

4. Paul Outen, the brainchild behind the site served as a Musician and Band Leader for P&O Cruises for 21 years and worked on ships as prestigious as Canberra, Oriana, Sea Princess and the 'old Oriana. He is CEO of Finda Ltd.

5. Over 10 million people take cruise holidays every year (Source: The Maritime Evaluations Group). The UKs cruise industry grew by 2.4% in 2001, with more than 890,000 Brits choosing an ocean cruise, river or coastal cruise holiday. Annual increases of around 10% are predicted for the UK ocean cruise market from 2003. William Gibbons, director of the Passenger Shipping Association, said, This is the fifteenth successive year of growth for the cruise industry, despite a difficult year for the travel industry. There are 37 new ships on order or option for delivery between May 2002 and 2006 and we are still expecting annual cruise passengers to grow by 60% between 2000 and 2009". Cruise revenue has increased from 815 million to 885 million. (Source: The Passenger Shipping Association annual 2001 statistics).

6. The ships database includes tonnage, service/build year, former names and country of registry with ships dating back to 1900.

7. An extensive search of the web has indicated that although sites are in existence providing a similar service to the Royal Naval ships and personnel there are no sites dedicated to the Merchant ships, and cruise ships in particular.

8. Passenger ships also provide a valuable service during wartime as troop and hospital ships transporting the brave forces personnel. SS Canberra (The Great White Whale) found its way into the hearts of the nation more recently during the Falklands campaign, and proved yet again the vital contribution that passenger ships provide outside their normal working environment.

Contact Details

Press Enquiries to +44 (0)7765 253483 or press@findashipmate.com