………And For P&O

P&O Cruises announced on 6th September that it is to take delivery of a new 180,000 tons LNG powered ship in 2020. This nextgeneration ship will be the largest cruise vessel to be built specifically for the British market. The 5,200 guest capacity (lower berths) ship will offer an extensive range of dining, entertainment and relaxing features and is to be built by Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The newbuild will feature the company’s exclusive “green cruising” design as one of the first generation of cruise ships to be fully powered by LNG, shipping’s most advanced fuel technology, which will significantly reduce air emissions.

Ecoship Agreement For Peaceboat

Peace Boat, the Japan-based international non-profit NGO, and classification society DNV GL have signed an MOU forming a partnership that was spawned in 2014 to develop the Ecoship cruise ship. The agreement will see the partners work together on the design, construction and operation phases of Peace Boat’s Ecoship and the promotion of the Ecoship as a flagship for climate action, the Sustainable Development Goals and for sustainability in shipping. Peace Boat aims to create a vessel design and a set of specifications that incorporates the latest environmentally friendly technologies is at the forefront of incoming regulations and offers a transition model towards a lowcarbon economy.

A New Generation

On 16th August the production of a new generation of Mein Schiff ships began at the Meyer Turku shipyard, Finland, with the steel cutting ceremony. The new Mein Schiff 1, NB-1392, will be around 20m longer than the previous Mein Schiff ships and will have space for an additional 180 cabins. Based on double occupancy, this means up to 2,894 guests will be able to enjoy the TUI Cruises well-being cruise experience. In addition the ship will feature various other guest experience and technical improvements. The 111,500gt and 315m long Mein Schiff 1 will be delivered in 2018 and will replace the existing Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will replace the older ship in 2019. The first two TUI Cruises ships will be handed over within the TUI Group to Thomson Cruises. Meyer Turku shipyard has further enlarged it’s investment package with a new steel storage and pre-treatment facility. This is the third large scale investment announced this year following on from the new Gantry crane and building of a new modernised Cabin Factory on the original Piikkio Works cabin factory grounds. The new steel storage and pre-treatment facility will increase the steel pre-treatment capacity of Meyer Turku, improve dimensional accuracy and increase productivity. The production of the new Steel storage and pre-treatment facility starts in the autumn of 2016 and will be ready in the spring of 2017.

Expedition Newbuilds

In late August the TUI Group announced plans for two newbuilds for its Hamburg-based subsidiary Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The two 5-star expedition vessels are scheduled for launch in April and October 2019, respectively, following 20 months of construction. The two ships will be built at the Norwegian Vard shipyard of Vard Holdings Limited, a shareholder of the Italian Fincantieri shipyard.

Hurtigruten

Hurtigruten ASA has attracted interest from buyout firms EQT Partners AB, Bain Capital and TPG. The company’s owner, TDR Capital, is reportedly working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and ABG Sundal Collier Holding ASA to find a buyer and expects to report gross earnings of €135 million in 2016. This could value the company at €1.6-€1.9 billion. Hurtigruten was initially established in 1893 to improve shipping lines between the north and south of Norway. In 2014 TDR, alongside Periscopus AS and Home Capital AS, took the business into private ownership in a deal that valued Hurtigruten at 5.68 billion Kroner ($700 million).

The operator is building a new breed of expedition ships using hybrid technology that will, for the first time ever, allow fully electric propulsion on a passenger cruise ship. The previously announced 530 passenger capacity and 40m long ships, two in total, will be constructed at Kleven Yards in Norway and are designed expedition cruises to the Arctic and Antarctic. The design for the ships, including the hybrid solution, is provided by Rolls-Royce. The hybrid propulsion will allow for fully electric propulsion for short periods of time, approximately 15 to 30 minutes, according to Hurtigruten. The company says the hybrid technology will reduce fuel consumption by as much as 20%, resulting in CO2 emission of a 6,400 metric tons per year compared to traditional ships.

The new hybrid technology is being developed in two phases. The first ship, which will be ready in 2018, is equipped with an auxiliary electric engine, which will reduce the CO2 emissions by 20%. The second ship is to be built with a fully-fledged hybrid engine that can power the entire ship for longer periods of time and distances, such as into fjords and most importantly in vulnerable areas. The end goal is to refurbish the first ship with the same technology at a later time. The investment in the new technology represents a total expenditure of 124 million NOK ($15 million). Enova, a Norwegian government enterprise responsible for promotion of environmentally friendly production and consumption of energy is contributing to the project with 45.1 million NOK ($5 million).

Floating Dream

The 151,300gt Genting Dream (above) began floating out at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany on the afternoon of 19th August. The purpose-built Chinese ship then underwent several tests in the harbour before finally berthing alongside the yard’s fitting out pier. While Genting Dream is at the quay, work will continue including fitting out all the interior spaces. The next major milestone for the Genting Dream was the conveyance down the River Ems towards the North Sea. The vessel then underwent sea trials in mid-September before being delivered to Dream Cruises. The ship will make her debut at her home port of Guangzhou (Nansha Port) in November. The maiden cruise itinerary offers 2, 5 and 7-night Vietnam destination cruises calling at several ports in the region. The Genting Dream is the first of two new ships for Dream Cruises. The second, to be named Genting World will be completed in November 2017. The Breakaway-Plus style Genting Dream can carry 3,370 passengers in 1,680 cabins, most of them with balconies. Dream Cruises has also unveiled its summer 2017 itinerary. From 2nd April to 29th September the ship will depart weekly on Sundays from Guangzhou (Nansha) for a five-night cruise to Japan, with guests enjoying two nights at sea before making stops in Naha and Miyakojima in the Okinawa Prefecture.

Meraviglia Floated Out

On 2nd September MSC Cruises revealed the name of its second STX France-built Meraviglia-generation ultra-modern mega cruise ship. She will be called MSC Bellissima and will come into service in the Spring of 2019. The announcement was made at STX France’s shipyard in Saint Nazaire, as the Company celebrated the float out of the first next-generation mega-ship, MSC Meraviglia, due to come into service in June 2017. The ceremony (above) was attended by, amongst others esteemed MSC Cruises and STX France guests, Senator of Pays de la Loire Region, Bruno Retailleau, General Council President of Loire Atlantique, Philippe Grosvalet and the Mayor of Saint-Nazaire, David Samzun. The float out is a key milestone in the construction of a ship with the 5,714 guest capacity MSC Meraviglia being moved to a wet dock where she has now entered the final phase of her construction. The actual move from the building dock took place at dawn on 3rd September.

Unique innovations aboard the new ship include the specially designed 120 guest (dinner), 290 guest (bar) Carousel Lounge where Cirque du Soleil artists will perform shows created exclusively for MSC Cruises guests, a 96 metre-long Mediterranean- style promenade with an 80m LED Sky that runs through the centre of the ship as well as an enhanced MSC Yacht Club, MSC Cruises’ exclusive ship-in-ship luxury concept, with its own private facilities spanning three decks.