CruiseBusiness.com CruiseBusiness.com REVIEWING CRUISE BUSINESS GLOBALLY Magazine WINTER 2022 DECARBONIZATION PROGRESS VIKING OCTANTIS Viking launched its expedition voyages to Antarctica in early 2022 on the new Viking Octantis. The polar-class Viking Octantis can accommodate 378 passengers in 189 staterooms. Following the ship’s naming in New York City, the Viking Octantis will make its way to the Great Lakes region for a series of voyages throughout the spring and summer. Its sister ship, the Viking Polaris, will be delivered later this year from the VARD shipyard. NEW EXPEDITION SHIPS SET SAIL kansi2022.indd 1 kansi2022.indd 1 4.3.2022 10.46 4.3.2022 10.46
E X P L O R AT I O N EXISTING VESSELS www.sunstoneships.com Wherever Your Destination, SunStone Can Take You There. As you explore farther and farther into the frontier, we’re there to support you. Our clients and partners depend on SunStone’s innovation to facilitate their ongoing exploration and expansion. Our INFINITY class vessels are a leap forward in technology, design, safety and cost. Join us as expedition cruising enters the INFINITY-era. M/V OCEAN ATLANTIC M/V SEA SPIRIT M/V GREG MORTIMER M/V OCEAN DIAMOND M/V OCEAN ENDEAVOUR M/V QUEST M/V OCEAN NOVA IS THE ENGINE THAT DRIVES INNOVATION. — EDITH WIDDER, O CEANO GRAPHER — Follow The Sun. M/V OCEAN ADVENTURER M/V OCEAN EXPLORER OCEAN DISCOVERER Delivery 2023 SYLVIA EARLE Delivery 2022 OCEAN ODYSSEY Delivery 2022 OCEAN ALBATROS Delivery 2022 INFINITY-CLASS NEW BUILDINGS | OCEAN VICTORY, Delivery 2021 2-3.indd 2 2-3.indd 2 7.3.2022 11.25 7.3.2022 11.25
6 Editor’s Commentary 8 Upfront 16 Roberto Martinoli previews Silversea’s hybrid-power Silver Nova 19 Pocadel: Fire-resistant glazed doors must be increasingly impressive 20 Decarbonization progress being made 24 Aurora Botnia shines green light on shipping's future 26 Swan Hellenic sets sail again 33 Swan Hellenic air cleansed by Koja 34 Pandemic leads to sharp rise in interest expenses and liabilities 37 AQ Trafotek transforms shipboard power 38 Cruising like an Italian aboard Costa Smeralda CONTENTS – WINTER 2022 Ph oto cre dit : Te ijo Ni em elä CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 3 E X P L O R AT I O N EXISTING VESSELS www.sunstoneships.com Wherever Your Destination, SunStone Can Take You There. As you explore farther and farther into the frontier, we’re there to support you. Our clients and partners depend on SunStone’s innovation to facilitate their ongoing exploration and expansion. Our INFINITY class vessels are a leap forward in technology, design, safety and cost. Join us as expedition cruising enters the INFINITY-era. M/V OCEAN ATLANTIC M/V SEA SPIRIT M/V GREG MORTIMER M/V OCEAN DIAMOND M/V OCEAN ENDEAVOUR M/V QUEST M/V OCEAN NOVA IS THE ENGINE THAT DRIVES INNOVATION. — EDITH WIDDER, O CEANO GRAPHER — Follow The Sun. M/V OCEAN ADVENTURER M/V OCEAN EXPLORER OCEAN DISCOVERER Delivery 2023 SYLVIA EARLE Delivery 2022 OCEAN ODYSSEY Delivery 2022 OCEAN ALBATROS Delivery 2022 INFINITY-CLASS NEW BUILDINGS | OCEAN VICTORY, Delivery 2021 Sunset from the Mardi Gras balcony cabin while sailing in the Caribbean 2-3.indd 3 2-3.indd 3 7.3.2022 11.25 7.3.2022 11.25
Editor Teijo Niemelä Publisher Cruise Media LLC Chief Content Officer Carolyn Spencer Brown Copy Editor M.T. Schwartzman Sales and Production Christer Gorschelnik Art Director Julle Järvinen COMPANY ADDRESS Cruise Media LLC 209 N Queen Street Chestertown, MD 21620 USA Telephone +1-609-751-2344 E-mail cruisemediallc[a]gmail.com SALES OFFICE FINLAND ChrisGo Consulting Pahtankatu 10 as 10 FIN-21200 Raisio, Finland Telephone +358-440-159 554 E-mail christer.gorschelnik[a]kolumbus.fi SALES OFFICE USA Teijo Niemelä 209 N Queen Street Chestertown, MD 21620 USA Telephone +1-609-751-2344 cruisemediallc[a]gmail.com FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR A native of San Diego, David Swanson’s award-winning writing and photography has been featured in the pages of National Geographic Traveler, American Way, and the Los Angeles Times for more than 20 years, along with cruise and travel stories for dozens of U.S. newspapers and magazines. David served as President of the Society of American Travel Writers in 2018-2019. PRINTED IN FINLAND – PUNAMUSTA OY, HELSINKI A s I write this winter’s Editor’s Commentary, we are approaching the two-year anniversary of when the cruise business halted its operations globally as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit hard the hospitality and travel industries across the world. Two years later, cruise lines have progressed towards a return to normal, but they still suffer from new variants of the coronavirus, travel restrictions in several markets and uncertainty for the future. So far, the year 2022 has not been all that bright. In January, MV Werften, part of the Genting Hong Kong cruise conglomerate, declared insolvency in Germany. The shipbuilding unit was acquired by Genting to supply new cruise ships for its brands, including Crystal Cruises and Dream Cruises. In Wismar, MV Werften was outfitting one of the largest cruise ships in the world, the 208,000 gross ton Global Dream, which was 75% finished. At presstime, the newbuild was up for sale. The insolvency of MV Werften sent the rest of Genting Hong Kong into a downward spiral. Crystal Cruises, founded in 1990 by Japanese NYK Line, ceased operations on three of its ships – the Crystal Endeavor, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony. The end of their cruises was an embarrassment for this luxury brand, which bills itself as the “most awarded luxury line in the world.” The fleet of two ocean ships, one expedition ship and five river cruise ships will be auctioned off, and it is difficult to see how Crystal Cruises will survive as a brand. While Crystal Cruises had a great reputation and loyal customer base before its sad demise, there is no shortage of choices in the luxury market. During the last few years, we have witnessed new brands EDITOR’S COMMENTARY and capacity coming into the ocean market from such operators as Scenic and Viking, who will soon be joined by Explora Journeys and Ritz-Carlton. In addition, established players like Seabourn, Silversea and Regent Seven Seas, among others, have expanded with new tonnage. As a matter of fact, Crystal’s problem in ocean cruising was its aging two-ship fleet and a lack of variety in itineraries. The world is also changing very fast geopolitically. At the end of February, Russia invaded its southern neighbor Ukraine. Just as the cruise business was coming back from the Covid-19 pandemic, it now has to deal with another blow: The Baltic cruise market will be depressed for a third season, as cruise lines are cancelling their calls in St. Petersburg – the highlight of Baltic itineraries, where most of the ships typically stay overnight at this Russian port. Obviously, the Baltic offers other great choices, such as Copenhagen, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and a lot of idyllic, smaller ports-of-call, but unfortunately, they are not selling points. Similarly, we can say goodbye to the cruise season in the Black Sea as well. On a more personal note as a magazine publisher, we here at Cruise Business are experiencing shortages in our supply chain. The paper industry is in turmoil, and it is affecting the availability of printing paper. However, we have continued to publish three print issues a year, albeit on an adjusted schedule. Simultaneously, our clientele has begun to request advertising in a digital format only. This may ultimately change how we publish CruiseBusiness.com Magazine in the future. Teijo Niemelä HOW TO FOLLOW US Twitter.com/cruisebusiness n facebook.com/CruiseBusinessUSA n Instagram.com/niemelateijo CruiseBusiness.com Magazine 4 CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 Interior Design, Equipment and Technology for the Cruise & Ferry Industry 6 – 9 September 2022, Hamburg smm-hamburg.com/mi CREATING DREAMS @SMM 2022 As the cruise markets recover gradually, the industry’s players keep on investing to meet new demands and requirements. Seize the unique opportunity to present your ideas to the decision-makers of the world’s leading cruise and ferry lines, shipyards as well as architecture and interior design studios – live and in person at the MARINE INTERIORS area at SMM 2022. Book your stand now limited spaces available THE WORLD IS CHANGING, AND IT’S CHANGING FAST 4-5 .indd 2 4-5 .indd 2 1.3.2022 9.10 1.3.2022 9.10
Interior Design, Equipment and Technology for the Cruise & Ferry Industry 6 – 9 September 2022, Hamburg smm-hamburg.com/mi CREATING DREAMS @SMM 2022 As the cruise markets recover gradually, the industry’s players keep on investing to meet new demands and requirements. Seize the unique opportunity to present your ideas to the decision-makers of the world’s leading cruise and ferry lines, shipyards as well as architecture and interior design studios – live and in person at the MARINE INTERIORS area at SMM 2022. Book your stand now limited spaces available 4-5 .indd 3 4-5 .indd 3 1.3.2022 9.10 1.3.2022 9.10
UPFRONT 8 CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 Meyer Werft handed over the AIDAcosma to AIDA Cruises on December 21, 2021, successfully delivering a new cruise ship for the fourth time since the pandemic began. Along with Meyer Turku's Costa Toscana, it was the second ship Meyer Group delivered to Carnival Corporation in less than three weeks. From left are AIDA Cruises CEO Felix Eichhorn and Meyer Werft CEO Jan Meyer. Meyer Werft handed over the AIDAcosma to AIDA Cruises on December 21, 2021, successfully delivering a new cruise ship for the fourth time since the pandemic began. Along with Meyer Turku's Costa Toscana, it was the second ship Meyer Group delivered to Carnival Corporation in less than three weeks. From left are AIDA Cruises CEO Felix Eichhorn and Meyer Werft CEO Jan Meyer. The 185 000 gross ton Carnival Celebration was floated out to the outfitting keel on February 11 at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. As indicated by its name, the LNG-powered vessel will mark the culmination of Carnival Cruise Line’s 50th birthday. The Carnival Celebration is a sister ship to the Mardi Gras. 8-13 .indd 2 8-13 .indd 2 8.3.2022 7.17 8.3.2022 7.17
? CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 9 UPFRONT Fincantieri officially handed over the Discovery Princess for Princess Cruises, part of Carnival Corporation & plc, on January 28. Discovery Princess expands the Princess Cruises fleet to 15 MedallionClass vessels and features an evolution of the design platform used for the cruise line's previous Royal-class ships. The Discovery Princess handover was attended by John Padgett, President of Princess Cruises, Captain Gennaro Arma (both pictured), and Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager Merchant Ships Division of Fincantieri. Royal Caribbean Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique celebrated the traditional steel cutting for the fourth Edge-class ship for Celebrity Cruises. From left are Celebrity Cruises CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Royal Caribbean Group Chairman Richard Fain and General Manager of the shipbuilder, Laurent Castaing. The Celebrity Ascent is expected to make its debut in early 2023. Silversea Cruises took delivery the Silver Dawn at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy in November. Executives from Silversea Cruises and Fincantieri attended an intimate delivery ceremony to welcome the 10th ship to the cruise line’s fleet. Following a video screening of the official coin and flag ceremonies, Roberto Martinoli – Silversea’s President and CEO – penned his signature to officially take delivery of Silver Dawn. Richard D. Fain—Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group – and Jason Liberty – then-Executive Vice President and CFO, Royal Caribbean Group – each connected via video feed to deliver a speech. Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager of Fincantieri’s Merchant Ships Division, was also in attendance. 8-13 .indd 3 8-13 .indd 3 8.3.2022 7.17 8.3.2022 7.17
UPFRONT UPFRONT Royal Caribbean International marked the christening of the last Quantum-class ship – the Odyssey of the Seas – during a November ceremony in Fort Lauderdale. From left are Royal Caribbean Group Chairman Richard Fain, Odyssey of the Seas Godmother Erin Brown, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley and Odyssey Captain Sindre Borsheim. Brown – the first Bahamian paratriathlete to compete in the Paralympic Games qualifier – bestowed a blessing of safekeeping on the ship. SunStone Ships, the world’s largest tonnage provider to the expedition cruise industry, celebrated the keel-laying of the Ocean Albatros, the sixth vessel in the Infinity-class series of newbuilds. The ceremony took place at China Merchant Heavy Industries in Haimen, China. The vessel will be on a yearround charter to the Danish travel company Albatros Expeditions, which also charters SunStone’s Ocean Victory and Ocean Atlantic. Lindblad Expeditions celebrated the inauguration of its second new polar vessel, the National Geographic Resolution, during the ship’s maiden voyage in November to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands. Under Antarctica’s clear blue skies in the Weddell Sea’s Duse Bay, guests walked onto the ice to cheer on Captain Heidi Norling, Lindblad’s first international fleet female captain, as she christened the 126guest National Geographic Resolution. From left are Captains Heidi Norling and Martin Graser. 10 CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 UPFRONT 8-13 .indd 4 8-13 .indd 4 8.3.2022 7.17 8.3.2022 7.17
CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 11 ? UPFRONT The Cruise Division of MSC Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique celebrated two significant newbuild milestones in early December for the construction of the line’s next generation of environmentally advanced vessels: The MSC World Europa was floated out and the MSC Euribia underwent the traditional coin ceremony. Together, they will become the first LNG-powered vessels to join the MSC Cruises fleet next year, representing an investment of €3 billion in liquefied natural gas-powered ships, with the construction on the World Europa II due to commence in early 2023. MSC Cruises hosted the naming ceremony of the MSC Virtuosa when Hollywood superstar Sophia Loren officially named the ship on November 27 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). MSC Cruises chose Dubai to host the ceremony in recognition of its long-term commitment to the UAE and the wider Middle East market, where it is the brand leader. 8-13 .indd 5 8-13 .indd 5 8.3.2022 7.17 8.3.2022 7.17
12 CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 UPFRONT Viking celebrated the floating out of its newest ship for the Nile River on January 27. The 82-guest Viking Osiris is set to debut in August 2022 on Viking’s best-selling 12day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary. The arrival of Viking’s new ship later this year will coincide with several key events in Egypt in 2022, including the highly anticipated opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum outside Cairo on the Giza Plateau. Princess Cruises celebrated the arrival and return to service of Majestic Princess at the Port of Los Angeles on October 6. Princess Cruises and the Port of Los Angeles highlighted the positive multi-dimensional impact cruising has on Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Every cruise ship visit infuses more than $1 million into the local economy. From left, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, Princess Cruises thenPresident Jan Swartz and Cruise Marketing Manager Chris Chase. For this year, the port is forecasting a record 200 sailings. 8-13 .indd 6 8-13 .indd 6 8.3.2022 7.17 8.3.2022 7.17
CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 13 The first of three Vega-class ships under construction in Helsinki for Swan Hellenic’s heritage brand was named at Helsinki Shipyard. The small and private naming ceremony was held on November with godmother Johanna Mäkelä, Finland’s first professor of food culture and wife of Helsinki City Mayor Juhana Vartiainen. Mayor Vartiainen was also present, along with Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito and Helsinki Shipyard’s top management. Viking Glory, the new Baltic cruise ferry of Viking Line, was ceremoniously christened on February 28 with traditional festivities in the Port of Turku. Jewellery designer Isabel Lennse from Stockholm smashed the bottle of champagne against the vessel’s hull. She is the wife of Jakob Johansson, a member of Viking Line’s Board of Directors and the company’s largest shareholder. The name Glory was chosen in a vessel-naming contest held three years ago. A total of 22,500 names were submitted from Finland, Sweden and other countries. More than 450 participants suggested the name Glory. UPFRONT 8-13 .indd 7 8-13 .indd 7 8.3.2022 7.17 8.3.2022 7.17
See you in Miami REGISTER TODAY at www.seatradecruiseglobal.com 25-28 April 2022 | Expo: 26-28 April 2022 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, FL USA Relax with friends old and new and enjoy your stay in Miami Beach Discover hidden gems, beautiful interiors, brilliant tech and future thinking Explore over 500 exhibitors showing the very latest cruise innovations Celebrate such a vibrant and resilient industry, packed with ideas… perfect for you Network with 10,000 cruise and destination executives from right across the globe Take Away a wealth of knowledge from leading lights at the world class conference 2022054 SCG ad CBM 420x297+3mm.indd 1 2022054 SCG ad CBM 420x297+3mm.indd 1 10.02.22 18:15 10.02.22 18:15 14-15.indd 2 14-15.indd 2 1.3.2022 8.42 1.3.2022 8.42
See you in Miami REGISTER TODAY at www.seatradecruiseglobal.com 25-28 April 2022 | Expo: 26-28 April 2022 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, FL USA Relax with friends old and new and enjoy your stay in Miami Beach Discover hidden gems, beautiful interiors, brilliant tech and future thinking Explore over 500 exhibitors showing the very latest cruise innovations Celebrate such a vibrant and resilient industry, packed with ideas… perfect for you Network with 10,000 cruise and destination executives from right across the globe Take Away a wealth of knowledge from leading lights at the world class conference 2022054 SCG ad CBM 420x297+3mm.indd 1 2022054 SCG ad CBM 420x297+3mm.indd 1 10.02.22 18:15 10.02.22 18:15 14-15.indd 3 14-15.indd 3 1.3.2022 8.42 1.3.2022 8.42
16 CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 R oberto Martinoli brings a lifelong passion and family history to his role as President and CEO of Silversea Cruises. A career naval architect and mechanical engineer, Martinoli has since 2016 overseen the delivery of Silversea’s three Muse-class vessels. A third, the Silver Dawn, debuts in April, along with the most state-of-the-art and eco-friendly ship sailing in the Galapagos, the Silver Origin. Today, Martinoli is eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Silver Nova, the first in an ambitious new ship class for Silversea that sets sail in summer 2023. Using a combination of LNG fuel and battery fuel cells, Silversea has designed the hybrid-power vessel to raise the bar not only for sustainability, but also for an innovative asymmetrical design that promises to be eye-opening. Martinoli shared details of the exciting plans for the Silver Nova with CruiseBusiness.com Magazine’s David Swanson. CruiseBusiness.com Magazine: How did the various partners in this project – Silversea, Royal Caribbean Group, your Genoabased architect GEM Design, Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany – contribute to the development of the Silver Nova? Roberto Martinoli: We were thinking of what we could do next, with sustainability being top of mind. Richard Fain [Chairman of the Royal Caribbean Group] was instrumental in pushINTERVIEW ROBERTO MARTINOLI PREVIEWS SILVERSEA’S HYBRID-POWER SILVER NOVA ing us to think really deep about it and to make sure that we were coming out with a revolutionary solution. Obviously, when we started designing the vessel, LNG was something Royal was already doing on other ships, so using LNG as a solution was already known to them. The other thing Royal was investing quite a bit of time and money and resources in was the fuel cell. So far, I think the biggest fuel cell plant that exists at sea is probably 200 kilowatts. Richard said, I want you to build something that uses 4 megawatts, because I want to make sure that you will be able to sustain your load in port without accessing any other source of energy. I said, wow – that’s big. It’s going to be 20 times bigger than anything we know exists today. We started working closely with both Meyer Werft and with the German government – they did a lot of studies and we ended up with a 4 megawatt fuel cell, combined with LNG, combined with batteries. It’s a multihybrid system that profits off all three sources. The batteries are mostly for peak shaving, while the fuel cell gives us the ability to operate for some length of time in port without needing any other source of energy, and the LNG is used for propulsion and normal operations at sea. We also have a shore power connection for ports that are equipped for that. It’s really state-of-the-art — the most updated multi-hybrid system you can think of in terms of sustainability these days. It Roberto Martinoli celebrating the steel-cutting ceremony of Silver Nova at Meyer Werft last November 16-18.indd 2 16-18.indd 2 1.3.2022 9.11 1.3.2022 9.11
? CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 17 gives us the opportunity to be on fuel cell while in port, operating with absolutely zero local emissions, and it will be 40% more energy efficient than any other vessel in our fleet. CBM: At 54,700 gross tons, the Silver Nova is quite a bit smaller than Royal Caribbean Group’s other newbuilds. Was Silversea chosen as the proving ground for this new technology, a bit like the Prius was the first hybrid car? Martinoli: Silversea’s hotel load is probably half that of any of the Celebrity vessels, and probably a third of what the Royal Caribbean vessels use. For them to start thinking big with the first hybrid operating for that length of time, going all in with independency from other sources of power, it was the right decision to start with a Silversea vessel. CBM: The Silver Nova is not the first true hybrid because there are battery cells on a few ships, but batteries are not powering these ships at sea, right? Martinoli: Exactly. The Silver Nova is the first hybrid that can go to that extent. There are other hybrid ships, but I would define them more as having batteries more for peak shaving, which is important because they give great efficiency, but they’re not really meant to operate the ship either in port or at sea for any significant amount of time. CBM: Other than the Silver Origin, which is much smaller, the Silver Nova is the first in the fleet to utilize a horizontal layout for cabins, instead of vertical. Was this born out of necessity to accommodate LNG, or does Silversea have other reasons for moving away from its traditional vertical layout? What are the benefits of horizontal layout? Martinoli: Traditionally, the Silversea ships were built with vertical layout – cabins forward and public spaces aft. In older times, vibration, transmission of noise and that sort of stuff were critical. On ships of that size and dedicated to the luxury segment of the market, it was quite common to have this vertical layout. But as we have moved forward, a lot of progress has been made in terms of noise insulation and vibration control, so that it’s not really necessary to have this layout anymore. You just need to take care of doing the right things when considering what is adjacent to the A/C system and to the transmission of vibrations. And when you go to a horizontal layout, you start to have a little easier flow around the ship. For instance, when you are going from the restaurant to the show lounge, instead of going vertical you go horizontal, so you go through all the spaces of the ship. It’s probably a more modern way of designing, and given the ability to control noise and vibration, it was a good way to go, and we are quite happy to see the results. CBM: One other advantage is that you can also vary the height of the decks? Martinoli: Correct. With the vertical, every deck has cabin spaces so you cannot go too high. With the horizontal, you can definitely go higher in the public spaces, and still have a very good height in your cabin decks. CBM: I really enjoyed my experience recently on the Silver Moon – the ship is lovely, with understated elegance. It’s great to see the direction that Silversea is going, especially in terms of design. Martinoli: GEM has been the one and only architect for every Silversea vessel. When we started working with Royal Caribbean Group, a lot of new things opened to us. We’ve been able to use the incredible resources of Royal Caribbean’s newbuild department, and that has been an incredible experience. They are accessing a number of different things that would have been difficult for us to get otherwise. That was a great change that encouraged us to think out of the box, evolving into something that is very different. Needless to say, the contribution of Richard Fain, who has always been a big innovator, has been great for us. GEM really knows what all our needs are, and we wanted to work off our strongest points. For instance, our suites are considered to be the best in the market. I have a big respect for Giacomo Mortola, the owner of GEM – he has been designing all the suites for our ships for the last 15 years. GEM knows the whole history of the company, and they are very familiar with our operational needs. So we are combining their ability in cooperation with the newbuild team in Miami to help us to progress further. CBM: Tell me about the Silver Nova’s asymmetrical design, which is very different for Silversea. I see at the aft starboard corner you have these bulges, almost like a platform that protrudes for the new Otium suites on deck 6. I also notice that on deck 5, the restaurant La Terrazza will have a kind of small room protruding out. The other thing I notice is the pool is not in the center, it’s on the starboard side. Otium Suite living room, bedroom and bathroom Silver Nova will be delivered in summer 2023 16-18.indd 3 16-18.indd 3 1.3.2022 9.11 1.3.2022 9.11
18 CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 Martinoli: The asymmetrical design is an idea that came from Harri Kulovaara, the guy that runs newbuilding for Royal Caribbean Group. He’s another naval architect, and probably the most talented in the newbuilding industry that I have known in my years. He asked me, what do you think about an asymmetrical design? Being a naval architect myself and having seen ships that are completely symmetrical all my life, my first reaction was – what, asymmetrical? Then he wanted to show me some projects he had done with this asymmetrical layout – they are becoming very interesting. We started brainstorming and doing some rendering, and now there are staircases on the sides of the ship, one port, one starboard, and the swimming pool is open on one side. This allows us to give you a sense of the great volume around you, into the sea. When you get away from the rigid symmetrical engineering necessities, it becomes very interesting. The upper and open decks are spectacular. The swimming pool is completely open on one side, enclosed on the other side – it’s a really, really great addition. When people see the ship from port side, they won’t know what’s on the starboard side. We are all very excited about it, and we believe that it’s going to be a really distinctive characteristic of that vessel that will make it extremely successful. CBM: What other ships have gone with this kind of asymmetrical design? Martinoli: Celebrity’s Edge class. Not only the Magic Carpet, but the two sides of swimming pools are different. The next one for that class is the Ascent – it’s a very beautiful design, very interesting. The Silver Nova is even more extreme, and we are really very pleased with what we see. CBM: The Silver Nova doesn’t have a rigid form, it feels more organic. Martinoli: That’s right. In that sense, Harri and Richard’s contribution have been very important. They’ve been pushing us to consider that, and they’re absolutely right. Besides renderings and everything, we have a ship model and it’s really coming together very well. CBM: What are the challenges of creating a ship with so much openness, so much glass? Martinoli: You need to design your steel structure in a very different way. You need to make sure that all of your stiffness and enforcements are inside, and not towards the outside. Traditionally, in shipbuilding we used to have a web structure to enforce the hull, towards the outside. Now those are more inside, and this is what allows you to have a lot more openings, a lot more glass, and more continuity between inside and outside, which gives the suites a feeling of openness, of volume, in the same square footage. CBM: You have some unique suites planned for the ship, and it seems like there’s a real push behind these larger accommodations. Martinoli: This is also coming in a way from going with the horizontal layout, because now you can have cabins also in the aft part, and these beautiful cabins have big balconies with a Jacuzzi – we believe that they’re going to be extremely successful. It’s definitely something that comes from our clients wanting to have larger suites in general, within certain limits, but the horizontal layout has helped us think of adding features that were not possible to do before. CBM: The guest capacity for the Silver Nova is 728 passengers, about 20% more than the Muse-class ships. Will your guests feel the difference? Martinoli: You have to look at the KPI – how many square feet or gross tons you have per person. If you look at that, the numbers are working very well. One of the reasons we increased the capacity was because a multi-hybrid power generation system requires more space down in the engine room. For the LNG you need to have the LNG tanks, plus the batteries, plus the fuel cells. Also, the hydrodynamically-optimized hull and propulsion design calls for a bigger hull. So this all made the ship longer, compared to what was originally planned. We were originally thinking we would stay within the capacity of the Silver Muse and her sisters. When the ship got longer, we added a few more cabins because we had the volume – it came naturally there. We just want to make sure that we were giving people the same space ratios. We gave a lot of attention to maximizing the open deck spaces, which are considerably more than any other vessel in the fleet, so you will not feel you are on a bigger vessel, you will not feel the difference of 20% more cabins. And of course, it’s a more recent model with many added features, so our guests will be very happy. We just opened sales and there’s a lot of interest. These days, it’s extremely important to give this level of sustainability – not only the power generation system, but with advanced wastewater systems, to everything being recyclable and making sure all the systems are designed to guarantee that we reduce to the minimum possible anything that goes out of the ship in terms of wastewater, garbage, you name it. People are really looking forward to having this level of commitment to sustainability. Of course, it’s all a process and a significant investment, but it pays back. n Martinoli addressing for the staff at Meyer Werft 16-18.indd 4 16-18.indd 4 1.3.2022 9.11 1.3.2022 9.11
P ocadel Oy, the Finnish company that specializes in manufacturing fire-resistant glass doors and walls, has been the market leader in its segment since it entered the business. Its products that are either B15 or A60 rated can be found on almost all cruise liners delivered in the past two decades. Pocadel’s products are also used onboard large yachts, ferries and floating structures in offshore industries. Exports account for 70% to 80% of the company’s annual sales, with Italy, France, Germany and Norway ranking as its most important markets. Innovation has been part of Pocadel’s DNA from the beginning, and the company revolutionized the market more than 20 years ago by introducing aluminum into the profiles instead of steel. Aluminum is much lighter, which is obviously a major consideration in fittings onboard ships. It also melts at a much lower temperature than steel, but the company was able to develop a solution which means that the products meet IMO regulations when it comes to both fire safety and structural strength, said Sami Luoto, CEO of Pocadel. “Customers of today want increasingly large glass surfaces, but the profiles should not be visible much. The decorations of glass surfaces are becoming increasingly impressive, but also more demanding from a technical point of view, which means that new specialist paints and coatings will need to be developed,” Luoto said. Automatic door plays music when it opens Pocadel’s products are becoming increasingly sophisticated. “We have recently supplied a door that opens automatically, with music starting to play as it opens. This required a complex connection with the music system onboard,” he recalls. The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly increased the level of interest among customers in automatic and touch-button doors. These are more hygienic than conventional doors that need to be opened and shut manually. “We expect the refit market to pick up significantly in the near future, and we anticipate a lot of demand for automatic doors in connection with refits, as owners want to replace manual doors,” Luoto continued. Fire-resistant glazed doors must be increasingly impressive To meet growing demand, Pocadel recently unveiled the new Deli B-15 range of automatic sliding doors, which meet relevant IMO rules and have been thoroughly tested to ensure smooth and reliable operation. Pocadel wants to retain its market leader position in the future as well, and Luoto said the company introduced a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system last year. “This will significantly improve the efficiency of our processes,” Luoto said, adding that the pandemic provided an opportunity for the company to focus on its procedures. Sustainability, too, remains at the heart of Pocadel’s operations, and it is constantly striving to make headway in this field. New products that come to market will have to meet a range of requirements from customers, including technical and safety considerations. Pocadel’s role is to enable architects and shipowners to turn their ideas into reality by offering them practical advice on how this can be done in a way that ensures both high quality of the final product and cost effectiveness of the solution. “We expect the demand for our products to continue to grow, and we are preparing to invest in growing our manufacturing capacity to meet the needs of our customers. They expect increasingly impressive products, and it is our task to ensure that they receive these at a price that is attractive and at top quality,” Luoto concluded. Pocadel Oy pocadel.fi Korpelantie 229, 21570 Sauvo, Finland SPONSORED CONTENT 19 pocadel.indd 1 19 pocadel.indd 1 1.3.2022 8.53 1.3.2022 8.53
20 CRUISEBUSINESS.COM MAGAZINE WINTER 2022 C ruise ships are expensive to build and environmental credentials are an important tool in marketing cruises, the value of which is unlikely to decrease in the future, said Vesa Marttinen, Senior Advisor at the Finnish consultancy MarineCycles. The book value of the global cruise ship fleet has remained surprisingly high through the Covid-19 pandemic, although the ships have been in lay up for extensive periods of time. This has been made possible by export credit agencies in Germany, Italy, Finland and France – the countries where most cruise ships are built – and by banks in Europe and the U.S. plus investors that have had patience. “The role of European governments has been significant, as they have arranged payment holidays for cruise ship owners so that not a single order has been cancelled because of Covid,” Marttinen noted. Inflation has accelerated in the aftermath of the pandemic, which has also led to an increase in shipbuilding costs. “At the same time, the environmental footprint of ships on one hand and the whole spectrum of environmental, social and governance [ESG] matters of the cruise industry on the other has become more and more to the focus of financiers. It would be difficult to try to justify to European taxpayers backing of ventures that would not meet the current demands of societies from an ESG point of view,” he said. The shipping industry as a whole, and the cruise industry as part of it, faces a huge challenge when it comes to the need to decarbonize the business. There are both technical and commercial risks, but on the other hand, the cruise sector is working hard to find answers to the challenges and is leading global efforts to decarbonize shipping. By Kari Reinikainen ENVIRONMENT DECARBONIZATION PROGRESS BEING MADE Vesa Marttinen Le Commandant Charcot is powered by LNG 20-23.indd 2 20-23.indd 2 1.3.2022 8.55 1.3.2022 8.55