Products & services

X-Bow ship Greg Mortimer maintains cruising speed in up to 10 metre waves

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 31 October 2019 31 October 2019

Greg Mortimer, the first cruise ship with X-Bow design of the Norwegian shipbuilding and design group Ulstein, has succeeded in maintaining its cruising speed in up to 10 metre – or 30 foot – high waves, Ulstein said in a statement.

On a voyage fom China where the 7,400 gross ton ship was bult, it came across very bad weather after leaving Cape Town heading for Ushuaia, Argentina. “According to the captain, the waves were 8-10 metres, with some waves reaching above deck 5, and strong winds. The vessel still kept high speed of 12-13 knots, with only 1 knot speed loss,” Ulstein said.

The X-BOW® design, which is an innovation introduced by Ulstein and used on many offshore services vessels, improves on-board comfort in head seas, as it helps to reduce slamming and resulting vibrations.

SunStone Ships that owns the ship is based in the US and the vessel ois on long term charter to Aurora Expeditions in Australia.

Marella Explorer 2 – equivalent to four refits for outfitter Trimline

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 14 October 2019 14 October 2019

The recent transformation of Golden Era into Marella Explorer 2 was the equivalent of four refits in one for global cruise interior outfitter Trimline.

"This was the latest in a line of successful interior rebrands carried out by Trimline for Marella Cruises, including Marella Explorer last year and, Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2 prior to that," the company said in a statement.

As the main interior outfitter onboard, Trimline was responsible for the majority of the public spaces including, Indigo, The Marketplace, Coffee Ports, Squid & Anchor, Broadway & Broadway Bar and Latitude/Vista.

Trimline had a structured management team onsite in Cadiz for the duration of the project, as well as being supported by the team back in the UK to ensure the refit was a success.

To carry out the ambitious project needed an extensive team of contractors and, Trimline’s team included onboard and quayside logistics managers together with 300 tradespeople, all working together to deliver the high-quality finish Trimline is renowned for.

Trimline’s COO Ross Welham said, "The sheer scale of this project meant that meticulous planning was crucial. Each team was responsible for their key area of the refit and worked closely with their trades to ensure the refit was completed on time. I am so proud of what our team has achieved, the end result speaks for itself.”

Nick Hughes, Head of Technical Operations said, "We are delighted with the results of this project. Trimline has a proven track record in delivering high spec interiors for us and have met the brief again with this mammoth refit. The transformation of the public spaces is remarkable, and we are looking forward to welcoming passengers on board to enjoy the results. We are sure they will respond positively and can’t wait to see what they think when they take to the seas for the new season of sailing."

Wärtsilä to carry out conversion to LNG of two German ferries

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 22 October 2019 22 October 2019

The technology group Wärtsilä will carry out an important retrofitting project aimed at lessening the environmental footprint of a ferry operating on the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage listed area in the south eastern end of the North Sea.

The area features high biological diversity and is important for breeding and migrating birds. The retrofit will enable the ‘Münsterland’, a RoPax ferry owned by German operator Aktien-Gesellschaft ‘Ems’ (AG Ems), to utilise liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel, thereby completely eliminating its emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulates, while significantly reducing its nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in July 2019.

The work will take place at the Koninklijke Niestern-Sander B.V. yard in the Netherlands. The yard has facilities for shipbuilding and repairs under one roof, and will use these facilities to build a completely new aftship to accommodate the Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel storage, supply, and control system. This fitting of the new aftship is scheduled to commence in September 2020.

A similar retrofitting project was carried out in 2015 on the ‘Ostfriesland’, a sister ship to the ‘Münsterland’, and the success of this project was cited as a prime consideration in the award of this subsequent contract.

“There is no greater endorsement of customer satisfaction than repeat orders, and we are delighted to have again been selected to convert an AG Ems owned ferry to LNG fuel operation. The project is fully in line with our Smart Marine approach that emphasises greater efficiency and better environmental performance for customers, as we lead the industry’s transformation into a new era of opportunity,” says Matthias Becker, Managing Director, Wärtsilä Deutschland GmbH.

“Operating our vessels in the most ecologically friendly way possible is of the utmost importance to us. Wärtsilä’s technology is already known to us, so we had no hesitation to contract them again to retrofit the ‘Münsterland’ to allow it to operate without restrictions in the SECA and NECA sulphur and nitrogen oxide controlled areas,” says Bernhard Brons, Managing Director of AG Ems.

The vessel will be fitted with two Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel generating sets and a Wärtsilä LNGPac system. The scope of supply also includes Wärtsilä’s patented Cold Recovery system, which utilises the latent heat of LNG in the ship’s air conditioning, thus reducing electricity consumption. In addition to the environmental benefits, significant operational cost savings and an increase in overall vessel efficiency are the expected outcomes of the project. Delivery of the Wärtsilä equipment will commence in spring 2020, and completion of the retrofitting is anticipated during Q1 2021.

In addition to the retrofitting of these two ferries, the owners have also earlier ordered via a subsidiary company, Cassen Eils, a full Wärtsilä dual-fuel package for LNG operation for the ferry ‘Helgoland’. The ship entered service in 2015.

Merima in major partnership with RMC for Wasaline and Tallink newbuildings

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 09 October 2019 09 October 2019

Merima, the company providing turnkey solutions for shipbuilding, has signed a major partnership deal with Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC): Merima will build all public rooms and cabins, as well as large parts of the technical areas, for both the new ferry under construction for Wasaline’s Vaasa-Umeå service and Tallink’s new Helsinki-Tallinn shuttle ferry.

Merima are known for providing complete, steel-to-steel packages for interiors, but the scope of this project is unprecedented. “These are big projects in every way,” explains Mikko Mäkiranta, the Deputy CEO of Meríma, “and they perfectly comply with Merima’s strategy of continued growth. In-house, we are referring to what we’re providing for these ships as a ‘super-complete package’ to describe the scale of what we’re doing.”

“It is a privilege to participate not only in the construction of these new ferries at Rauma, but also in RMC’s new partnership model of shipbuilding,” Mäkiranta continues. “We have a good working relationship with Rauma, going back many years, but RMC’s new partnership model takes our collaboration to another level. Merima’s strategy is to provide state-of-the-art solutions, and the term state-of-the-art is perfect for describing both the ships and the way they are built. We are working closely not just with RMC, but also with the shipowners and several suppliers in our own network to achieve the best possible result.” As a part of the new partnership, Merima will establish a new cabin factory in Rauma to serve both the ships now under construction and future projects.

RMC are very pleased to be working with Merima on the new ferries. “RMC’s goal is to become the world’s leading ferry builder,” says Jyrki Heinimaa, the CEO of Rauma Marine Constructions, “by using the ‘Rauma model’ of shipbuilding, where we at RMC concentrate on project management and use strategic partnerships with experts to provide the best possible result. Merima, the experts at turnkey interior solutions, are a logical partner for us and we look forward to continued good collaboration with them.”

The new ferry for Wasaline is due to for delivery in Spring 2021. The first newbuilt vessel ever designed for the Vaasa-Umeå route will have capacity for approximately 800 passengers and 1,500 lane metres of freight. The new ferry for Tallink will be delivered in late 2021 and will have a capacity of 2,800 passengers alongside a cargo capacity of over 3,000 lane metres. Both vessels will use liquidized natural gas as main fuel and will also be equipped with battery packs for further emission reduction.