Products & services

Wärtsilä adds two more Prestige Cruise Holding ships to service portfolio

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 27 June 2014 27 June 2014

Two vessels have been added to the five-year maintenance agreement that was signed between Wärtsilä, the marine industry's leading solutions and services provider, and US-based Prestige Cruise Holdings, Inc. (Prestige), the parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The agreement now covers eight vessels with a total of 35 Wärtsilä engines.

The tailor-made agreement that was signed in 2012 with Prestige is one of the most comprehensive yet for the cruise industry. The depth and scope of the agreement covers pro-active planning by both companies working in co-operation. It also involves dedicated teams from both parties, which will work closely together to ensure maximized lifetime, reduced operational costs and optimal performance of the Prestige fleet.

The broad scope of services that are provided under this agreement include maintenance planning, technical surveys, condition monitoring, spare parts supply, training and workshop services. This agreement ensures the certainty of Prestige's operations by transferring the responsibility for their vessels' maintenance to Wärtsilä. It also increases Prestige's financial predictability by covering maintenance planning and service with fixed prices.

"We have been very satisfied with our cooperation with Wärtsilä. Wärtsilä has displayed their ability to deliver the value that they promised in the agreement, providing us the peace of mind through risk sharing and a streamlined cost structure," says Robin Lindsay, Executive Vice President, Vessel Operations, Prestige Cruise Holdings.

"The purpose of maintenance agreements is to enable customers to focus on their core business. We are very pleased that Prestige sees the added value in this agreement with Wärtsilä and has chosen to add two more vessels," says Sean Carey, General Manager of Contract Management, Wärtsilä North America, Inc.

Corsica Ferries first with MCP's VAVE

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 25 June 2014 25 June 2014

Corsica Ferries is first to tap into MCPs new entertainment- and information platform for the ferry- and cruise industry. Following a successful pilot, five vessels in the Mediterranean Ocean will be equipped with VAVE (Value Adding Voyage Experience platform) this summer. Passengers will enjoy rich digital leisure opportunities from an innovative onboard digital entertainment and information solution.

Rich access to Internet and entertainment services from personal devices is not something crew and passengers on cruise ships and ferries have been spoiled with. MCP’s new business enablement platform VAVE is set to change the industry with communications- and entertainment solutions that meets current and emerging demands from crew and passengers. VAVE is a game-changer that supports onboard revenue generation as well as increasing customer satisfaction. The solution improves travel experiences through services suited “needs and wants” from crew and passengers with an onboard cloud that delivers entertainment and information to any device with the same speed and quality of service as onshore.

"Consumer technology changes the way organizations plan, manage, operate, control and evaluate their business. The cruise and ferry industry must put mobile and digital solutions amongst its top priorities. VAVE allows communication on a rich digital experience platform that dramatically improves travel experiences and creates a digital umbrella of opportunities for all devices onboard," said SVP of Business Innovation, Ole-Kristian Sivertsen at MCP.

VAVE was deployed on a vessel operating to and from Corsica in 2013 with fantastic feedback from operator, crew and passengers. Because of the vast business benefits, Corsica Ferries have now signed a contract to equip all of its routes between France and Corsica with VAVE ahead of the peak season . First services deployed are improved Wi-Fi-coverage, digital signage for screens in public areas and a VAVE portal for tablets and mobile phones. The VAVE portal enables access to live-TV from mobile devices, information and commercials (weather, information about destination, discover your ship, follow the journey, and other content such as music, games, etc.

"We are pleased to participate in an innovation such as VAVE. Corsica Ferries have always been early adaptors and innovators when it comes to providing our passengers with what they need. With VAVE we are delighted to improve travel experiences onboard our ferries," says Pierre Mattei, CEO Corsica Ferries. "The solution will help our passengers to stay connected with friends and family, have access to a large range of useful content and also provide entertainment at an affordable cost."

"Mobile engagement, mobile marketing and digital experience are the cornerstones of VAVE. The solution adds value to the voyage for any ship and all passengers. Forward-thinking ship owners may offer services that meet customers’ needs and wants, as well as introduce mobile marketing and digital customer engagement. VAVE’s unique design and technology allows ship owner’s to easily and efficiently communicate with any individual onboard," said Sivertsen.

VAVE works with any device including mobile phones, tablets, TV and interactive displays.

"VAVE is a positive storm that is about to sweep over the cruise and ferry market. Passengers and crew will demand these services sooner rather than later. VAVE allows you to be ahead of expectations. Those responsible for revenue generation and passenger satisfaction in maritime environments need to explore this platform," said Sivertsen.

Cruise ships in 50,000 to 150,000 gross ton bracket have three quarters of berths on market - Odo-CBR Report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 12 June 2014 12 June 2014

Cruise ships in the 50,000 to 150,000 gross tons size rane account for 76% of all berths in the industry, , a report on the cruise industry has found.

Odo Maritime Research, in association with Cruise Business Review, has launched a new report on the global ocean cruise industry, which hasfound that the ships in 50,000 to 100,000 gross tons alone have 42% of the berths on the cruidse market, while the 100,000 to 150,000 gross ton vessels have 34%

The report features::

- Over 125 pages of charts, diagrams and analyses.

- A definitive and comprehensive survey of pre and post crisis states of the

ocean cruise industry.

- In-depth examination of tonnage capacity supply, orderbook and

newbuilding price trend, including a comparison of shipyard prices and

delivery records.

- A study of capacity deployment patterns and forecast.

- An assessment of market shares of major and minor cruise lines.

- Uncovering the strength and weakness of the cruise business through a

comparative study of business performances of various lines in the last

decade.

- Which port attracts most calls and passengers? How many passengers per

call?

- An evaluation of cruise products and services, shoreside and seaside.

- A scrutiny of modern distribution methods and their effectiveness, with

an introduction to CRM software for passenger shipping.

- A special assessment of the possible re-introduction of liner service and a

tonnage valuation.

- Plus an appendix of an abbreviated database of ships in active cruise

service.

Available from mid June 2014 in PDF, price: €650 or US$860 or GBP520

For further information and order form please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Wallem Ship Agency names Dickson Chin as Managing Director

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 24 June 2014 24 June 2014

Wallem Ship Agency has a new leader in Dickson Chin, who has been promoted to the position of Managing Director. Dickson Chin has been with Wallem Ship Agencies since 2008, initially in the role of General Manger for the Hong Kong ship agency business, and in 2012 was promoted to Managing Director for Indo-China.

Simon Doughty, Group CEO, said “it is really rewarding to promote staff from within the organisation, especially when the individuals have shown outstanding leadership skills and fully deserve the promotion and the additional responsibilities that go with this new career challenge.

“Dickson will continue to ensure a high quality service delivery from our agency teams that our clients expect, and he will also mentor and coach individuals so that they can further their careers in the Group.”

Dickson will be leading a network of 26 offices across Asia, with teams delivering a full port agency service and a range of marine and logistics services to vessel owners, operators, charterers and cargo interests in all Asian ports. The comprehensive service covers all vessel types including cruise ships, container vessels, heavy lift, bulk carriers, oil and gas tankers and naval vessels.

Wallem is a recognised cruise leader in Asia and the agency of choice for the world’s major cruise lines. Wallem was the first fully licensed foreign provider in China, offering services in all ports on the Mainland through the Wallem network.

Wallem is the General Sales Agent for Cargolux Airlines and Saudi Air Cargo in selected locations. The company also offers P&I services in Indochina and today represent most of the major P&I Clubs and leading Underwriters.

Dickson has been successfully leading the teams in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, mentoring key staff, coordinating the navy calls in the region, and building the business. He has also continued to support the growth of Wallem’s cruise business across Asia; Wallem now handles more than 450 cruise port calls every year.

Wartsila launches new fixed blade propeller design

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 04 June 2014 04 June 2014

The FPP Opti Design, a new state-of-the-art fixed pitch propeller (FPP) design concept, has been introduced by Wärtsilä. The new design offers fuel savings of up to 4 per cent and highly reliable full scale performance predictions. The concept has been developed utilising the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology.

The Wärtsilä FPP Opti Design has been developed at the company's Technology and Service Centre in the Netherlands, and is the result of highly experienced design engineers having access to the very latest and most sophisticated software and analysis tools. CFD calculations analyse not only the propeller performance but most importantly also, the interaction between the propeller and hull. This provides extremely accurate information to achieve design and parametric optimisation.

"Wärtsilä has more than 100 years of experience in developing high quality propeller solutions. To this huge knowledge resource we have now been able to add a highly sophisticated state-of-the-art design approach that is unmatched in the industry. The hull and the propeller, and the interaction between the two, can both now be taken into account during the design process. The result is a higher level of efficiency and lower operating costs," says Arto Lehtinen, Vice President, Propulsion, Wärtsilä Ship Power.

Energy saving solutions

Wärtsilä continues to develop solutions that save energy and improve the efficiency of ship propellers. These include the Tip Rake Concept featuring an extended tip, smoothly curved to the pressure side of the blade with optimised geometrical parameters developed to achieve efficiency improvements, lower pressure pulse levels, and a quieter propeller.

The Wärtsilä EnergoProFin is an innovative propeller cap with fins that rotates together with any make of propeller. By weakening the hub vortex, resistance is decreased and propulsion thrust is increased, resulting in fuel savings of up to 5%.

Energopac is Wärtsilä's optimised propulsion and manoeuvring solution that reduces fuel consumption by integrating the propeller and rudder designs. It is fully optimised for energy efficiency without compromising either manoeuvrability or comfort levels.

The Wärtsilä FPP Opti Design is being highlighted at the Posidonia 2014 exhibition in Athens, Greece.