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Trimline upgrades Thomson Celebration to Platinum status

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 07 June 2013 07 June 2013

Trimline has completed an ambitious refit of Thomson Celebration, a 33,930 gross ton cruise liner that has since been added to Thomson Cruises' Platinum collection, following the six month refurbishment.

Undertaking the majority of the upgrade while the ship was at sea, Trimline worked carefully around the 1,250 passengers and 520 crew to ensure the work was carried out to the highest standards, but with minimum disruption to the day-to-day operation of the vessel.

Sailing through Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Jordan, the 45-strong Trimline team upgraded 478 cabins including fitting new carpets, curtains, bedding, and the installation of new televisions and kettle facilities. The Deluxe Cabin refurbishments called upon Trimline's expertise in interior design, requiring the installation of new sofa beds to maximise limited cabin space. 624 bathrooms were also upgraded with new tiling, fixtures and fittings from Grohe, and vanity units with Italian stone tops.  From November 2012 to May 2013, the team used 326 tonnes of materials.

John Westgarth-Pratt, Captain of Thomson Celebration, said: "Given the scope of work and the number of Trimline staff, the manner in which the team were managed throughout their stay on the vessel was a credit to the company. The communication and co-operation Trimline established with the ship’s company throughout the project was excellent. We look forward to working with Trimline on future projects."

Undertaking the work while the ship was fully occupied and operational presented a challenging logistical refurbishment, limiting the nosiest work to periods when passengers were off the ship and carefully selecting material routes on-board to minimise the use of public areas. By working with the ships occupied cabin schedule, the team were able to work on deck without disruption to passengers and crew.

Simon Dawkins, Contracts Manager at Trimline, said: "We wanted to prove that large scale cabin refits do not have to be limited to docking periods. We faced a tough job whilst the ship was full of passengers, but the workforce almost became part of the crew. They spent so long onboard, sharing mess rooms and crew areas, that they developed a very good working relationship."

Gary Oliver, Managing Director of Trimline, commented: “Again this project demonstrates that with good communication between all stakeholders, large scale accommodation refurbishments can be undertaken successfully on the run whilst in service, instead of having to wait for sometimes years between dry dockings, thus keeping the vessel in tip top condition and meeting passenger expectations.”

Rolls-Royce to partner Balearia in LNG conversion for high-speed ferries

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 04 June 2013 04 June 2013

Rolls-Royce Plc has signed a memorandum of understanding with Spanish shipping company Baleària, to design gas-powered propulsion systems for three of the company's high-speed ferries, which currently run on diesel.

Baleària, which operates ferry services between the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands, in the Strait of Gibraltar and The Bahamas Islands, is proposing the conversion of three ferries from diesel to liquefied natural gas (LNG), a much cheaper and cleaner fuel.

Adolfo Utor, the Baleària Chief Executive Officer said: "This is a strategic agreement for the future of the company. The change in fuels will allow us to have high-speed, more competitive vessels available and, at the same time, be more respectful towards the environment, given that this fuel reduces CO2 emissions by 25%."

Neil Gilliver, Rolls-Royce, President - Merchant said: "There is no doubt that popularity of LNG as a marine fuel is increasing, as stricter emission controls and higher fuel costs continue to drive the strategic decisions of shipping companies. This is our first LNG project in Spain, which joins a growing list of countries where operators are keen to investigate the potential applications for a marine fuel that will reduce emissions and reduce operating costs."

"We are delighted to be working with Baleària on this project which demonstrates that LNG is now a serious option for converting existing fleets, as well as for new builds."

Rolls-Royce is the leading supplier of LNG propulsion systems, and its range of Bergen gas engines are the only pure gas engines on the market. The Baleària project will involve developing an economic and technical proposal to convert three ferries - the HSC Ramon Llull, HSC Jaume II and HSC Jaume III - to LNG power.

Rolls-Royce will work with Baleària on developing efficient propulsion systems for the vessels which are a mix of catamaran and mono-hull design, with water jet propulsion. Spanish company Cotenaval will lead the naval architecture aspects of the conversions.

Rolls-Royce wins order from Fincantieri

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 04 June 2013 04 June 2013

Rolls-Royce Plc today announced that it has signed extensive equipment orders with the Italian cruise ship builder Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A for shipowner Viking Cruises.

Viking Cruises recently ordered two cruise ships from Fincantieri and have chosen the highly-efficient Rolls-Royce integrated rudder and propulsion system, called Promas, for their vessels. This is the first time that a Promas propulsion system is being installed on a new-build cruise vessel.

During extensive tank tests, the Promas system demonstrated that it would provide a significantly higher efficiency increase compared with reference propulsion systems for these vessels.

Neil Gilliver, Rolls-Royce, President - Merchant, said: "Our highly efficient Promas propulsion system demonstrated an outstanding performance during tank testing. While many cruise vessels are now experiencing significant improvements in operational efficiency following Promas upgrades, the installation of this innovative propulsion system during the new-build process will enable Viking Cruises to benefit from the enhanced operational efficiency starting with its maiden voyage."

In addition to the Promas propulsion system, Rolls-Royce will deliver deck machinery and steering gear for the Viking Cruises vessels. The vessels are due for delivery in 2015 and 2016.

The contracts have a total value of approximately £3 million to Rolls-Royce.

MAN Diesel & Turbo opts for AMOS training software

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 03 June 2013 03 June 2013

MAN Diesel & Turbo reinforces its long-standing collaboration with SpecTec Group, selecting AMOS software as assisting training tool to be used at the MAN PrimeServ Academy in Copenhagen, the company said in a statement.

With the intent to further improve its “Hands-on” training courses, MAN Diesel & Turbo has chosen AMOS (CMMS platform owned and provided by SpecTec Group since 1985) as a teaching tool to show students how to manage and optimize the process of maintenance, inspection and spare part purchase on board vessels.

The AMOS database for this project has been created automatically by importing MAN Diesel & Turbo engine data which is standardized in accordance with the Shipdex protocol (www.shipdex.com).

“We are pleased to introduce AMOS in our classroom environment. It makes a big difference to be able to present our students to maintenance and inspection of our products via a type of system that many of our customers already use back-on-the-job. AMOS also allows us to quickly upload new maintenance data in Shipdex format, in the event new products are coming into the Academy”, Henrik Striboldt (MAN Diesel & Turbo) says.

AMOS has been initially installed at the MAN PrimeServ Academy Copenhagen, and it could in future be extended to other MAN PrimeServ academies all around the world.