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Celebrity Cruises’ new Edge-Series ship leads the industry in fuel flexibility with Wärtsilä’s future fuel engine

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 31 March 2023 31 March 2023

Close cooperation between Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), the Chantiers de l’Atlantique (CdA) shipyard, and Wärtsilä will enable RCG’s latest vessel to lead the cruise industry into a new era of alternative fuel use.

Technology group Wärtsilä will supply the engines for Celebrity Cruises’ new ship, the fifth vessel in the company’s revolutionary Edge Series. Close collaboration between RCG, CdA, and Wärtsilä will enable the ship to be capable of operating with a methanol fuel option, thus advancing the use of alternative fuels for the cruise industry. The methanol-ready engines will give the new ship unmatched fuel flexibility. The order for the engines was included in Wärtsilä’s order book in January 2023 and the vessel is scheduled for delivery from the yard in 2025.

To enable this advance, Wärtsilä will convert two Wärtsilä 46F engines to allow them to utilise methanol as fuel, marking the first-ever such conversion for this particular engine type. The engines will also be capable of operating with two other conventional fuel types. The conversion project not only promotes lower carbon cruising, but by adding methanol as a fuel option, emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter are significantly reduced.

“With the launch of our Edge Series of ships in 2018, we set ambitious sustainability goals to make these ships the most energy efficient large vessels at sea,” said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. “Working collaboratively with our expert partners, we have continued to develop new technologies and achieve breakthroughs with each subsequent ship.”

“Wärtsilä has invested heavily into researching viable future carbon-neutral fuels for the marine industry, and methanol has emerged as one of the most promising candidates. This will be the second methanol-fuelled engine conversion that we have undertaken, and the first with the Wärtsilä 46F engine. We share a commitment to decarbonise shipping, and the transparent partnership between our three companies for this newbuild project represents an important milestone along the path to achieving this goal,” commented Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä.

Celebrity Cruises, along with its parent company Royal Caribbean Group, has for 30 years been committed to the innovation and advancement of solutions that support greater sustainability. The incorporation of methanol-ready engines represents the company’s next step towards achieving Destinations Net Zero, its vision for net zero emissions by 2050.

The full Wärtsilä scope includes two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 46F engines capable of operating with methanol as fuel, two 12-cylinder Wärtsilä 46F engines, and one Wärtsilä 32 engine. Wärtsilä will convert the 46F engines to run on methanol at the yard, prior to commissioning.

Laurent Castaing, General manager of Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard says “Development and integration of methanol systems on a cruise ship is a new challenge for Chantiers de l’Atlantique and, for the first time, is part of our decarbonisation programme”

Change of watch at the helm of Aboa Mare Maritime Academy

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 March 2023 29 March 2023

Captain Riku Anttila has taken over as Head of Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center from 1 February 2023. He replaces Micael Vuorio as Vice Dean of the Department of Technology and Seafaring at Novia University of Applied Sciences, STCW responsible for Axxell's maritime training, and CEO of Aboa Mare Ab.

The maritime industry has always fascinated Anttila, who is now looking forward to the challenges of his new positions. Anttila has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the seafaring sector. After more than ten years' sea-going experience on tankers, Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax vessels, passenger car ferries and cruise ships, Anttila has come ashore. He has previously worked as Maritime Lecturer in Turku and Rauma, Head of Maritime Training in Rauma and Head of Maritime, Logistics and Port Training in Kotka. He has also served as a Maritime Education Assessor for the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish National Agency for Education, and as a maritime expert at Kymenlaakson District Court.

He has also participated in maritime regulatory work at the IMO and worked as an STCW auditor for the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC). For the past three years, Anttila has served as an internal auditor with the Finnish Defence Forces, with particular responsibility for the Navy’s and the Finnish Defence Forces' strategic projects. In addition to his Master Mariner’s grade, Anttila has a master's degree in public law and is now challenging himself with a Doctorate in Environmental and Maritime Law.

"I am extremely grateful for all the interesting tasks and experiences over the years and the many fantastic colleagues and partners who I have been lucky enough to work with. I will now use that background in my new position," says Anttila.

As the new Head of Maritime Education, Anttila wants to maintain the high educational standards.

"My predecessors have done pioneering work in the field of maritime education," enthuses Anttila. “I will continue this valuable work together with our professional staff and partners. My goal is to continue steering Aboa Mare on a stable course, respecting our long-standing traditions while taking into account the demands of the future – as a versatile and reliable pioneer.”

Promoting sustainable development is one of the most important tasks currently facing the maritime industry. Aboa Mare trains shipping companies and other parties interested in sustainable development, for example on how shipping company officers can reduce the vessels’ energy consumption and optimise operations. In addition, Aboa Mare offers courses under the IGF Code for shipping companies that operate vessels using liquefied natural gas (LNG) or methanol.

"The demands of the future, especially around environmental issues and the rapid development of technology, are placing ever-greater demands on the education sector. Aboa Mare is extremely well positioned to meet these challenges," emphasises Anttila.

Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center currently has 400 maritime students at Axxell and Novia UAS, and offers continuing education courses to around 1,700 participants each year. Aboa Mare is also actively engaged in research and development and operates abroad through partnerships with training centres in Greece and the Philippines. The maritime education in Turku is the oldest vocational training in Finland – the Maritime Academy was founded 210 years ago, in 1813.

Meyer Group envisages cruise ship of the year 2100

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 March 2023 29 March 2023

Meyer Group that has a shipyard in Germany and another one in Finland has been inspired by the rock penguin in the development of a concept called “Reverse” that shows what a cruise ship could look like in the year 2100.

The design features a closed glass facade and urban garden areas as well as drone landing pads, while central public areas form the focal point inside the ship. Thanks to a cabin structure detached from the outer hull, efficient modular manufacturing methods are possible.

"The ship is based on global megatrends and is one - but not the only - logical response to them," explained Tim Krug, Head of Concept Development Group at Meyer Group. "For example, we have only provided for small restaurant areas that serve more as social meeting places because we imagine that a large part of the nutrients will be consumed in concentrated form like pills," Krug he said in a statement.

“From today's point of view, we sometimes come up with extreme approaches, but it is equally important to think them through and develop answers from them.”

The energy concept on board also relies on innovation: thanks to the use of wave energy through horizontal wings on the hull, solar and fuel cells as well as wind energy, it manages without fossil fuels

P&O Cruises to carry out two stage refit of Aurora and Arcadia

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 March 2023 28 March 2023

P&O Cruises, the UK focused contemporary market unit of Carnival Corporation & plc, said that it would be updating guest areas on Arcadia and Aurora in two stages.

The first part of the changes, which are due to be completed by May 2023, will include new balcony furniture, new chairs in cabins, as well as new furniture on the ship’s open deck areas. On Arcadia, the Neptune Pool will also see considerable investment with new lounge chairs, sofas, tables and armchairs.

Wider refit of Arcadia that was built in 2005 would take place in November 2024 and that of the 2000 built Aurora is scheduled for April 2025, the company said in a statement.

Gotlandsbolaget buys Birka Stockholm for Baltic cruises

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 March 2023 27 March 2023

Gotlandsbolaget, which has its headquarters in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland, has paid €38 million for the 2004 built cruise ship Birka Stockholm that is of 34,924 gross tons.

Thew ship will be introduced for part of the year on cruises from the Swedish capital Stockholm to Mariehamn on the Aland Islands that belong to Finland and Visby, with the first departure planned for the spring of next year.

Birka Stockholm has been laid up since the start of the pandemic three years ago and before that it was used by Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö on short cruises from the Swedish capital, mainly to Mariehamn.

Gotlandsbolaget also operates ferry services between Nynashamn on the Swedish mainland and Visby. Håkan Johansson, CEO of the company, said that there is a market for the kind of cruises Gotlandsbolaget plans to operate in the Baltic and that the cruise ship would complement the company’s ferries that serve Visby. The island of Gotland itself has become a popular destination for cruise ships, he pointed out.

After laying Birka Stockholm up, Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö had explored the possibility to covert the ship that has accommodation for 1,800 passengers and a high ice class to an expedition cruise ship with approximately 600 berths. However, these plans did not materialise.