Expedition Deluxe - Rolls-Royce enters the cruise market with contract to design cruise ship

ROLLS ROYCE´s troubled marine unit is finaly entering the cruise market, which is a rare piece of good news.
by Earl of Cruise
The set of vessels for HURTIGRUTEN is enviromental friendly and will be a new generation of cruise vessels for the over 100 years old company. ROLLY ROYCE will also suply equipment for the new cruise vessels. The contract will be worth £25m.

HURTIGRUTEN´s new Espen Øino designed ROLLS ROYCE MARINE cruise vessels - courtesy of HURTIGRUTEN

The plunging oil price hit the marine division of ROLLS ROYCE hard, as no longer offshore vessels had been ordered. Thus the main business of the subsidiary company had caused nearly a collaps.

HURTIGRUTEN was once the name of the post vessel line along the Norwegian coast, and offered a number of liner companies an existance ... till the end of the subsidiaries, once installed and guaranteed by the gouvernment, helping to establish this line. But it was terminated since its beginning.

Aurea Borealis green, blue, lila and yellow photo by Jan R Olsen - courtesy of HURTIGRUTEN

In the early 1920s it was more of an expedition sailing with the post express vessels, which went into nearly all ports along the Norwegian coast up to Spitzbergen. One of the lines introduced the STELLY POLARIS, which became a synonym for luxury cruising in the 1920s and 30s. She sailed worldwide in the winter, but offered cruises along the Norwegian coast in the sommer seasons. After WWII it became more and more popular going on a coastal cruise in Norway.

In the 1990s the former MATTHIAS THEISSEN WERFT constructed the masterpiece of new coastal vessels, which looked like shrinked Caribbean cruisers, and as the typical costal vessel. But despite of their small cabins they still offered they became a tremendous success and a further push in the cruise offer - Norwegian Coastal Cruises.

TROLLFJORD, one of the successors of the MATTHIAS THEISSEN built RICHARD WITH - courtesy of HURTIGRUTEN

The vessels had been "working horses" which offered the cruises in their first class compartments. The second class was the "coastal bus" for the Norwegians. And till today the vessels, even in use as cruise ships, do still their coastal travel business. Each of the vessels offer till today, and as well in the future a freight compartment, and Salons for the Norwegian people, going on board to reach their destinations, as streets are less in the mountainious costs of Norway are rare.

With the comming end of the mail subsidiaries, the companies started to think new on their coastal routes and passenger services. What followed was a merger over the years into at least one company - HURTIGRUTEN.

New vessels, new choices, outlook lounge and open outlook deck - coutesy by HURTIGRUTEN

The new cruise ships will be built by the KLEVEN SHIPYARD and will be refinaced via the Norwegian GIEK and NOX fonds, as for building in Norway and being enviromental friendly.

The new ROLLS ROYCE - Espen Øino - Olver design cooperation vessels are capable for cruises in polar regions and will be a great "win" for ROLLS ROYCE and open up a new market. They will have a lenght of 140m, a width of 23 m, a draught of 5,3m and will have 300 cabins for 600 passengers. With the new design the company is going new ways in its design - the vessel get more yacht like.

Helge Gjerde, Rolls's director of offshore and merchant solutions, said: “Hurtigruten and Kleven have agreed to build state-of the art passenger vessels, and Rolls-Royce will provide some of the most innovate ship technology on the market today. I’m confident that these new polar cruise vessels will bring the proud heritage of the HURTIGRUTEN into a similarly proud future.”

The latest addition of the HURTIGRUTEN fleet for expedition cruises, the SPITZBERGEN, a former ferry from Portugal massivley rebuild - courtesy by HURTIGRUTEN

ROLLS ROYCE is one of the few companies that are developing vessels which should or will be able sailing without a crew, based on artificial inteligence.

HURTIGRUTEN short review (German)

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