Skip to main content

Thank You 500,000 readers

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ocean Liners in Movies or Films at Sea (updated Nov 2017)

For liners and the shipping companies movies and films had been a top marketing tool Movies or Films and liners at sea, had been intriguing me since I have read about in my youth in LUXUSLINER - BILDER EINER GROSSEN ZEIT by Lee Server ( THE GOLDEN AGE OF OCEAN LINERS ). But earlier, mot only since my first crossing, I was keen watching movies with liners in it, and disapointed, which was an understatement, when I realized the films have been made in a set ashore in some movie "factory". That was after my first crossing.   by Earl of Cruise an essay in progress `Sabrina´, Humphrey Bogart in the office, while LIBERTÉ is sailing out of New York harbor - screenshot Ocean liners, especially those of the luxury category, had been the location of dramas, love stories, thrillers, suspense and catastrophies sinde film was born, or nearly. In this list, the most descriptions are taken from Wikipedia, as I guess no one can expect having seen all these films ... otherwise I w...

Liners - Can classic ocean liners make a comeback

Classic ocean liners, crossing the oceans, had been for long time the only way to cross the seas. A comeback of ocean liners for real? When in 2010 the Islandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull did errupt, and all flights that would come near his ash-clouds had to be cancelled, people had been trapped on each side of the pond ... And immidiately all available cabins on containerships had been booked, cruise vessels sailing either to the Americas or Europe had been flodded by desperate travellers to get to their destination ... Going by ship was in those days the only way to cross. It did show a certain, but temporary neccessity of liner traffic. But unfortunately we did not have any longer a frequent crossing possibility by ship - Transatlantic liners, liners per se had gone, gone with the wind of history and technical progress in air flight. Is an ocean liner comeback possible? by Earl of Cruise rms QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 © Beken - own collection, copy from a postcard CUNARD held the ...

HISTORY - HAMBURG the Space Ship

HAMBURG , HANSEATIC, stared as Britannic in ` Juggernaught ´, MAXIM GORKIY nicknamed Space Ship ts HAMBURG in DEUTSCHE ATLANTIK LINE colours - own collection, copy from a promotion broschure When HAMBURG was introduced a TV show aired with adventures in the space, their ship was the Enterprise which had a saucer shaped main section and three main arm like pillars holding the saucer as well the two engin sections. by Earl of Cruise The funnel of HAMBURG had quite a resemblance to that particular TV airship, created for STAR TREK by Gene Roddenberry . Axel Bitsch Christensen in front of the ts HAMBURG funnel - own collection, photo originaly owned by Anders Bitsch Christensen This funnel, as controversial it is and was, was only one reason why HAMBURG was nicknamed the Space Ship, but there was another reason, a real one, HAMBURG was the most spacious passenger shipp of her days. Constructing ts HAMBURG from 1966 till 1969 - own collection, copy from my bo...

ss NORMANDIE 1935 - 1942 IX

s s / te NORMANDIE starting from cold Owners: COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE BUILDERS: PENH Ö ET, St. Nazaire, France   by Stephen Carey © , editing by Earl of Cruise   This document is almost exclusively about the engineering aspects of NORMANDIE , mainly on how to start her up from cold. If you are looking for photos of the passenger spaces, there is a plethora of them on the web, in Facebook groups - Admirers of the ss Normandie , ss Normandie photographic file , The French Ocean Liners / Les Paquebots Fran ç ais , ss Normandie , GREAT LINERS OF THE PAST & PRESENT , and others, Pinterest and in articles about NORMANDIE here in the blog, please see at the end of the article. Using "ss" for NORMANDIE is quite incorrect, as NORMANDIE was a Turbo Electric vessel and not a steamship, therefore NORMANDIE should be adressed as "te".   by Earl of Cruise te / ss NORMANDIE berthed in Le Havre, Gare Maritime May 29th, 1935 - colouring courtesy ...

Heritage - Voyage of the Damned on St.LOUIS

St.LOUIS sailed in May 1939 with Jewish refugees to Cuba, a voyage known today as the VOAYAGE of the DAMNED. On May 13, 1939, the German liner St.LOUIS sailed from Hamburg, Germany, for Havana, Cuba. On the voyage were 937 passengers. Almost all were Jews fleeing from the Third Reich. Most were German citizens, some were from eastern Europe, and a few were officially "stateless". Basicly the journey was a fraud, set up by sinister Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels and his staff, to showcase nobody is interested in wanting Jews among them ... and till a seeming bitter end the free countries played in the Nazis directed game as they wished ... by Earl of Cruise based on Holocaust Ecyclopedia´s article St.LOUIS, sister ship of MILWAUKEE, were motorships of HAMBURG AMERIKA LINIE which served on different lines for HAPAG, as well on cruises - collection Earl of Cruise The majority of the Jewish passengers had applied for Cuba tourist visas and US immigration vi...

The modern Black Gang

Stewardesses and Stewards are the modern " BlackGang " by Earl of Cruise  Stokers on board USS MASSACHUSETS - source Wikipedia The men working in the bowels of the steamers had been named Black Gang. these where those men with the hardest labour - bringing the coal form the bunkers to the furnasses and filling them. This ardous labour became obsolete, when the steamer and turbine furnasses became oil fired - cleaner, fewer men and no longer heat and coal dust drenched air. The living conditions, when free from their shifts, had been similar ardous - cramped sleeping rooms, no light and less air, and few washing rooms and toilets. The loan was less than acceptable. Despite some some first class travellers made their way in these aereas, as into third class, to "slum a bit", for whatever their reasons may have been, or tipping the men of the Black Gang for harder work making a fast voyage. DAS TOTENSCHIFF , B. Traven, bying , In 1959 it was adapted int...

HISTORY - ss LA BOURGOGNE - Women and Children last

What had happend on sinking LA BOURGOGNE? Why had been so few women and children been rescued ? by João Martins , editing by Earl of Cruise ss LA BOURGOGNE - editors collection From our viewpoint of today we see this disaster of ss LA BOURGOGNE as one of egoism and the right of the stronger, with no "heroism", or stepping back for the weak to be saved. And we blame the crew for not doing their duty ... Are we allowed to judge? Are we allowed to chide? Are we alowed to claime it as typical ... for the seamanship of France - I have heard and read so! - ?  No, we have not been on board.  This tragedy is not the place to be chauvinistic! And looking in todays world we see a lot of chauvinism again and egoism! The ss LA BOURGOGNE was a 7,395 GRT French ocean liner built by the FCM in Toulon for the Transatlatic mail and passenger service of Cie. Gle. TRANSATLANTIQUE and completed in 1886. She was an iron and steel construction, 150 metres long, had two funnels an...

Starting rms TITANIC from cold

rms TITANIC, 1911, Cold Starting WHITES STAR LINE Ltd., Builders: HALAND & WOLFF, Belfast by Stephen Carey, engineer, editing by Earl of Cruise rms TITANIC, 1911 © Stephen Carey   Table of Contents 1     Overview of machinery spaces 1.1        Boiler rooms 1.2        Coal bunkers 1.3        Propulsion engines 1.4        Electrical power generation 1.4.1            Main generating sets 1.4.2            Emergency generating sets 2     Lighting up the boilers 2.1        Steam line redundancy 3     Starting the generators 3.1        Auxiliary seawater pump and condenser 3.2        Starting an emergency gener...

HISTORY - The Royal Mail Ship TAHITI

While researching for some Tahiti and French Polynesia related articles, I came across this Wikipedia article about a small, lesser known steamship, which served as a "mail boat" in the South Pacific - rms TAHITI . editing by Earl of Cruise Beside the big liners on the main routes, especially the North Atlantic, on "side routes", which had been and are important for the international trade, we find countless numbers of ships. These smaller, unimpressive ones are the back-bones of each shipping entity. Most of these vessels had been combined passenger and freight liners - so PORT KINGSTON, later TAHITI. For its last owner the vessel sailed across the Pacific from Sydney to California and back. rms TAHITI sailing the Pacific - Source: Wikipedia TAHITI was a 7,585 ton ocean liner operated by the UNION STEAMSHIP COMPANY OF NEW ZEALAND . Built in 1904 on Clydebank by the shipbuilders ALEXANDER STEPHEN & Sons , she was named rms Port Kingston until 1911....

ss NORMANDIE 1935-1942 XIII - Le NORMANDIE the great triumph and tragic end of the greatest ship of France

NORMANDIE at sea - courtsey coloured by Daryl LeBlanc Le NORMANDIE , the greates ship of France, was a great triumph for the French industry, economy the most gracious ambassador of France - a symbol of cultur and Savoir de Vivre. NORMANDIE never surppassed by any liner. But whom the gods love, they beat him to a tragic ending. In case of NORMANDIE the gods let do their dirty job by careless, ignorant and arrogant US Navy officials and their sub contractors.   by Earl of Cruise   NORMANDIE had 4 years of living and the chance to bring Glitz, Glamour and Luster into a world that was just in front of an abyss since October 1929. Sailing with NORMANDIE , created to cater primarily the First Clas clientele, and enjoying life on board seems to me today, as a Dance on the Volcano, that errupted in 1939. Longitudinal cutaway of PARIS - own collection copy from a CGT broshure ÎLE DE FRANCE , Cie Gle TRANSATLANTIQUE provoking ART DÉCO liner - own collection  ...