Expedition Cruises - ULSTEIN© embarks on expedition cruise market

Embarking on the expedition cruise market and following the ULSTEIN© motto - "Stay different"

by Earl of Cruise

"Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN, their credo, even when embarking in the expedition cruise market.

Years ago, attending the SMM in Hamburg, a friend of mine and me got an idea, when seeing the X-Bow of the ULSTEIN models of Offshore vessels,

"Couldn´t this be the right bow for expedition cruise vessels?" 

We got into a heated discussion. Me pro, he contra. In his opinion it was too far off from the mainstream what a cruise passenger is expecting from the design of his cruise or expedition ship. 

We had been discussing too the up-and-down discussed freak wave casualties.

Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN©, explorer cruise vessel with X-Bow - courtesy © ULSTEIN

"Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN©, explorer cruise vessel with X-Bow - courtesy © ULSTEIN

The expedition cruise market had been developed in Norway, and now is an expanding market for the sophisticated cruiser, who has seen "the whole world". Norways `Hurtigruta´, since 1893, the coastal mail shipping route, also named as the `Riksvei Nr. 1 („Reichsstraße Nr. 1“)´ is the corner stone of this development. Another is the Norwegian heritage in exploring the Northern, arctic, Seas.

The Offshore market, where Norways shipbuilders are market leaders, is declining. It is forcing the companies to look for a new niche in shipbuilding to stay afloat.

The family owned ULSTEIN Group©, following its company credo, sees the change as as a challenge and advantage.

"Our cultur is not taking the risk. Our cultur is to be very good in what we do. Therefore we made the decission doing some homeworks, a lot of internal works, to create a new offer, which will be the best you can get," stated an employee in the office of ULSTEIN in Ulsteinvik.

"The ULSTEIN Group is financial stable, despite the market changes and a not future which seems not be `rosy´. We are optimistic! We are known of the market cycles. We think in genration cycles and not short term," explained Øyvind Gjerde Kamsvåg, Development Manager at ULSTEIN.

The experience in offshore shipbuilding is quite an advantage for the family owned company.

Propulsion systems have to be stable in within different speed ranges and sea conditions, as embarkation and disembarkation situations - passengertransfers, navigating in polar regions, are some of the parameters where ULSTEIN has gained expertise. And the shown designs can be named innovative.

"We have been thinking about all our sampled experiences, including navigation systems, and did develop different passenger vessels for various cruise offers. We included our experience in tendering passengers, and developed a tender boat solution which is securing a secure tendering. The max passenger security had our focus in the most different regions and situations. We included "nearer to nature" for the passengers on board as well under water with visual systems," stated Øyvind Gjerde Kamsvåg.

Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN©, explorer cruise vessel with with classic bow - courtesy © ULSTEIN

Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN©, explorer cruise vessel with classic bow and yacht styled stern, including the "must" of an infinity pool - courtesy © ULSTEIN

ULSTEIN is offering various designs, with or without the patented X-Bow (inverted bow, patent for ULSTEIN since 2005), as well as integrating the new X-Stern. Some model of are displayed in the ULSTEIN portfolio in the various seizes from 100m to 165m, and up to 800 passengers.

Offshore vessel with X-Bow and X-Stern - courtesy © ULSTEIN

Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN©, intended marina - courtesy © ULSTEIN

"The idea is selling these designs, which can be build in any shipbuilding site on the world, not only with ULSTEIN in Norway," explained Øyvind Gjerde Kamsvåg the export strategy of ULSTEIN.

The ULSTEIN Group is believing in the growing market of expedition cruises, which has a predicted growth of 40% in the coming years, and some fine projects in the pipeline for, perhaps too in and for the Chinese market.

Knowing the grown enviroment sentivityin Noeway, their NOX-Fonds, their electro mobility, etc., I guess these new designs will be ready for the new emission standards implemented in 2020, lowering our carbon footprint on this wonderful world.