Skip to main content

Thank You 500,000 readers

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.
ULSTEIN X-Bow and X-Stern explorer cruise vessel design
Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN©, explorer cruise vessel with X-Bow - courtesy © ULSTEINULSTEIN X-Bow and X-Stern explorer cruise vessel design
"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.
ULSTEIN classic bow explorer cruise vessel design
Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN©, explorer cruise vessel with with classic bow - courtesy © ULSTEIN
ULSTEIN classic bow and yacht styled stern explorer cruise vessel design
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.
ULSTEIN X-Bow and X-Stern offshore vessel
Offshore vessel with X-Bow and X-Stern - courtesy © ULSTEIN
ULSTEIN idea of a marina on their new design
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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank You 500,000 readers

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...

HISTORY - The CUNARD - WHITE STAR Liner rms QUEEN ELIZABETH (1938-1972)

Over years, in my early youth, the QUEEN ELIZABETH was shaping my mind for the perfect ocean liner, despite having made my first experiences with a liner onboard the HANSEATIC (1), ex EMPRESS OF SCOTLAND, ex EMPRESS OF JAPAN. When leaning at the rail of HANSEATIC entering the port, my eyes where every where and I wished to by a camera, I took all in. And when seeing the QUEEN ELIZABETH with my own eyes, the nice behaving young boy turned into a tomboy, that my grandmére was no longer able to tame ... I did draw quite a lot of looks, back then. I found, while on research, this article and thought it interesting publishing in my blog: written and published by John Sheperd at liverpoolships.org editing and comments by Earl of Cruise I ( John Shepard ) joined the CUNARD LINE in March 1962 as an Assistant Purser and sailed the QUEEN ELIZABETH throughout that year, before transferring to the Liverpool-based CARINTHIA in November, where I remained as Crew Purser for the next five...

Germany and HAPAG - A Journey through History

HAMBURG-AMERIKANISCHEPACKETFAHRT ACTIEN GESELLSCHAFT - HAPAG or HAMBURG AMERICA LINE is reflecting, as Germany, the LLOYD of Bremen, two times of rsing and two times of devasting downfall and a third rise. BORUSSIA , 1856, First Day Cover 1956 of Deutsche Bundespost - own collection Once Germany´s biggest shipping line HAPAG / HAMBURG-AMERIKANISCHE PACKETFAHRT ACTIEN GESELLSCHAFT-LLOYD, merged with it former old Hanseatic rival NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD in 1970, to now HAPAG-LLOYD, had its peaks and downs, but rose each time on its own to new hights, without any state subsidies. As German mail subsidiaries did never cover the costs for purchasing or mainting the vessels ordered for the specific German mail lines.   by Earl of Cruise In this article I used most German Wikipedia links, as they proved to be mostly of better research quality, and surprisinf to me, some English lines and liners have only German written articles, for the others, English Wiki links are to ...

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 ...

HISTORY - ts / ss BREMEN and ts / ss EUROPA

Germany’s two luxury liners, BREMEN and EUROPA , have not only played an important part in their country’s mercantile revival, but have added also an immortal chapter to the history of transatlantic travel. Copy from Shipping Wonders of the World   From part 6 , published 17 March 1936 editing by Earl of Cruise ss / ts BREMEN in her early years - Source: Shipping Wonders of the World/Bundespresse Archiv The PRIDE OF A NATION - the NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD quadruple-screw turbine express liner BREMEN . The keel of this ship was laid in June 1927. Her launch took place in August, 1928. In less than a year later, the Bremen made her first voyage to America, when she crossed the Atlantic from Cherbourg to New York in four days seventeen hours forty-two minutes, thus setting up a new record and gaining the coveted “Blue Riband”. During the passage the Bremen attained an average speed of 27.83 knots. ss / ts BREMEN in her early years - Source: W ikipedia For the pop...

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...

Heritage - UNITED STATES LINES - a review

In my UNITED STATES LINES historic review I want to show the rise and fall of the last national shipping and post line of the United States of America. by Earl of Cruise © UNITED STATES LINES The UNITED STATES LINES has been at first a transatlantic shipping company that operated passenger, mail and cargo services from 1921 to 1989. The passenger service with oceanliners was offered until 1969 - most famously by ss  UNITED STATES . The line became well known in the 1920s, when two valiant rescues were made. These ships involved have been the ss PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT in 1926, and the ss AMERICA in 1929 both under the command by Captain George Fried . 19th Century Since the dramatic ending of the COLLINS LINE in mid 19th century, after successfully crossing the North Atlantic, there has not been any major US American steamship line. The congress was not able giving a push to any new entrepreneur to come. So foreign companies got the main share in post trading and pas...

HISTORY - EUGENIO C. a masterpiece of Italian design and engineering

EUGENIO C., later EUGENIO COSTA, was a masterpiece of Italian design and is an example of beautifully integrated ship design. Her naval architect, Nicolò Costanzi, and her interior designer, Nino Zoncada, worked side by side, or hand in hand, to create a perfect balance and continuity between the vessel's interiors and the exterior profile. EUGENIO C. became a masterpiece of the 60s design and elegance. by Earl of Cruise Some readers had been asking for interior photographies ... here they are.   Eugenio C. Tourist Class A pool, looking aft into the wake line - own collection, copy from my LINEA  „ C ‟ broshure EUGENIO C. entered service a little more than 50 years ago in 1966. EUGENIO C. was a child of the swinging 60s, when we had the first jet setters, and still style and elegance. And travelling by jet in those days was still an expensive way to travel for few. I am not the only one wishing the same intent and sensibility would be a guide line for present sh...

HISTORY - PACIFIC MAIL STEAMSHIP COMPANY

The PACIFIC MAIL STEAMSHIP COMANY was existing for "just" one hundred years and was in her heydays a backbone for the development of the US West. The PACIFIC MAIL STEAMSHIP COMPANY was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall , Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland. These merchants had acquired the right to transport mail under contract from the United States Government from the Isthmusof Panama to California awarded in 1847 to one Arnold Harris. The company was sold 1938 last to AMERICAN PRESIDENT LINES , existing only on the paper, was closed down in 1949.   by Earl of Cruise CALIFORNIA , PACIFIC MAIL's first ship - Source: Wikipedia   CALIFORNIAwas the first steamer built by the PACIFIC MAIL STEAMSHIP COMPANY and she was launched May 19, 1848. She sailed from New York for Panama, via Cape Horn, on October 6, 1848...