Converting pre-millennial cruise ships to balance the need for more capacity and the rising expectations of cruisers today takes focus, drive and plenty of realism. Foreship Conversion Manager Teemu Määttänen knows the business
In 2017, a leading cruise ship owner plans to add new passenger capacity to a ship it built before the[ds_preview] year 2000. The project aligns with the sharp rise in expectations for ship-earnings since the 2,500 PAX capacity ship concerned was considered state of the art. The biggest ships of today accommodate well over twice that number of passengers.
These 5,000+ PAX capacity ships have brought with them more than extra cabin space: the »boardwalk«, the waterpark, open-air laser tag and the onboard go-kart track are attractions that previous generation cruisers probably didn’t even know they wanted. Now that these delights are part of the holiday package, owners upgrading older ships need to establish how far capacity overhauls can take them towards a revitalised »cruise experience«.
Over the last five years, jobs like this have become routine for Teemu Määttänen, Conversion Manager at Foreship – one of the leading naval architecture and engineering companies in the cruise ship business. The ship earmarked for upgrade in 2017 is one in a generation built between 1988 and 1998, he says, with consideration being given to up to eight vessels.
The Conversion Manager shows understandable discretion when commenting on individual ships. On average, he says, owners working on converting ships built from the mid-1980s to the end of the last century are looking to add up to 5% to 6% in passenger capacity to pre-millennial ships. On top of the additional berths, such conversions have kept pace with market expectations by including new outdoor LED/video screens, water park features (for example flow riders), and new specialty restaurants.
Often, Määttänen says, the common challenge will be to »figure out how what is feasible compared to what the client wants.« Next year’s project, for example, envisages new cabin blocks, an extra deck in the forward section, more cabins with balconies, a new waterpark, an upgrade in restaurant facilities, and consequently more galleys. He stresses that new restaurants need new galleys, adding that the significance of this part of the project can often be greater than anticipated: the design must incorporate new ventilation, fire doors, fire safety systems, automation, and escape routes, leading on to structural work.
»Ultimately, it may not be possible to do everything exactly in line with the initial plan; the priorities have to be established in a feasibility study so that the project can proceed and be managed in a logical way,« says Määttänen.
Foreship’s conversion services cover structures, weight and stability, HVAC, electrical systems, and drydock supervision and support. They include »before and after« drawings, GAs, technical specifications and SOLAS compliance verification, as well as complete Technical Management from feasibility studies and design, to contractor coordination, engineering, class approvals and documentation.
»Every proposal has to be considered first in the context of ship stability and safety; it must meet class standards. If, for example, the conversion envisages bulkheads being taken down, I sometimes need to adapt the design or revise the cabling or piping routing, and coordinate between the owner and class.« Määttänen concentrates largely on structural matters. »Sometimes that can involve taking structural strength decisions on-site, since every hour counts and 50 to 100 people can be waiting, confirming our best judgement with calculations made by our team in Finland,« he says. »On other occasions I will be suggesting big changes, or even revising the design, and that can mean I’m brought into the role of advising shipyard contractors.«
He says he has taken particular satisfaction in projects where the Foreship »sponson-ducktail« has been added to a ship’s stern to increase stability, where capacity-driven conversions add height to the superstructure. Based on experience and the latest CFD-tools, Foreship ducktails have practically no effect on vessel’s speed-power performance. The stability gain depends on the vessel size, hull form and other characteristics, but typically the vessel has even better stability than when it was new after the sponson-ducktail has been added.
»The great thing is to be at the shipyard seeing how each ducktail fits each ship; I still often feel surprise at how well it works,« Määttänen says.
With 21-day cruise ship conversions »quite normal«, but some lasting up to five weeks over the last five to six years, the Foreship Conversion Manager has overseen conversion projects that have been driven by the need for more capacity at yards in the Bahamas, Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore and Spain.
Foreship’s repair and conversion reference list extends beyond 1,000 projects, with its cruise ship conversion workload in early 2016 including »Azamara Journey« and »Azamara Quest«, and NCL’s »Pride of America«. Other »conversion« work can be away from the yards altogether.
»On more than one occasion, we’ve been working on a ship immediately after delivery,« says Määttänen. »Recently, we managed the refurbishment of crew cabins while a newly-delivered ship was underway. For my part, it doesn’t really matter if the job is large or small, or even involves refurbishment underway,« he says.
RD
