Page 22: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 1997)

European Builders Make Inreads In

Cruise And Feriy Sectors

Technologically advanced solutions break speed and design barriers by David Tinsley, technical editor

German investment in cruise ship design and technology was demon- strated in the past year by 38,530- gt Aida, the Finnish-built, innova- tive addition to the Rostock-based

DSR fleet. The completion in

Wismar of the home-grown, 14,000-gt Columbus in June will add another dimension to the

German portfolio.

Yet another milestone event for

German maritime industry will be the scheduled delivery in May 1998 of 22,400-gt Deutschland to

Peter Deilmann from Kiel ship- builder Howaldtswerke-Deutsche

Werft (HDW).

Registered with

Deutsche Seetouristik, and marketed through in-house tour operator

Arkona Reisen, the twin- screw Aida is tagged a "clubship," reflecting the popularity in Germany of club travel.

Offering a minimum passenger capacity of 1,186 and characterized by a relatively low crew to passenger ratio, the ship was conceived for a younger generation of cruise passengers, and is clearly slanted towards the European market rather than a North

American clientele. Aida not only underscores Kvaerner

Masa-Yards' propensity for more technically demanding or techno- logically advanced vessels in the capital-intensive newbuilding sec- tors, but also the Finnish compa- ny's flexibility in product-oriented design and custom construction.

Given the marketing emphasis on young, but affluent customers, and parents with young children,

Hamburg-based interiors special- ist Partner Ship Design had the challenging task of engendering a casual shipboard atmosphere. The vessel represents a change in ship- board practice in the cruising field, with restaurants open virtually around the clock, and no pre- assigned dining room seating, both of which had implications for design and configuration. The public spaces are distinguished by their arrangement on the upper- most enclosed levels of the ship, adjoining the sun deck. The ship thereby breaks with the tradition of having main public areas, dining and entertainment facilities below at least two decks of cabins.

The landscape-type design approach adopted for the public rooms, and their less constrained interlinking, also makes for greater continuity and easier flows than is the case aboard many cruise ships with tightly compart- mentalized public decks.

Employing a trusted diesel- mechanical propulsion system for a speed of 21 knots, Aida is equipped with four Augsburg-built,

MAN B&W 6L48/60 main engines developing a total 21,720 kW.

Power is transmitted to two

KaMeWa controllable pitch pro- pellers through MAAG reduction gears. Maneuverability is enhanced by two KaMeWa 1,000- kW bowthrusters, and motion con- trol is exerted through a set of

Blohm + Voss fin stabilizers.

Wartsila 32 Engines Featured

On Columbus

The recently unveiled Wartsila 32 engine, with a long pedigree in the popular 320-mm bore category of the market, will have an early, prestigious reference this summer in a sleek new German cruise ship. The 14,000- gt Columbus, ordered by

Munich-based Conti

Reederei for charter to

Hapag-Lloyd Tours of

Bremen, will provide only the second, seago- ing newbuilding appli- cation for the latest class of Finnish-devel- oped machinery.

The vessel's main power and propulsion plant will be based on four such engines in a six-cylinder, in-line con- figuration, for a total output of 10,560 kW.

Anticipated service speed is 18.5 knots. 22 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News