A cruise industry veteran of more than 25 years, Nikolaos Doulis, Lindblad Expeditions’ SVP, New Buildings, discusses with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News the build plan for “the best expedition cruise ship ever built.”
Born in Greece to a seafaring family, Nikolaos Doulis was destined for a maritime career. His father was a ship captain and eventually a ship owner, and to support the family business he wanted his son to have an engineering education. So at the age of 14, Doulis started spending more time in and around ships, in workshops, learning the technical ins and outs of ship machinery and systems.
“This was the best thing to happen for my career, because I learned how to work,” said Doulis, who today serves as Senior Vice President, New Buildings, Lindblad Expeditions, the U.S.-based expedition cruise pioneer.
While his father’s family business was the impetus for his technical career, by the time he graduated Aspropyrgos Maritime Academy in Greece with a BA in Marine Engineering, his father’s shipping company Pyrgi Chios Shipping Co. – which at its height owned 16 ships, including bulk carriers and ferries – had gone out of business due to the financial crisis. His father returned to sea as a captain and Doulis, who always had a fascination with the passenger vessel industry courtesy of summer jobs working on cruise ships, joined Celebrity Cruises in 1993 working as an apprentice on ships.
Doulis work ethic and technical acumen was evident early on, and his career accelerated. By the age of 30 he had become Celebrity Cruises’ youngest ship manager, and by the time he left Celebrity Cruises in 2017 to join Lindblad Expeditions, he was the Director of Fleet Operations.
While Doulis enjoyed a long and successful career with Celebrity Cruises, he felt there was something missing. For starters, Celebrity Cruises was a part of the Royal Caribbean company, but it did not grow and expand like the other brands. “Celebrity has a great technical team, but Celebrity was … at the time … ‘the poor brother of Royal Caribbean;’ we did not expand like Royal Caribbean,” said Doulis.
“I saw that we were starting to lose good talent because we weren’t growing and offering new opportunities.” Eventually Doulis was a driving force in launching several of the company’s specialty cruise operations, including Celebrity expedition, Azamara Cruises and TUI Cruises. “One of the things that excited me most was the expedition cruising,” he said.
Enter Lindblad Expeditions.
“When the opportunity came about with Lindblad, I moved to Seattle and what I found most exciting was the chance to work with Sven Lindblad; he’s one of the best bosses I’ve ever had and one of the most well-travelled people on Earth,” said Doulis. “This gave to me the opportunity to learn the expedition cruise business even better with Sven and the amazing team at Lindblad. Lindblad is the best in the expedition business.”
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As SVP in charge of newbuilding, his mission is clear: “I am responsible for the newbuilding program of the company.” Today Lindblad Expeditions owns eight vessels and charters several more, with one newbuilding in the works for delivery in early 2020. Lindblad Expeditions in fact has two fleets, the American fleet and the international fleet. “The American fleet are ships built in the U.S., operating with American crew and U.S.-flagged,” said Doulis. The latest editions to this fleet are the National Geographic Quest & Venture built by Nichols Brothers Boatbuilders.
While the expedition cruise ships are smaller than the mainstream consumer cruise ship goliaths, their mission and unique operating envelope demand equally high levels of preparation, design and outfit. The latest under construction is National Geographic Endurance, a vessel that Doulis calls “the best expedition vessel ever built.”
Being built in Norway at Ulstein and scheduled for delivery in January 2020, Doulis said that the big differentiator on Lindblad Expeditions ships are the space allocated for guests, noting that the 12,400 gt Endurance is being built to accommodate 126 passengers whereas similar sized vessels for other companies are being designed and built to accommodate 200 to 250 passengers. “On our ships there is much more space per passenger,” said Doulis, “more gross tonnage per passenger than any other expedition company.”
The main differentiator in the expedition segment versus the larger, mainstream ships is the point of focus, as Doulis explains.
“In the expedition sector, the ship is not the focus, the destination is the focus. Don’t get me wrong, the expedition cruise ships are functional and beautiful, but we don’t have water slides, we don’t have ice rinks and we don’t have roller coasters … the ship is a tool to take you to the destination safely and comfortably,” said Doulis. “Our mission is to deliver the destination. With us you’re not swimming in a pool on the ship, you’re swimming in the sea. You’re getting an authentic experience.”
With operations in some of the most remote and ecologically pristine locales on the planet, including a 35-day Antarctica cruise, delivering and returning passengers comfortably and safely with little environmental impact is the focus of Lindblad Expeditions.
Central to is mission of operating safely and efficiently is the ship’s propulsion system. When selecting the propulsion system for this Polar Code 5 standard ice class vessel, Doulis said LNG was considered, but that it didn’t make sense for this ship at this time. “We investigated LNG, but given the delivery time of the vessel we couldn’t find LNG supply in the areas we go,” said Doulis. “Also, for our vessels, we have a redundancy allowing us to go 50,000 nm, and for a small vessel like that, the LNG tank size was an issue.” While LNG as fuel is not used today by Lindblad Expeditions, he foresees the mainstream take-up by bigger cruise companies in the not-to-distant future.
“I think after a few years all cruise ships will be built with LNG fuel. This will be the next big thing in the cruise industry. Instead Lindblad Expeditions opted for a diesel/electric solution with GE diesel engines at its core powering ABB Azipods, a technology familiar to Doulis from his years with Celebrity. The GE engines that are both EPA Tier 4 and IMO Tier 3 certified, and in Doulis’ opinion “the most environmentally friendly diesel engines that exist.” In addition Endurance is based on the signature Ulstein XBow design, a design proven to increase fuel economy and passenger comfort, as the innovative hull slices through the waves to help reduce slamming and vibration.
DNV GL:1A, Passenger Ship, ECO, NAUT(AW), PC(5), Clean Design, BWM(T), Recyclable, COMF-V(1), COMF-C(1), VIBR, Silent(E), BIS, LCS(DC)
Range: 15,000 nm at 12 knots
Speed 16.5 knots
Power: 2 x 2975 kW
Engines: 2 x GE 8L250MDC
2 x 12V250MDC
Length, o.a. 124.4 m
Loadline length 119.4 m
Breadth, molded 21 m
Depth, molded to upper deck 24.9 m
Depth, molded from freeboard 7.5 m
Scantling draft 5.7 m
Design draft, molded 5.3 m
Freeboard @ scantling draft 1.8 m
Freeboard @ design draft 2.2 m
Deadweight, max. draft 2,100 tons
Deadwegith, design draft 1,250 tons
Gross tonnage 12,300 tons
Cabins
-- 12 Large balcony suites (40 sq. m.)
-- 28 Balcony suites (19 sq. m.)
-- 17 Standard suites (17-18 sq. m.)
-- 4 Crew single (Deck 6) (21 sq. m.)
-- 3 Crew (Deck 4) (15-18 sq. m.)
Sven Lindblad blazed the trail for environmentally sensitive travelers to Antarctica on Lindblad Expedition’s fleet of cruise ships with National Geographic.You can tell a lot about a man by whom his heroes are, whether famous athletes, virtuoso musicians, brave warriors or movie stars. As we age
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into the vessel.”Out in the ColdCold weather destinations are a major province of expedition vessels. Stalwarts such as Lindblad National Geographic have journeyed into frigid waters with vessels described as ice strengthened. For example National Geographic’s Explorer (DNV Ice IA on
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May last year, respectively, the yard signed during the International Cruise Shipping in Miami a contract for the repair of the U.S. cruise ship “National Geographic Explorer” (112 m long, 6,471 BRT) with its owner U.S. shipping company Lindblad Expedition Inc. Strong Export Share The combined turnover
Evangelical Lutheran Currency: Norwegian Krone Life Expectancy: 79 GDP per Capita: $33,000 Literacy Percent: 100 Sources: National Geographic, CIA (As published in the May 2015 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News - http://magazines.marinelink.com/Magazines/MaritimeReporter
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out with designs of adventure vessels of their own. NBBB for Lindblad Expeditions, and WestSea with Rolls-Royce propulsion and power help on the MV National Geographic Quest. Then there’s Dutch shipbuilder Damen’s second sale of its 75-meter luxury expedition yacht for the tropics and the polar latitudes. “The
her lifetime protecting and conserving the world’s oceans.Sylvia Earle is President and Chairman of Mission Blue/The Sylvia Earle Alliance. She is a National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence, and is called Her Deepness by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress
durable and resilient fendering. For extended patrols at sea, accommodations include an enclosed head compartment, galley, and v-berth.VentureThe National Geographic Venture is a Jones Act compliant, purpose-built expedition cruise vessel made for exploring coastal waters, shallow coves, and fast-moving channels
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received Undersecretary and Assistant an honorary Doctor of Sci- Secretary of Commerce, acting and Deputy Administrator of the ence degree from Shang- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and hai Ocean University in 2018. He proposed making thick wall Oceanographer of the Navy. He has
Editorial NIWA-Nippon Foundation TESMaP/ Rebekah Parsons-King www.marinetechnologynews.com ast month marked the resounding NEW YORK 118 E. 25th St., New York, NY 10010 return of Oceanology Interna- Tel: (212) 477-6700; Fax: (212) 254-6271 tional in London, perennially one Lof the world’s most important
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USCG text implies that commer- received high level attention in February 2022, when the cial vessels won’t need radar, that vessels will be able to pro- National Academy of Sciences published a report “Com- ceed “without experiencing signi? cant degradation in naviga- mittee on Wind Turbine Generator Impacts
Man- sharing best practices. Additionally, given the global nature ufacturing: The administration is committing over $20 of maritime operations, international cooperation is essen- billion towards U.S. port infrastructure over the next tial for establishing uniform cybersecurity standards and ? ve years
not evolved in tandem and nation-state attackers constantly looking for new ways with these digital threats, leaving gaps that could be ex- to disrupt national security and economic stability, one of ploited. The International Ship and Port Facility Security the most vulnerable areas is the security around
mar- sector for cheap foreign labor and base is not just an investment in our kets, such as the Biden Administra- shoddily-built Chinese ships. This national and economic security fu- tion’s push for offshore wind, are es- would be disastrous for our maritime ture but a safeguard for generations sential
the world’s tonnage in fact—due to generous government- shrewdly recognizes that America’s manufacturing capac- backed subsidies and bailouts. ity and national security are deeply intertwined. A robust From 2010 to 2018 alone, China provided $132 billion commercial shipbuilding and repair industry is a
six to 12 months and that Congress thought that it addressed in the last Coast what’s being done to address them? Guard Authorization bill, the last National Defense Au- We’ve hit on some of them. If I had to take it up to a thorization Act. Unfortunately, the Coast Guard hasn’t higher level, I would
. The fact that EPA has do. We work very hard with the Coast Guard to make sure had California’s request for a waiver to allow it to enforce that their National Maritime Center has ef? cient processes these regulations on its desk for quite a while and hasn’t for reviewing and approving merchant mariner
Analysis Framework freight forecasts suggest total water tonnage will increase at an annual growth of 0.7% per year through 2040. Earlier this year, the National Waterways Foundation (NWF) released updated data illustrating the economic impacts of the inland waterway systems within several key states. Inland
COVER FEATURE times of con? ict or in other national said Ebeling. “If you look at Iraq and tors bring to the table, all provided by emergencies, and the program also Afghanistan, 98% of those cargoes the MSP ? eet, and it would cost the provides DoD access to MSP partici- were transported to the
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of such fuels. One example of this is the single cylinder and combustion model- ing research and development we are conducting with Oak Ridge National Lab and Argonne National Lab. With alternative fuels come a new set of technical consider- ations. When you look at the adoption of alternative
are [email protected] a global commerce enabler and a bedrock of everywhere. While traditional diesel is still Offshore Energy Editor Amir Garanovic national and economic security again comes the overwhelming fuel of choice powering [email protected] to the forefront. the global ? eet
from Gladding-Hearn ZF model 8000. Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation for passenger service be- The ferry will be tween Key West and the Dry Tortugas National Park. The new equipped with an vessel will replace Yankee Freedom III, a 250-passenger cata- Atlantic Detroit maran built for the 70-mile run by
cialize in this Li-battery transportation risks. Gerbis said, make this progress deliberate, not something wrenched “The NTSB routinely works with international investiga- from the aftermath of an accident or tragedy. tive partners and attends meetings at the IMO to track Li-battery and other safety issues
to NTSB recommendations is a re- in the U.S. carried 132 million pas- quirement within the “James M. In- exist within generally positive busi- hofe National Defense Authorization ness conditions. In an email he wrote sengers in 2019, provided through Act for Fiscal Year 2023,” signed by that the U
. It’s hard to imagine any captain or maritime operator not paying close attention to all of the is- sues raised by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) or the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), even though most ves- sels may have little in common with a DUKW or dive boat. This broader focus yields other
in with Maritime Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety your workers and studying your internal procedures, you and Health (MACOSH) and we at the National Maritime can jump-start your safety culture in the new year. Safety Association (NMSA) are two organizations that can As we start the new year