Damen Shipyards Group has come up with a new Expedition Cruise Vessel design together with Expedition Voyage Consultants Ltd and Danish Naval Architect firm, Knud E. Hansen.
Expedition Voyage Consultants have led over 500 expeditions and provided instrumental input for creating a fit-for-purpose vessel with safe and efficient operations embedded into its design. Knud E. Hansen has experience with designing passenger ships, including the first ever expedition cruise ship.
Global Expeditions
The Damen Expedition Cruise Vessel has been designed for expedition operations in both remote polar and tropical regions. It has Polar Class 6 compliance and is capable of cruising autonomously for thirty days. In addition, the vessel’s design is prepared to comply with SOLAS’ Safe Return to Port requirements.
Viewing Platforms and Crow’s Nest
A core philosophy of the design was to connect its passengers to the pristine environments in which the vessel will sail. Whether sailing adjacent to remote Pacific atolls or sliding past towering Antarctic icebergs, passengers will take in the views on multiple viewing platforms that extend over the side or past the bow, providing the most spectacular vantage point of any expedition ship.
Perched on the ship’s mast, a specially developed crow’s nest will aide visibility during ice navigation as well as give passengers a panoramic view over the surrounding landscape.
With approximately 1100 m2 of public space and 2500 m2 of outside deck, there will be sufficient space for 115 passengers and a +200 pax design will be developed soon.
Hybrid Propulsion and Battery Ready
For the propulsion system, Damen has selected a diesel-mechanical hybrid configuration that is IMO Tier III compliant (EPA tier 4 equivalent). A PTI-PTO variable frequency drive will also be included, thus enabling efficient load distribution on the engines.
Designed to be “battery ready”, the vessel could be equipped with an energy storage battery system capable of various functions such as peak-shaving, provision of supplementary power for manoeuvring or silent sailing operations and auxiliary generator UPS.
The vessel has a 16 knot service speed and 18 knot maximum speed. Thanks to the hull design and the effective use of electricity on board, Damen expects to reach fuel consumption and CO2 reductions of at least twenty per cent.
