Subsidiaries of Genova Industrie Navali reveal how they apply energy efficiency and automation solutions to cruise ship interiors
Efficient materials, layout and maintenance procedures are main focuses for Gerolamo Scorza when designing interiors for both retrofitting and installing on newbuild cruise ships.
Gerolamo Scorza is one of Genova Industrie Navali’s (GIN) subsidiaries. GIN’s subsidiaries also include Chantier Naval de Marseille, ship designer T Mariotti and Tecnavi.
Gerolamo Scorza chief executive Massimo Barbè explained the company usually deals with four to five drydock projects and one newbuild project annually.
Its latest projects span the public toilets of Regent Mariner, all crew areas of Norwegian Star, hundreds of accommodation doors on Norwegian Sun, Seabourn Sojourn’s public areas and it is also working on the new MSC ships in Chantier De l'Atlantique in St Nazaire.
Explaining how the company approached projects, he singled out the importance of layout and aftercare as important focuses. “Once we are awarded a project we start to study it in detail to optimise all the aspects. We eventually propose more efficient materials within the same budget that comply with all class and flag rules, we optimise the layout to increase efficiency and sometimes we propose a different technical solution overall to reduce maintenance procedures that are perhaps the main issues for owners once the ship is in operation.”
Engineering and energy efficiency
Energy efficiency is an important feature. “Energy efficiency can be achieved in different ways: weight is an important issue that can affect the performance of the ship. Another important improvement in energy efficiency can be achieved prefabricating as much as possible. Items built in a workshop are better built items and help to reduce installation time. Good engineering can help to save energy, to have a better product and to reduce construction time.”
As well as outfitting ship interiors, the company also produces furniture, decking, wall panels and doors in its own factory. Mr Barbè said “We produce every kind of furniture, metallic structures, doors and B-class panels for public areas. We always try to provide the best possible quality for our customers – for example using plywood panels instead of chipboard for the furniture we produce. Passenger ship operators look for simple and cost efficient maintenance procedures.”
Asked about machinery and processes used by the company, he highlighted that it was important to use a mix of modern methods combined with craftmanship. “We use modern CNC [computer numerical control] machinery combined with craftsmanship. This is in my opinion the strength of a company that has been in the market for over 110 years and is looking to the future, taking inspiration from lessons learned in the past.”
Automation and CO2
Tecnavi is another company under GIN umbrella, working within the interiors sector of shipbuilding repair and conversion. In 2018, it handled:
Carnival Cruise Line: Victory, Fascination, Paradise, Legend, Spirit.
Aida-Costa: Aura, Bella, Prima.
NCL group: Sun, Star, Mariner.
Princess Cruises: Crown, Sun.
MSC Cruises: Seaside, Seaview.
Seabourn: Quest.
Tecnavi and Florida Marine Industries chief executive Stefano Costa explained the importance of automation when it comes to saving energy in the hotel side. “The technology in automation enables cruise ships to make significant energy savings by optimising HVAC and refrigeration.”
He said Tecnavi designed “efficient HVAC plants, paired with smart automation and benchmarking systems”.
He singled out a new trend Tecnavi is involved in: using new CO2 chillers for cold rooms.
Mr Costa said “Freon is an extremely stable, non-toxic fluid, which does not interact with the compressor lubricant and operates at pressures somewhat higher than atmospheric, so that if any leakage occurred, air would not leak into the system, thus one could recharge without having to apply vacuum.
“Recently, however, the international scientific consensus is that global warming is caused by human energy related activity, and various man-made substances are defined on the basis of a global warming potential (GWP). Freon has been found to have a bad GWP and within a few years, air conditioning systems will be barred from using freon as a refrigerant.”
He summed up “The new hot topic is using CO2 as a refrigerant.”
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