Holland America Line took delivery of its prototype Pinnacle class vessel, 99,500gt Koningsdam, on 31 March at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy. Following a number of Mediterranean itineraries it will be christened in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on 20 May.
About 350 of the 1,036 crew arrived at the yard prior to the vessel’s delivery, to prepare Koningsdam for sailing. Tasks included loading supplies, cabin inspections, washing linen and getting fitted for uniforms. Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, commented: “The officers and crew are the heart of our ships, and we would not be able to fully prepare for Koningsdam’s delivery without their support and dedication.”
Holland America Line’s vice president of newbuild services Cyril Tatar was involved with the planning of the ship. He commented: “Today most of the ships are prototypes and they have to stand the test in a marketplace that is becoming more and more differentiated. In an extremely competitive environment every cruise line has to come up with new ideas. The design becomes more and more innovative and the technical concepts more and more sophisticated. And the requirements with regard to safety and the environmental aspects grow continuously.”
It can take between 18 and 24 months before an agreement with a shipyard is ready to be signed and another 16 to 18 months to finalise the plans for design and construction. All of this prior planning leads to a relatively short building time of 18 to 24 months.
Originally Koningsdam was to be a sistership to Signature class Nieuw Amsterdam, but the design and the concept were three years old and Safe Return to Port regulations had been put in place since Nieuw Amsterdam was built. Furthermore, Holland America Line had new ideas – for the cabins, for example. The Seattle, USA-based operator therefore decided to develop a new prototype.
Mr Tatar is no stranger to newbuildings, coming as he does from a shipbuilding family closely connected to Chantiers de l’Atlantique, now part of STX France. To him the greatest challenge when building a new ship is managing and co-ordinating the various departments and their specific requirements. “This has to be done in such a way that, in the end, everything comes together and we get a safe and fully integrated ship, on time.” With 10 to 12 specialised departments involved, each with up to 400 staff, communication is vital. “It is not enough to have a project manager walk around with a notepad. We need to rely on special process and project management software to meet a very demanding time line.”
Among the key considerations for Koningsdam were the vessel’s power and speed. “As a rule we need 40 per cent power for the hotel operations and 60 per cent for propulsion.” There are four MaK M43C 12-cylinder V main engines from Caterpillar with a total output of 50.4MW giving a service speed of 18 knots. Much attention has been paid to the latter.
In the past ships were designed for maximum speed, but Mr Tatar has questioned this approach. “Why design for maximum speed when a ship only spends 10 per cent of the time there?” Koningsdam was designed for a maximum speed of 22.3 knots, but a second reference point of 18 knots was added when it came to optimising the hullform. “Now, based on the itinerary of the brand, we know what the optimal service speed is.”
The hull has been extended to improve efficiency. The extra length improves glide in the water and so reduces resistance. The bulbous bow design was optimised based on the service speed.
For this vessel the two ABB Azipod XO units have a power of 14MW each, compared with 17MW on Nieuw Amsterdam. The Netherlands maritime research institute, Marin, evaluated options for either four or five propellers, also from ABB, and five were chosen. This was due to the good low level of noise and vibration as well as efficiency at lower speed, according to Mr Tatar.
Following sea trials in January, Koningsdam’s captain Emiel de Vries commented: “It was a thrill to take the ship to sea and give it a test run. The manoeuvring trials were particularly exciting for me, and the ship behaved very well.”
Both heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil will be burned but two open loop exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers), supplied by Ecospray Technologies of Italy, have also been installed. “We will be able to achieve about 16 knots with two engines but at maximum loads we can probably reach 18 knots,” explained Mr Tatar. “It is uncharted territory for engineers. It is still being tested, with good results. We are finalising details about the wash water and the sampling of water, and the regulations that go with it with which we need to comply.”
Holland America Line has changed from centralised air conditioning to fan coil units on Koningsdam. From about 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the air is now treated in the spaces themselves, such as the public rooms, rather than circulating it back to the air conditioning station. “When you have local treatment it is not only more efficient but a better type of comfort,” said Mr Tatar. Energy has also been saved when it comes to galley equipment. For example, more ceramic hot plates are being used than those with a traditional heating element.
All of these improvements have resulted in Koningsdam having 20 per cent less power installed than Nieuw Amsterdam, while carrying 20 per cent more passengers. Mr Tatar described this as being significantly more efficient in terms of carbon footprint per passenger.
For fresh water, Holland America Line has developed a reverse osmosis plant in co-operation with Case Marine & Industrial in Seattle. There are two on board with a capacity of 400m3 per hour. The advanced wastewater plant from Hamworthy has been modified to meet Marpol MEPC 227 requirements. Depending on how the plant is configured, black and grey water can be treated or, when in an area of strict regulation such as the Baltic sea, just grey water, leaving the black water to be discharged shoreside.
In order to reduce refuse disposal, packaging is assessed throughout the supply chain. “When ordering we are looking at packaging,” said Mr Tatar. The majority of refuse is offloaded, with materials recycled where possible.
Holland America Line has opted for a ballast water system from Headway Technology Co. “We think it is the best system for us today. It is simple and easy to use and once there is agreement on regulation I think we will be able to meet it.”
There are 16 150-person Hatecke lifeboats and six tenders on board with an electronic mustering system provided by Fidelio Cruise Software. For the first time Holland America Line has muster stations inside, on Koningsdam.
More and more ships now have a separate safety centre on the bridge and on this vessel Holland America Line has opted for this configuration. “This is a big difference for us. We have moved some of the equipment and the video screen tables, where we monitor the safety systems, which used to be on the bridge itself. So now the wheelhouse is really for focus on navigation. This is the first ship with this type of arrangement for Holland America Line.”
Speedpilot is one of the pieces of equipment that is being deployed. This computes the optimum average speed and maintains it automatically, adjusting the propulsion if the current or wind conditions change.
The infrastructure and systems of the IT on board have been designed and integrated by Lufthansa Systems. These will carry all the phone, TV, video conferencing, wireless and interactive TV services, the WiFi coverage, and so on. “This is a very big difference from before,” commented Mr Tatar. “The onboard content and communications will not be comparable to previous ships.” Holland America Line plans to roll out this set-up to the rest of the fleet now that it is installed on Koningsdam.
Lighting is another feature on which much attention is focused these days. Light emitting diode (LED) lighting has been used in all accommodation spaces. Mr Tatar explained: “We are trying to get standard replaceable LED lights. We have been working with the shipyard to get a good system and use central software to control time and the schedule of light on board. We are also extending the idea to the technical spaces.”
With 24 hours a day operation, reliability is vital. Mr Tatar said: “There is a lot of technology on the market which looks brilliant but is not reliable or fully tested. On the ship it is good to have a mix, so that the platform is reliable. That is a wise way of incorporating new technology on a new ship.”
When it comes to the interiors Holland America Line’s Mr Ashford commented: “In addition to our hallmark restaurants, we are introducing several new concepts on Koningsdam.”
Adam D Tihany of US-based Tihany Design has created a modern and unique environment in a number of the ship’s food outlets including The Dining Room, which spans two floors, and the Culinary Arts Center which features a show kitchen and individual cooking stations for demonstrations and classes. Mr Ashford added: “Adam’s designs beautifully convey ‘classic with a modern twist’ so that every room looks sensational and has its own personality.”
Onboard entertainment will be taken to a new level for the brand. The Music Walk area has three stages presenting a variety of live music every night, from chamber music and recitals to chart topping hits, while the World Stage theatre has a 270 degree, two-storey LED projection screen that surrounds the audience in panoramic visual and sound effects.
With Koningsdam now in service, attention has turned to her sistership. Mr Ashford said at the delivery: “Thank you to Fincantieri for being an exceptional partner. We look forward to beginning work soon on our second Pinnacle class ship scheduled for delivery in late 2018.”
Koningsdam | |
Shipyard | Fincantieri Marghera |
Gross tonnage | 99,853gt |
Passenger capacity | 2,650 |
Crew | 1,036 |
Length oa | 299.65m |
Moulded beam | 35m |
Draught | 7.95m |
Class society | Lloyd’s Register |
Service speed | 18 knots |
Main engines | 4 x MAK M43C 12-cylinder V from Caterpillar, total output 50.4MW |
Scrubbers | 2 x Ecospray Technologies |
Exhaust gas boilers | Aalborg from Alfa Laval |
Pods | 2 x ABB Azipod XO at 14MW each |
Fin stabilisers | Fincantieri |
Integrated navigation | APSS L3 Sam |
LAN network | Lufthansa Systems |
Coatings | Hempel |
Potable water | 2 x Case Marine reverse osmosis at 400m3/hour |
HVAC electric plant | Schneider Electric |
Fan coils | Rhoss |
Waste water plant | Hamworthy |
Refuse | Deerberg-Systems |
Laundry | Tech Marine |
Lifeboats | 16 x 150-person Hateke |
Fire-fighting | Hi-Fog from Marioff |
Tenders | 6 x Hatecke |
Electronic mustering | Fidelio Cruise Software |
Master key system | VingCard |
Ballast water system | Headway Technology Co |
Elevators | Schindler |
Magrodome | Navalimpianti |
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