Full ahead for shipbuilding technology

Europe’s passenger ship building industry excels in innovation, as Alan Lam reports.

FULL AHEAD FOR SHIPBUILDING TECHNOLOGY

Technological leadership and torrents of newbuilding orders are keeping Europe’s major passenger ship builders in robust health. The prognosis for the sector in the next five years – at least – is one of continuous expansion, driven by galloping demands from the cruise industry, innovation and advancing environmental protection regulations.

Monopolising cruise ship building

For a while now it has been an established fact that shipyards in China, Japan and South Korea dominate the global cargo ship building market. However, in the passenger shipbuilding sector, especially the cruise ship segment, the situation is radically different; European builders are leaving their Asian peers trailing farther and farther behind.

The growth of ocean cruise business, especially in Asia, is gravity defying. The industry has been forced to spread its limited resources thinly across the globe. This has quickly led to an unprecedented boom in newbuilding orders that exlusively benefits a handful of European builders – namely Meyer Werft of Germany, Fincantieri of Italy, and STX France – which, together with their mostly Europe-based suppliers, monopolise the advanced cruise ship construction market.

As of August 2015, no fewer than 40 vessels are on order in shipyards operated by these builders, with an accrued price tag of about €30 billion, totalling over 5.2 million gross tonnes and an accumulated capacity of more than 135,000 lower berths, a significant improvement from the same time last year, when the orderbook already stood at 31 units, totalling just under four million gross tonnes and about 100,000 lower

berths. More orders are expected before the end of the year.

At the same time, with the recent Meyer Werft GmbH taking 100 per cent control of Meyer Turku, the sector has further consolidated. Europe – indeed the world – now has only three viable advanced cruise ship builders.

Regulations driving innovation

To comply with the ever-tightening international maritime emissions control regime, a few ferry operators have opted for clean fuel newbuildings. This again benefits mainly European builders; a small number of them have quickly become specialists in constructing innovative, sustainable eco-ferries. These ships are built with cost-efficiency and low emissions in mind, usually dual-fuelled, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas oil; some of them are even battery operated and solar panel assisted.

European builders and designers are world leaders in this field. The first large LNG-powered vessel was Viking Line’s newest ropax, Viking Grace, delivered in 2013 by STX Finland (now Meyer Turku). Costing €240 million, this ship set the standard for eco-ferries. The Norwegian shipyard Fjellstrand, in collaboration with Siemens, recently delivered to Norled – a Norwegian ferry company – the world’s first allelectric battery-powered zero-emission ropax. Building on its Viking Grace experience, Meyer Turku has just begun constructing a large LNG ferry for Tallink Silja Line, due for completion in 2017. In Spain, LaNaval Shipyard is building a revolutionary ‘green’ ferry for TESO, a Dutch ferry operator. The dual-bridged, double-ended vessel will be powered by both gas oil and compressed natural gas, assisted by batteries and 700m2 of solar panels.

Green technologies developed for ferries are gradually adopted by the cruise sector. Carnival Corporation has ordered from Meyer Turku four industry-first pure LNG-powered large cruise ships for its Costa and AIDA brands, slated for delivery between 2019 and 2020.

The widening gap

In nearly all aspects of passenger ship building, the gap between Europe and its competitors is widening, mainly due to the former’s relentless innovative approach to design and technology.

Currently only two major cruise ships are being built outside of Europe, by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan. At the beginning of August, news broke of another six-month delay for the delivery of the first unit. The project is now one year late and the builder has declared an extraordinary US$1 billion loss from building the two ships. Meanwhile Meyer Werft of Germany was able to deliver one of the largest and

most innovative cruise ships to date – the Norwegian Getaway – after a construction period of only 15 months.

Pioneering research and development enables the European shipbuilding industry to continuously launch revolutionary products and components that are supplied to global shipbuilding in general.

Wärtsilä, the Finnish company, has recently introduced a ground-breaking Controllable Pitch Propeller system, based on the previous E-hub type. The product offers greater efficiency, thus reducing environmental impacts. It addresses the needs of medium to large size vessel owners, particularly applicable for ships equipped with dynamic positioning capabilities and those with ice notation.

The Azipod D electric propulsion system for ships recently introduced by ABB, a Swiss power and automation technology group, requires up to 25 per cent less installed power. Its hybrid cooling system increases the performance of the electric motor by up to 45 per cent.

The GreenSteamOptimizer by GreenSteam, a Danish company, is an on-board decision support system that is an adaptive, data-driven solution helping to achieve absolute maximum fuel efficiency for ships. It is a compact and intuitive system, consisting of two small radars installed in the bridge wings.

These are just a few example of how Europe is leading the world in shipbuilding and operations technologies. European suppliers and product developers are also famous for cooperating with one another in pushing new frontiers. Rolls-Royce, for example, has entered into a partnership with Baleària, Spain’s leading ferry operator, to develop marine LNG engines.

Initiated in 2004, the HERCULES R&D programme aiming at developing large engine technologies was as a joint vision by Wärtsilä and MAN Diesel & Turbo. The venture is continuing into a new HERCULES-2 project, with a view to developing a fuel-flexible, near zero emissions marine engine that is optimally adaptive to its operating environment.

It is therefore not difficult to see why the rest of world depends so heavily on innovative European technologies for advanced shipbuilding.

Continuing efforts

Although Europe’s nearest and most worthy competitor in the field of cruise ship building – MHI – may have suffered multiple implosions, the ambitions of Asian shipyards remain intact. China State Shipbuilding Corporation has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Carnival Corporation to jointly build a cruise ship in China, with the help of Fincantieri of Italy. Chinese shipyards are hungry for orders; many of them have extensive experiences in passenger ship building; one of them, GSI Shipyard, is currently building an LNG ropax for Rederi AB of Sweden.

To stay ahead, European shipyards and equipment manufacturers are continuing their innovative efforts. Some of them, such as Wärtsilä and MAN, have set up major manufacturing bases in the Far East. NIT, the Finnish maritime company, has expanded its operations in Japan with the signing of contracts with MHI on turnkey cruise ship interior projects.

Currently only Europe possesses the necessary know-how for 21st Century cruise ship building. Aspiring builders in other countries are making efforts to acquire the technologies by whatever means possible. Daewoo of South Korea, for example, is considering acquiring a stake in STX France.

Europe is aware of the need to compete on technical merits, as it cannot do so effectively on other grounds. Some – such as Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises – believe that Europe must protect its constantly eroding industrial bases by not sharing its hardearned shipbuilding know-how with others. In a globalised world and with so many European suppliers setting up shops in Asia, this protectionist approach will not hold water. The only way to maintain Europe’s position in the future seems to be the continuous innovation at which it excels. n