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Just as the size of ships has grown, so has the
technology relating to ships. There have been great
advances in navigation, safety, propulsion and
environmental technology.
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Innovative, cost-efficient and environmentally
responsive cruise ships start on the drawing board. The
challenge for highly -qualified and experienced naval
architects and marine engineers is to find the most
advantageous technological design that will meet the
company’s needs for fuel efficiency and provide
outstanding passenger comfort, satisfy legislative
requirements and be cost effective.
The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, adopted worldwide, governs
the design, construction and operation of all ships. In
recent years, shipyards located outside of North
America have constructed new cruise ships. Large
drydocks refit older but still serviceable ships to have
more amenities, updated propulsion equipment and
environmental systems. The efforts in Canada and the United States have
focused on building bigger and better docking
facilities.
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Designing a safe, efficient hull for a ship that can tip
the scales at over 100,000 gross tons involves a
knowledge of appropriate structure, watertight
integrity and structural requirements. Mandatory
watertight compartments in cruise ship hulls make new
cruise ships hard to sink. Note that those ships
constructed for transiting the polar seas have specially
hardened hulls that are rated according to their ability
to tolerate ice.
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Cruise ships require fuel-efficient propulsion systems,
efficient manoeuvrability and motion control. To meet
these needs, some cruise lines are equipping new ships
with rudderless propulsion systems, or azipods. These
combine the action of a rudder, propeller and thrusters
all in one efficient unit that can easily rotate 360
degrees, providing excellent manoeuvrability and helping
to ensure a smooth, vibration-free sailing.
The very first cruise ships powered by gas-turbine
engines have recently been launched. They utilize a new
technology that can reduce gas exhaust
emissions—nitrogen oxide by 80 percent and sulfur oxide
by 98 percent. Turbine technology drastically reduces
sludge and oil waste as well as cutting air emissions.
Gas turbines run off cleaner burning marine gas oil
instead of diesel fuel; the engines work in combination
with steam turbines to provide power for propulsion as
well as for on-board heat and power requirements. Royal
Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas and the
two Celebrity’s ships Infinity and Summit have gas
turbine engines .
Carnival Corporation, working in conjunction with the
Finnish engine manufacturer Wartsila, has developed and
installed a new “smokeless” enviroengine on Carnival
Spirit. As tests are completed and the system perfected,
more of this state-of-the-art, four-stroke
common-rail injection engines will be installed on the
ship’s remaining five engines. Benefits of this new
enviroengine include lower fuel consumption, lower
nitrogen oxide, the ability to use different nitrogen
oxide ratings, no visible smoke when starting the engine
or at any load, and lower maintenance costs.
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Safe navigation of a large ship has come a long way.
Even in the early 1900s, the waters of the Inside
Passage were largely uncharted or unmarked by lighthouses or navigational markers.
Mariners sailing the Inside Passage in heavy fog
or snow would rely on experience and the sound of their
steamship’s whistler echoing off the narrow passages to
tell them exactly where they were.
Today, the bridge of any cruise ship is a collection of
an amazing array of navigational instruments—these
include electronic charts and navigational calculators,
automatic pilot and steering gear, depth sounders,
radar, gyroscopic compasses, ship stabilizer systems,
voyage data recorders, systems indicators, etc. In
addition, ships have a variety of highly sophisticated
communication equipment that provides positioning
information via satellite feedback or immediate contact
for safety, vessel traffic info, weather, etc.
For first time passengers, it’s well worth the time to
tour the ship’s bridge when such opportunities are
offered and get an in-depth look at the high tech
equipment in use. Some smaller cruise ships have an open
bridge policy which means guests are always welcome.
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