In a new partnership, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and DNV are jointly addressing the key challenges facing the cruise industry.
From de-carbonisation and safety to training, data intelligence and risk management, NCL is now leveraging DNV’s expertise to drive operational excellence and enhance fleet performance, the company claimed.
DNV and NCL’s long-standing partnership has seen the two companies collaborating on a number of key projects down the years.
Recently, this was taken to the next level with the aim of elevating standards and exceeding regulatory expectations, resulting in an expansion into areas, such as de-carbonisation, safety, reliability, quality and risk management.
“The ultimate goal is to drive innovation, efficiency and excellence across the board,” explained Capt Antonio Prestigiacomo, DNV Cruise Centre Director – Region Americas, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“We provide support for whatever the NCL management needs and we take care of management certification for their world fleet, as well,” he said.
De-carbonisation is among NCL’s most pressing challenges, added Patrik Dahlgren, NCL’s Executive Vice President and Chief Vessel Operations & Newbuild Officer.
“Biofuels still aren’t available at scale and the required value chain has yet to be built up. The maritime cluster needs more regional and supra-regional government support, especially in the EU with its stringent emission regulations.
“We need governments to take a stronger lead and seize opportunities locally in a concerted effort to bring about the necessary changes that will enable us to ensure long-term compliance,” he asserted.
The major class societies are in a unique position to support government efforts, Dahlgren pointed out.
“As a neutral party, class is a ‘single source of truth’,” he said.
“Authorities should work more closely with DNV and ask for input.”
On the long and complex de-carbonisation journey, Dahlgren said that DNV provides critical knowhow to NCL, not only in terms of the EU and IMO taxonomy but also regarding the technologies of today and tomorrow.
“We need to find suitable solutions for each ship class and look at emerging technology: what can truly de-carbonise? Without DNV, we wouldn’t be able to answer that,” he claimed.
The focus for now is on mature technologies, he added. “We’ve a saying in the industry: energy efficiency is the first alternative fuel. There’s a large toolbox of retrofitting options to optimise hydrodynamic efficiency.
“We’re also working with DNV on minimising the power need of on board energy consumers by installing more advanced solutions and smart efficiency-enhancing control equipment for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting and the entire hotel complex, and we’re deploying AI-assisted galley management systems,” he explained.
DNV’s expertise enables NCL to push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of operational innovations, Dahlgren continued. That includes data-driven solutions that ensure that the right people receive relevant information at the right time to make decisions.
“We’re currently piloting a project that will allow us to gather and index all of our data from every source on board and store it shoreside in an easy-to-use database,” he said.
Data creates transparency and adds value by enabling informed decisions both on board and at the shore-based operations centre.
Data intelligence provides a basis for detailed tracking of the effectiveness of improvement measures, and for identifying further optimisation potential or deciding when to implement new technologies.
DNV is supporting NCL’s digital initiatives through data dashboarding, which presents ship and fleet information in a relevant and comprehensible manner. This allows NCL to understand emissions output and the effect of various technologies on this.
The companies are also collaborating on numerous other projects, including safety related options, operational waste reduction and planned maintenance optimisation.
They are also working together on staff training to ensure that everyone across NCL is aligned with its common goals. DNV provides training on many different topics, such as incident investigation, alternative fuel solutions and train-the-trainer courses.
“We’ve re-imagined our safety approach for the company to improve operations driven by enhanced data collection and utilisation,” explained Dahlgren.
“KPIs drive results and what’s measured can be managed, so we’ve established metrics across the entire operation to track efficiency and safety improvements while identifying cost saving opportunities.”
In joint research projects, NCL and DNV have examined a range of different emerging de-carbonisation measures.
Through these projects, DNV helped NCL evaluate the benefits and challenges of various alternative fuels, such as methanol and biofuels, and provides knowhow and support for other de-carbonisation measures, such as on board carbon capture and storage, shore power and enhanced itinerary development projects, all of which contribute to reducing the company’s carbon footprint – with DNV’s emission verification tools in place to monitor the outcome.
“The insights gathered in all these initiatives will also have an impact on our newbuild and refurbishment projects,” Dahlgren said.
“Our new vessels are built by Fincantieri and together with DNV, we’ve a strong three-party solution to find the best ways forward.
“Our newbuilds are equipped with methanol multifuel engines that ensure fuel flexibility. In addition, 40% of our existing ships have been tested on biodiesel.
“We’re making every effort to upsize blend-in fuels and are working with DNV to explore biodiesel sourcing opportunities, especially in Europe,” he said.
The next joint steps, Dahlgren said, include maritime and project risk management: “DNV has been instrumental in changing the way we think about our processes and projects and our approach to risk.
“We want to enable our teams to mitigate risks, while improving the efficiency of our projects, including newbuilds,” he said.
DNV supports NCL proactively in evaluating critical risk areas such as safety culture, human factors, system and component reliability, and cybersecurity, proposing solutions to address current and potential risk levels.
“We question the status quo daily,” added Dahlgren.
“We always look beyond, striving to be adaptable, and take a tailored approach to each ship. DNV has shown us how to couple technology with personalised experiences to bring value to our customers.
“We want to lead the cruise industry by example, and DNV enables us to elevate our people, our product and our performance as essential prerequisites for continued growth,” he concluded.
