Between May and July of this year South Shields, UK based Solar Solve Marine dispatched consignments containing SOLASOLV and ROLASOLV products to 20 locations worldwide.
The equipment was due to be installed on cruise ships and ferries.
Two thirds of the orders were for SOLASOLV type approved roller sunscreens for installation on the navigation bridge windows to protect the vessel’s personnel against heat and glare from the sun or alternatively the cold air and glare from frost and snow, depending on where the vessels are located.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Galapagos Islands expedition ship ‘Celebrity Flora’, recently delivered by Dutch Shipyard De Hoop, was supplied with 17 SOLASAFE roller screens by Solar Solves European distributor, Rotterdam based BV TEMARO, who installed the screens at the navigation bridge windows.
The remaining orders were for ROLASOLV type approved roller blinds that are designed and manufactured to a very high specification for installation in crew and passenger accommodation and other vessel areas.
Solar Solve Marine chairman, John Lightfoot, MBE, commented, “Three orders every two weeks is an unusually high number for the cruise and passenger sector but cruising is becoming extremely popular and there is a huge backlog of cruise vessel orders at shipyards globally, waiting to be constructed. Many more people are also accessing ferries to get to their holiday destinations also, so it is probably not surprising that we are benefiting from these upsurges.”
“Putting things into perspective, of the 20 orders, only three were for cruise ships, two of which were the TUI cruise ship ‘Mein Schiff 2’ and Celebrity cruise ship ‘Celebrity Flora’. The other 17 orders were for all types of ferries including ro-ro and fast-cats and two luxury motor yachts and were dispatched to global destinations as far away as Australia and New Zealand,” he explained.
He added, “It takes a few days for the goods to be transported to their destination, especially if it is on the other side of the planet, so customers really appreciate the fact that we can manufacture their orders within a couple of days; often on the same day if the order is required urgently.”