Joyful Journeys for Chinese Guests

The unusual circumstances of Norwegian Joy’s genesis, which involved a complete change of the design concept for the on-board features to cater to the preferences of the Chinese market, required especially close cooperation between the yard, the owner and the classification society. DNV GL committed additional resources to ensure timely completion of the project.

Christened on 27 June 2017, Norwegian Joy was specifically designed for Chinese travellers, offering them unprecedented levels of on-board comfort, luxury and innovation. The second ship of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway Plus class, she was built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and regularly berths at her home ports Shanghai and Tianjin.

Her five MAN common-rail injection engines power two ABB Azipod XO electric propulsion units. The engines can either run on heavy fuel oil or on distillate fuels, and are equipped with five exhaust emission treatment systems (scrubbers) enabling the ship to comply with the 0.1% sulphur limit inside emission control areas (ECAs). A Silverstream® air lubrication system produces a thin layer of micro air bubbles around the hull of the vessel to reduce frictional resistance and improve operational efficiency, reducing fuel consumption and emissions to air. Norwegian Joy is also at the forefront of innovation in terms of on-board features, including a two-level competitive go-cart race track on the top deck, the first ever to be featured on a cruise ship, and an open-air laser tag course.

Originally intended to operate in Alaskan waters, the ship was repurposed for the Chinese market 16 months before the scheduled delivery date. This meant that her interior design had to be modified to suit the preferences of Chinese passengers. Quick action was required to implement this change. DNV GL allocated additional personnel resources to re- approve more than 300 drawings and later deployed a surveyor team to perform the additional surveys. Further modifications were necessary to accommodate large fire zones and oversized lifeboats compliant with flag state requirements.

In addition, the owner’s on-site team was changed one year before delivery, so ne relationships had to be established between the owner, the yard and DNV GL. All these challenges could only be handled successfully by all three parties cooperating in a spirit of true partnership and mutual trust.

Written by AK for DNV GL’s Cruise Ship Update 2018