PHOTO: Cruise Ventures/PMG
The cost of developing a port, with concrete piers and all that goes along with it, is costly. I thought you might be interested in this story by Seatrade Insider, a recognized journal for the cruise and shipping trade.
A Norwegian company called Cruise Ventures has come up with an invention called SeaWalk. According to the story, it’s a low-cost alternative to concrete piers, and Norway’s Skjolden will be the first to install SeaWalk this year.
Here, in the words of Phil Crannell, President of Ports and Marine Group International, is how it works:
"When a ship arrives at the destination, its bowline is secured to a mooring buoy and its stern lines are attached to a pair of shore-based bollards. Then SeaWalk self-deploys from a parked position and is connected to the ship’s side at the passenger doors. Crannell said this makes "a safe and seamless connection between ship and shore."
SeaWalk was designed with sea-keeping capability that is very stable and unsinkable, he added. After the ship leaves the destination, the floating pier can be folded and parked out of the way. Also, SeaWalk can be removed or relocated during hurricane threats.
Carnival Cruise Lines, which has no vested interest in the company, has been offering advice going forward, from the cruise-line perspective.
The naval architect is the legendary Kai Levander, whose work includes Oasis of the Seas and who is considered one of the most advanced thinkers in the cruise and shipping business. See for yourself at the company's website.
What are the advantages?
SeaWalk can be built and installed in six to nine months versus two-plus years for a fixed pier, at a fraction of the cost, and has virtually no environmental impact, according to Crannell. For you, it could lead reduce the number of ships that have to tender passengers ashore.
If successful, this is going to open up new areas to cruising ports. We should know after it has been tested for a year or so.
All for now.
Everybody's still talking about the Costa Concordia and that hasn't escaped my colleagues at Cruising Done Right — click here.