Chinese Small High-End Cruise ship Enters International Market

Zhou Wei

Li Yaner

On August 22, Huang Hai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. signed a contract with SAS Aranui Cruises of Compagnie Polynesienne de Transport Maritime(CPTM ARANUI) Company for the construction of the “Aranui 6” 400 passenger luxury cruise ship. The ship was developed and designed by the Shanghai Ship Design and Research Institute(SDARI), which marks the entry of SDARI independent design into the international cruise market.

With an overall length of 139.88m,molded breadth of 22m, designed draft of 5.2m, 14500 gross tons, maximum speed of 17 knots and cruising range of 6000 nautical miles, the “Aranui 6” carries up to 280 passengers and a crew of 119.The ship adopts an electric propulsion system, four generator sets drive the podtype fully-rotating electric power propeller and supply the full-ship power. The cruise is provided with two bow thrusters and a pair of fin stabilizers; and fully submerged engine room water mist is provided to replace the conventional carbon dioxide fire-extinguishing device and the fixed water mist.

The ship flies the French flag, is classed with BV and meets BV highest grade of comfort requirements. In addition to meeting the latest regulatory requirements, such as safe return, it meets the EU requirements and the special requirements of flying the French flag. In order to satisfy the passenger comfort requirements, the passenger area of the ship adopts the full fresh air air conditioning system.

According to SDARI, the “Arani 6”designed for non-restricted waters will sail between the South Pacific Islands and serve high-end tourists in Europe and the United States. The ship has the characteristics of “two high and one many”: “two high” refers to the high proportion of the crew over passengers,with a total of 280 passengers and a crew of 120,1: 2.3 for the crew and passenger ratio, and the second is the high ratio of outside cabin with balcony, and there are 150 guest rooms on the ship with 135 cabins with balcony, and the proportion of outside cabin with balcony is as high as 90%. “One many” refers to many suites, with a total of 74 suites on board,accounting for nearly 50%.

The ship has open-air stage,barbecue restaurant, swimming pool, bar,shopping center, meeting room, children's paradise, library, gym, SPA room and other leisure and entertainment venues,with the number of guest rooms with sightseeing balconies and French sashes taking more than half, landing window rooms, and equipped with four elevators,the luxurious degree of the ship meets the standard of 5-star hotel.

The “Aranui 6” is another cooperation between Huanghai Shipbuilding and CPTM ARANUI and SDARI, following the “Aranui 5”passenger and cargo cruise ship delivered in 2015. SDARI said that in order to further improve the design quality of Aranui 6, a three-dimensional detailed design model will be adopted to avoid interference to the greatest extent and save time and cost of production and design.

The “Aranui 5” was once called“China's first luxury cruise ship for the international market” by foreign media,and was selected for the world famous ship record 2015 of Royal Institute of Naval Architects. The ship, with an overall length of 126 meters, a width of 22.2 meters, a molded breadth of 8 meters and 11500 gross tons, can carry 399 passengers and 166 TEUs. It is a unique cruise ship of half a cruise ship and half a cargo ship. It is called the world's first container cruise ship, the world's first passenger and cargo cruise ship and the world's first cruise-container hybrid ship.

On the basis of the international ro-ro passenger ship design almost monopolizing the Bohai Bay, the Qiongzhou Strait and the China-South Korean route, the SDARI set up a special team to overcome the core technology of the R&D of the luxury cruise ship,including the whole, vibration noise analysis,safe return to the port, safe evacuation, air-conditioning system,sewage collection and treatment, art and built-in, personnel and goods streamline,automation system and entertainment system, etc. As a result of 6-year dedication to the design, the luxury cruise team has completed the conceptual design of 75,000 GT, 60,000 GT, 50,000 GT,45,000 GT and 14500 GT luxury cruise ships, and also completed the conversion design of the Tianhai cruise ship and the China Taishan cruise ship.

Among them, the 75000 GT cruise ship developed by SDARI for Fujian Luxury Cruise Investment Co., Ltd.,completed the basic design in 2017, with both Chinese cultural characteristics and international luxury experience. The ship, with 268.50m overall length,33.00m molded breadth and 22.5 knots designed speed, can carry 2500 passengers and a crew of 700.

CPTM ARANU was founded in Tahiti in 1954 to trade among the French Polynesian Islands. In 1984, the company created the Aranui Cruise, whose “Aranui 1” began to carry passengers to the Marquesas Islands, bringing a total of 45,000 international tourists to the islands over the past 30 years, helping revitalize the long-forgotten Marquesas culture and contributing to the local economy.