Shipbuilding, maintenance & repairs


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othing could hit the cruise market harder than restrictions on travel and limits on social interaction. Both strike at the heart of the industry; yet, despite the challenges brought by Covid-19, it has pushed ahead with the construction of new vessels and operators remain confident that the market will rebound. With ongoing construction projects and, as the tide turns against coronavirus, a trickle of new orders, shipyards have been under pressure to deliver new vessels despite the heavy burden of health and safety restrictions necessitated by the


World Cruise Industry Review / www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com


learning


Despite orders being delayed, postponed and cancelled, 16 new cruise liners were delivered in 2020 and more are on the way in 2021. With an impressive roster of ships set to be unveiled next year, shipbuilders have proven themselves capable of producing vessels in the most testing circumstances. Jim Banks talks to Ulstein Verft’s managing director Lars Lühr Olsen and lead naval architect Terje Våge about how Covid-19 has affected working practices and vessel design.


pandemic. 2020 was a stern test of how to adapt to new ways of working without compromising on safety, quality or deadlines.


“The pandemic directly influenced our work practices,” says Lars Lühr Olsen, managing director at Norway’s Ulstein Verft. “Firstly, we spent time and resources to avoid Covid-19 entering our premises. We had to change work schedules, spread out lunch and dinner breaks, improve hygiene measures, avoid the sharing of equipment and much more.” At the start of the pandemic, demand from the cruise industry for new vessels stopped abruptly,


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Photo © ULSTEIN GROUP_Uavpiccom


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