Eco-friendly expeditionary cruise ship to be launched by Rolls-Royce and Mystic Cruises

Rolls-Royce has signed a deal with West Sea Yard, part of Martifer Group, to equip an expeditionary oceanic cruise ship for Portuguese cruise company Mystic Cruises. Equipped with environmentally sustainable technology developed by Rolls-Royce, the MS World Explorer is the first of several ships to be built by the Portuguese company for its expeditionary cruise line. The OEM has supplied two Bergen C25:33L8P main engines and a Bergen C25:33L6P auxiliary dual generator. These connect to a low-voltage AFE SAVeCUBE power electric system. Rolls-Royce is also providing the automation and control system, and the complete Promas propulsion system with two CPP propellers integrated with two flap rudders, also steering gears and tunnel thrusters. Mário Ferreira, Mystic Cruises CEO, said, “We are very pleased to be working with Rolls-Royce. Since we started our partnership the results have been very positive, and we believe that we made the correct call in selecting them. For us it’s essential to have a sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly solution. That is why we opted for the hybrid technology that Rolls-Royce proposed.” The MS World Explorer will accommodate 200 guests served by 111 international crew members. The ship will have an operating cruise speed of 16kts with a strengthened hull and propellers for traversing ice. It will be 126m in length with a width of 19m, a draft of 4.8m and a tonnage of 9,300 GT. The vessel was designed by Italian naval architect Giuseppe Tringali. Construction is under way at the West Sea shipyard in northern Portugal, with completion expected in October 2018. The MS World Explorer will offer expeditionary cruise itineraries in Antarctica from November to March, and the new vessel’s inaugural season is already fully chartered to, and being distributed globally by, Quark Expeditions. For the rest of the season the ship will visit small ports around the world that are normally inaccessible to larger cruise ships; these voyages will be distributed worldwide by the German company Nicko Cruises.