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Great Ships of 1999 Builder Kvaerner-Masa Yards Vessel name Voyager of the Seas Vessel type Cruise Ship Owner Royal Caribbean By David Tinsley Slipping out through the Finnish archipel- ago on a Sunday morning at the end of Octo- ber, Voyager of the Seas cut a figure of unprecedented scale in the passenger ship sector, symbolizing both the surging growth in the cruise market and the fertility of the Finnish maritime technology cluster. The 137,200-gt cruise ship, whose tower- ing superstructure and an air draft of 208-ft. (63.5-m) belies a relatively tender draft of just over 28-ft. (8.8-m), marks a new high- point in the industry's unerring endeavors to foster long-term sustainable business devel- opment in the seagoing leisure sector. Although the shipbuilding price from Kvaerner Masa-Yards was around $500 mil- lion, about seven times the current cost of a VLCC, Royal Caribbean estimates that its overall project expenditure in bringing Voy- ager of the Seas to the market has been clos- er to $700 million. The group's overall fleet expansion program is no less astounding than its record-breaking new cruise liner, with $3.6 billion being ploughed into new- build investments spanning deliveries up to the summer of 2002. At a time when European shipbuilding is facing intensified competition from the Ori- ent in fields of construction it has hitherto dominated, as demonstrated by Japanese and Korean successes in the cruise ship and RoRo passenger (RoPax) ferry segments, Voyager of the Seas is a powerful reminder of Nordic maritime industrial capabilities. Quality and contractual performance have long been the watchwords of Kvaerner VIKING LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT VIKING Davit-Launched Liferaft Available in 12,16, 20, 25 & 35 person capacities Automatically self-righting liferafts in 25 & 37/39 person capacities VIKING Marine Evacuation System Inset: The world's only ice rink at sea is found aboarcl the world's largest cruise ship ever bjuilt, Voyager of the Seas ... with a Resilient Coupling from the Clutch and Coupling Company's diverse line of couplings. • over 30 different configurations • ratings from 36,000 lb. in. • designed for ease of • easily replaceable elastomers • unsurpassed service support Clutch and Coupling 1820 Highway 1 North Greenville, MS 38701 PH: 601 -332-8716 FAX: 601 -335-0065 Dual track slide features the evacuation of 500 persons in 30 minutes • Most liferafts are U.S.C.G. approved • SOLAS '96 amendments to SOLAS '74 regulations • LSA Code VIKING LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT (AMERICA) INC. 1625 N Miami Avenue • Miami FL 33136 • Tel (305) 374-5115 • Fax (305) 374-1535 http://www.viking-life.com e-mail: us@viking-life.com 30 Circle 279 on Reader Service Card Circle 230 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
