PALFINGER MARINE equipment will keep Hurtigruten passengers safe during their voyage
The package of equipment from PALFINGER MARINE for each ship will consist of life boats and accompanying davits, two tenders with accompanying davits, two fast rescue boats with davits, and the finalisation and start-up of systems on board. Each life boat has a capacity of 150 persons. Each tender has a capacity of 120 persons when used for shuttling cruise passengers, and 150 persons if used as a life boat. All PALFINGER MARINE equipment will be supplied in Hurtigruten colours to ensure its blends in with the rest of the ship.
Safety is key
“The contract fully demonstrates that PALFINGER MARINE is an operator that the shipyard and Hurtigruten - the end client - have confidence in and that we are in a position to supply safe, competitive products and services to a ship that will be operating in harsh waters. The fact that both Kleven and Hurtigruten are returning clients is the icing on the cake. Hurtigruten currently has our lifeboats on most of its ships, and we have also supplied life boats to the majority of new vessels built at Kleven in recent years,” says Bjørn Sturle Hillestad, Global Sales Director at PALFINGER MARINE.
The new Hurtigruten ships will be the first expedition ships in the world to feature hybrid propulsion, which will provide savings in terms of fuel as well as environmental benefits, and will also make it possible to sail wholly on electrical power for brief intervals on routes to Svalbard, Antarctica, the Norwegian coast and other exotic destinations.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is at the heart of everything we do. We have a long and fruitful partnership with PALFINGER MARINE as a supplier both on the Norwegian coast and for our expedition ships around the world, and we are delighted to continue this through the introduction of the first hybrid expedition ships in the world,” says Rune Thomas Ege, Director of Communications at Hurtigruten.
Hopes for four vessel in total
In addition to the two ships that have been ordered, the shipping company has a memorandum of understanding with the shipyard to build a further two ships of the same kind in the years to come. PALFINGER MARINE has negotiated prices and terms for equipment packages for all four ships.
“In a market characterised by the downturn in the oil and gas sector, all contracts are vital. For us, it is also encouraging to see market segments like cruise ships, ferries and fishing vessels doing well now that the offshore sector is down,” notes PALFINGER MARINE’s Sales Director. Both he and Robin Holmedal Pedersen, Area Sales Manager, acknowledge that it is highly prestigious to supply Hurtigruten.
“The competition for this contract was extremely tough, with plenty of national and international offers on the table. As a Norwegian operator, in a project where both the shipyard and end client are Norwegian, it was extremely important to show that we can still win the most prized contracts in this country. We should be the very best in this market,” says Holmedal Pedersen, who believes that PALFINGER MARINE’s global service network was a crucial factor in winning the contract.
Joint delivery
This summer Harding Safety was acquired by the Austrian group PALFINGER. The process of integrating Harding Safety into PALFINGER MARINE, one of the world’s leading suppliers of deck equipment, is well under way.
“As part of the equipment package, we will be supplying fast rescue boats and accompanying davits from PALFINGER MARINE‘s range, which makes this one of the first joint deliveries by Harding Safety and PALFINGER MARINE. The project is therefore an excellent demonstration of the fact that Harding Safety and PALFINGER MARINE‘s products complement each other well, with the customer getting the best of both world,’ says Holmedal Pedersen.
PALFINGER MARINE supplied equipment
Each of the new ships on Hurtigruten will be fitted with:- 2 x MPC32 lifeboats. Capacity per boat: 150 persons
- 2 x CTL38 combined lifeboats and tenders. Capacity per boat: 120 persons as a tender / 150 persons as a life boat
- 2 x FRSQ 600 fast rescue boats
- 4 x VIP24 FDES lifeboat davits
- 2 x PRHE 25 rescue boat davits
