Shipyard De Hoop delivers its expedition cruise vessel to Silversea

With the delivery of Celebrity Flora in 2019, Shipyard De Hoop was the first shipyard in The Netherlands, since Prinsendam from the Merwede shipyard in 1973, to once again deliver a cruise ship.

Shipyard De Hoop delivers its expedition cruise vessel to Silversea
Photo: De Hoop

Intended for cruising the Galápagos Islands, this small cruise ship formulae turned out to be such a big success that soon the Royal Caribbean Group / Celebrity Cruises took an option for a second ship. However, after the takeover of Silversea Cruises by Royal Caribbean (becoming the majority stockholder with almost 67%), the option was handed over to Silversea.

This vessel, to be named Silver Origin, was launched on the 30th of December 2019. After recent completion of successful sea trials, the innovative expedition cruise vessel, tailored in design and build to provide high-end luxury cruising in the Galápagos area, has been delivered to Silversea Cruises on the 3rd of June in the Rotterdam harbour area.

The management at De Hoop are certain that more than a decade of participating in smaller seagoing cruise vessel projects, with the associated design development and investment in knowledge, has now paid off. De Hoop’s CEO, Patrick Janssens, states that this was the ideal basis for entering the growing market of expedition cruise vessels - their designers were fully prepared when the Galápagos Islands cruises challenge arose. Furthermore, with many Dutch suppliers and subcontractors on the clientapproved ‘makerslist’, this project presented a great opportunity for the Dutch shipbuilding industry as a whole.

The power supply for two rudder propellers, two bow thrusters and other consumers, is supplied by four caterpillar C32 diesel generator sets of 994kW each. The emergency diesel generator is a Scania of 339ekW. The diesel engines are equipped with an SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) installation, whereby the emission of nitrogen oxide (NOx) is greatly reduced. The rudder propellers, type 20 CRP of 1450kW each, were supplied by Steerprop from Finland, while the 400kW bow thrusters are provided by Veth from the Netherlands. With this configuration, a 12-knot cruising speed can easily be achieved and a high-manoeuvrability is guaranteed.

The introduction of this advanced propulsion system, the hull configuration (improved with CFD calculations) and the specially developed diesel engine arrangement, guarantee an average 25% reduction in hull resistance, 15% reduction in fuel consumption and equivalently fewer exhaust emissions. These characteristics make this cruise ship one of the most energy-efficient ships in its class, in addition to being IMO Tier III compliant. One glance at the ship’s profile reveals the flared bow with an integrated bulb. This bulbous bow both reduces resistance in waves when in transit and saves energy when staying in position, similarly due to the higher efficiency of the bow thruster. The exterior design of this vessel was successfully boosted by the works of Dutch yacht designer Cor D. Rover who worked in close cooperation with De Hoop and Silversea to combine the efficient hull lines with a truly special and highly functional exterior design. The top deck design, especially, now adds a destination to the journey.

To further reduce the environmental footprint, the cruise ship accommodates an enhanced sewage plant to improve the quality and reduce the amount of wastewater. An improved HVAC system and improved thermal insulation, as a result of energy-efficient low-emissive glazing, leads to 50% less energy consumption. It almost speaks for itself that the HVAC equipment, installed by Heinen & Hopman, is capable of handling the challenging environmental parameters, warmer seawater and higher outside air temperatures of the Galápagos. In the electric system, many more energy-saving measures have been taken. All electronics were successfully integrated and installed by Droste Electro, following a multi-year subcontractor relationship with the yard.