Jensen Maritime, Crowley Maritime’s Seattle-based architecture and marine engineering company, has been selected to provide detailed design and production engineering services for two 100 passenger, US-flagged, coastal cruise ships, Crowley said Jan. 26.
The vessels are for Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, an expedition travel company that works in partnership with National Geographic.
The twin-screw diesel ships are to be built at the Washington State shipyard of Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, and have planned delivery dates of second quarter 2017 and 2018.
Once complete, the $94.8 million vessel duo is scheduled to operate tours between Baja, Costa Rica and Panama during the winter months and southeast Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Canada during the summer months.
For the project, Jensen says it will utilize 3D modeling capabilities to allow Lindblad the unique opportunity to confirm the vessel’s layout, maintenance envelopes and operational access prior to construction.
The group will combine the details of the structural, electrical, mechanical and HVAC systems of the vessel into a comprehensive, full-size 3D, computer model, resulting in a virtual vessel that can be inspected early in the design process for safety, maintainability and constructability.
“With our 3D capabilities, the customer will have virtually walked every deck and inspected every system long before stepping onto the vessel and long before each system is installed,” Jensen Vice President Johan Sperling said.
Key features of the new 238-foot ships include 50 cabins, a fitness room, spa and an outdoor walkway around the sun deck.
Also included in the design is state-of-the-art expedition technology, including a remotely operated vehicle, video microscope, hydrophone and bow-cam, full warm and cold-water diving gear and underwater cameras.
