Size Brings Opportunities and Challenges

Massive cruise ships give owners the opportunity to develop incredible public spaces and facilities. At the same time the sheer size and number of passengers and crew create challenges for the designers and regulators. That is why MSC Cruises and their chosen shipyard, STX France, are relying on Bureau Veritas as their classification and certification partner for the new 5,700-passenger Vista class vessels. Building of the first ship is already underway.

The Vista class will be 315 m long and 43 m wide and will be able to accommodate 7,200 persons on board, including 5,700 passengers in 2,250 passenger staterooms.

The first vessel is due to start operating during summer 2017, followed by a sister ship two years later. Destined for the Maltese flag they will be the largest cruise ships ever registered in Europe.

The 167,600 gt vessels will be powered by two propulsion pods of 20 MW and will meet the highest standards and regulations including Safe Return to Port.

MSC Cruises has already presented some of their outstanding public spaces which will include an impressive main lounge, a panoramic aft lounge for shows and a Super Amusement Park and Aquapark claimed to be the most spectacular ever installed on board a cruise ship.

The hotel offer will include staterooms that can be combined into small flats for family guests. The traditional Yacht Club exclusive area will be maintained with a large solarium, a private lounge and restaurant, and several large duplex cabins located at the front of the ship.

Behind the scenes this new class of ships will be cleaner and benefit from more efficient technology with respect to reduced water emissions, enhanced energy efficiency thanks to hull and propulsion optimization, and installation of new generation scrubbers for compliance with the latest MARPOL regulations.

Where size creates challenges is in the oversize vertical zones and the need to evacuate large numbers of people. These challenges will be met by using the Alternative Design solutions permitted under SOLAS regulations. These are based on complex risk assessment involving the use of sophisticated simulation software which can model smoke and heat propagation as well as evacuation analysis. These studies will be managed by Bureau Veritas’ Tecnitas subsidiary. The alternative design studies will allow the use of lifeboats of about 300-person capacity each, roughly twice the normal maximum prescriptive size, to provide speedy and orderly abandonment if required.