21 January 2015

Article from Maritime CEO

Despite the current drop in oil prices, the trend to shift towards LNG as a fuel for ships is something that will continue in the years ahead, argues a leading ship designer in today’s Maritime CEO interview. Finn Wollesen is the managing director of boutique design house, KNUD E. HANSEN. His firm offers bespoke, innovative designs for owners seeking a competitive edge. Given fluctuating oil prices and growing new environmental legislation Wollesen says, “ The tendency among owners is now towards differentiation and more competitive products which translate into more sophisticated designs.”

The trend, he says, is currently towards greener vessels when it comes to both cargo and passengers and his firm is seeing an ever increasing of interest in use of LNG. For passenger ships HVAC optimization is a growing business for the Danish firm too.

Among KNUD E. HANSEN’s most recent products are a purpose built ropax for China, an asphalt carrier with LNG for Canada, a series of the largest rocons ever built, and some LNG ropax for Europe.

In the offshore market, Wollesen says offshore wind is still a good market for KNUD E. HANSEN. Most offshore jobs, however, are likely to be upgrading and conversion of existing tonnage for the time being, he reckons.

Conversion is a big market for the design house, especially in the cruise sector.

“We will see a large increase of refit/conversion jobs in the years to come dictated by the market need of constant novelties for the cruise market customers,” Wollesen says, anticipating five to ten cruise vessels going in for refit per year in the coming years.

Download the article