Cruise Management International boss Jim Barreiro de Leon says chairman Niels-Erik Lund was well ahead of his time when he started planning to order newbuildings for the expedition market.
“His vision was to build them above and beyond what is required today [and to] have vessels at the cutting edge of technology and safety, because that is what it comes down to,” Barreiro says.
Unlike some of its rivals, owner SunStone Ships, for example, has chosen to build its polar vessels to the requirements of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas)'s Safe Return to Port standards, even though it is not a legal requirement for this size of vessel. They will also have polar-class 6 notation under the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code) and zero-speed stabilisers.
“The exciting thing is we are doing it in China, where no traditional passengerships have been built yet, other than ropaxes,” Barreiro says.
He believes Lund will eventually build all of the 10 planned ships, with most expected to operate polar cruises but also some exploration voyages that may involve being in warm-water areas all year.
Polar concern
Barreiro recognises growing public concern at the number of cruiseships entering polar regions and the danger of too many people visiting the same location simultaneously.
“CMI is taking steps to ensure we are part of the solution, rather than part of the potential problem with the upcoming boom in new ships,” he says.
“Most of our vessels are chartered by tour operators that are members of IAATO [International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators] and AECO [Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators], and CMI is an associate member of each and active on the marine committees of both organisations.”
Barreiro says IAATO and AECO aim to establish procedures and guidelines for “safe and environmentally sound private-sector travel to these sensitive regions”.
“The goal is to be on the leading edge of what is best for the environment and establish best-practice procedures amongst the operators rather than waiting for regulatory bodies to dictate how this should be done,” he says.
Ever-growing fleet
Barreiro sees plenty of future demand for cruises on the ever-growing global fleet of smaller expedition and luxury vessels, where the average ticket price is reckoned to be about $1,000 per day and even $1,500 per day for ultra-luxury packages.
“The cruise industry has matured so much,” Barreiro says. “People who have been cruising the Caribbean all these years are looking for the next thing. Baby boomers retiring, having made a lot of money, are looking at their bucket lists.”
But the small-ship market remains fragmented and possibly ripe for consolidation.
“Certainly, consolidation is the obvious thing that might happen because it isn’t effective to operate just one or two ships," he says. “Hopefully, some of those considering consolidation will look to us because we can offer that synergy.
“In the expedition market, you see companies chartering each other’s vessels, whereas you don’t see Norwegian Cruise Line chartering a Carnival ship. I wonder whether that will change and it becomes a little more hostile.”
