A New Cruise Ship Concept for Hawaii

Abstract

The Hawaiian interisland cruise trade is presently served by two U.S. flag Vessels, the Constitution and the Independence. These vessels, in their 35th year, are approaching the end of their useful life and the only proposed replacement is the conversion of another existing vessel, the Monterey, which will enter the trade in 1988. As a Jones Act trade, any new replacement vessel must be built in the United States. The existing vessels employ U.S. crews and older, inefficient steam plants, but have a near zero capital cost. Any new competing vessel therefore suffers from its high initial capital (construction) cost and must provide savings in operating costs and enhanced passenger amenities to compete. In this paper, the present cruise trade is examined, and a new concept design is proposed that will meet the needs of the growing Hawaiian cruise trade, provide a superior cruise atmosphere, reduce U.S. construction costs and, perhaps, provide a competitive service. The reduction of construction cost would be obtained by a unique vessel arrangement and method of construction, whereby the base hull and machinery are built in the U.S., but the accommodation is built outside the shipyard and transported in a unique fashion to the construction site. This method would be consistent with Jones Act requirements. The concept design has been taken to sufficient detail to be compared with another new, conventionally arranged, proposed Hawaiian cruise ship.