By
Rebecca Gibson |
Lifesaving equipment manufacturer and supplier Harding is to deliver lifeboats, tender vessels and davits to a major cruise line.
Marking the first time the Norwegian company has worked in the cruise industry since 2013, the new contract will include the delivery of 12 lifeboats, 24 lifeboat/tenders, 36 PD55 DM davits and six rescue boat stations. The contract also includes options for further deliveries.
“To become the chosen supplier for this prestigious project, we had to show that we could come up with something new, both to the owner and to the shipyard” said Styrk Bekkenes, Harding’s CEO. “Convincing the shipyard that we had products that would meet the cruise lines’ high standards was our first challenge. Winning the confidence of a benchmark shipyard confirmed that we were back on the right track in the cruise segment.”
Harding has recently redesigned its lifesaving equipment, with both the 230-passenger tender vessels and the all-enclosed davits – used to lower and retrieve lifeboats and tenders – have both undergone a transformation. The lifeboats also feature a new double-decker design to accommodate a record 440 people.
“Not only do the new lifeboats carry more people, they are easier to load and unload, because each deck has two entrances,” said Hallvard Skaare, Cruise Sales director at Harding. “The comfort level is far above the present industry standard.”
This is Harding’s biggest cruise industry contract to date.
“This new contract gives us a renewed and important foothold in the cruise industry, at a time when the offshore market is suffering due to low oil prices,” said Bjørn Sturle Hillestad, global sales and marketing director at Harding.