97 Brittany Ferries aims to immerse guests in their destination through the design of its vessels “The shipbuilding process for each of the vessels has been different,” says Arnaud Le Poulichet, director of engineering and maintenance for Brittany Ferries. “We have always had a very precise view of the ship we would like to create and creating that alongside our partners takes a lot of negotiation and convincing, both externally and internally. We are looking to create something new and technically challenging with each vessel and I think our work and that of our partners has created real success so far.” The vessels have significant technical advantages over Brittany Ferries’ previous vessels, with the use of LNG as a fuel providing a marked reduction in emissions during their operation. There have also been operational benefits to having a series of broadly identical vessels within the fleet, explains Joëlle Croc, director of customer experience and onboard sales at Brittany Ferries. “It’s been a huge advantage to have ships which are so similar to one another,” she says. “When we’re training crew in how to operate in all the different areas of the ship, we’re now building knowledge of a common platform. Once they’re familiar with that platform, crew members can easily transfer to another ship and quickly become accustomed and operational. That makes it easier to implement operational changes, and it saves time and money in training.” The similarity of the ships also created a challenge in delivering a unique experience onboard. Brittany Ferries therefore aimed to differentiate the ships by introducing small but significant variations in the design. “Our first three E-Flexers are like triplets that look like each other, but are dressed differently,” says Croc. “It was a challenge, but also an interesting opportunity. We found that we could adapt the base design quite quickly with the architect and the Photo: Klunderbie “ It’s been a huge advantage to have ships which are so similar to one another” Joëlle Croc
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