[ 7 ] INTRODUCTION understanding from working internationally for more than half a century. Not surprisingly, we have a worldwide customer base, offering the full range all the way from a small 50m short-distance domestic ferry to a 250m ferry operating on a long-distance international route. Since the COVID-19 pandemic we have further developed our proprietary virtual reality tool. This allows us to bring designs alive at a very early stage and arrange meetings with our customers throughout the design process regardless of time zone and location. In parallel, we created OSK Design Lab. This is yet another uniqueness as it implements a design sprint philosophy which allows our naval architecture designers and our interior designers to cooperate at a very early stage of a project. Needless to say, this improves the overall quality of our concepts, also ensuring that visions are captured and implemented early on. The combination of OSK Virtual Reality and OSK Design Lab has significantly improved the efficiency of our design process on the one hand and strengthened our communication throughout the design process on the other. This saves valuable time and travel costs while also increasing the awareness and understanding of the design among all stakeholders. Passenger experience is key and should get priority. Gaining first-hand experience from customers is essential and we encourage ferry operators to perform customer satisfaction surveys focusing on the passenger experience. Today, almost everybody can design a steel structure and ancillary piping systems. At OSK Design, we make the difference through our holistic approach as we combine data and experience to achieve an optimised ferry design. The Ship of the Future is perhaps the best example of the OSK Design way of designing a ferry which also explains why the vessels are so successful from a business model perspective. It has been tremendously rewarding to work for an open-minded customer like P&O Ferries. We were on the same page from the first minute and jointly created what are arguably the most sustainable and successful ferries on the Dover–Calais route. Long may P&O Pioneer and P&O Liberté continue. “ It has been tremendously rewarding to work for an open-minded customer like P&O Ferries. We were on the same page from the first minute and jointly created what are arguably the most sustainable and successful ferries on the Dover–Calais route. Long may P&O Pioneer and P&O Liberté continue”
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