Successful Innovations Propel NCL’s Operational Excellence

(DNV) In a new, comprehensive partnership, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and DNV are jointly addressing the key challenges facing the cruise industry. From decarbonization and safety to training, data intelligence and risk management, NCL leverages DNV’s expertise to drive operational excellence and enhance fleet performance.

DNV and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)’s long-standing partnership has seen the two companies collaborating on a number of key projects over the years. Recently, this has been taken to the next level with a mission to elevate standards and exceed regulatory expectations resulting in an expansion into areas such as decarbonization, safety, reliability, quality and risk management. “The ultimate goal is to drive innovation, efficiency and excellence across the board,” explains Capt. Antonio Prestigiacomo, DNV Cruise Center Director – Region Americas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “We provide support for whatever the NCL management needs and we take care of management certification for their world fleet, as well.”

Relying on DNV know-how for decarbonization

Decarbonization is among NCL’s most pressing challenges, says Patrik Dahlgren, EVP and Chief Vessel Operations & Newbuild Officer at NCL. “Biofuels still aren’t available at scale and the required value chain has yet to be built up. The maritime cluster needs more regional and supra-regional government support, especially in the EU with its stringent emission regulations. We need governments to take a stronger lead and seize opportunities locally in a concerted effort to bring about the necessary changes that will enable us to ensure long-term compliance.”

The leading classification societies are in a unique position to support government efforts, Dahlgren points out. “As a neutral party, class is a ‘single source of truth’,” he says. “Authorities should work more closely with DNV and ask for input.”

Deploying energy efficiency technologies to drive decarbonization

On the long and complex decarbonization journey, Dahlgren says, DNV provides critical know-how to NCL, not only in terms of the EU and IMO taxonomy but also regarding the technologies of today and tomorrow. “We need to find suitable solutions for each ship class and look at emerging technology: what can truly decarbonize? Without DNV, we wouldn’t be able to answer that.”

The focus for now is on mature technologies, says Dahlgren. “We’ve a saying in the industry: energy efficiency is the first alternative fuel. There’s a large toolbox of retrofitting options to optimize hydrodynamic efficiency. We’re also working with DNV on minimizing the power need of on-board energy consumers by installing more advanced solutions and smart efficiency-enhancing control equipment for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting and the entire hotel complex, and we’re deploying AI-assisted galley management systems.”

Leveraging data to support efficient operations

DNV’s expertise enables NCL to push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of operational innovations, says Dahlgren. That includes data-driven solutions that ensure that the right people receive relevant information at the right time to make decisions, he adds: “We’re currently piloting a project that will allow us to gather and index all of our data from every source on board and store it shoreside in an easy-to-use database.”

Data creates transparency and adds value by enabling informed decisions both on board and at the shore-based operations centre. Data intelligence provides a basis for detailed tracking of the effectiveness of improvement measures, and for identifying further optimization potential or deciding when to implement new technologies. DNV is supporting NCL’s digital initiatives through data dashboarding, which presents ship and fleet information in a relevant and comprehensible manner. This empowers NCL to understand emissions output and the effect of various technologies on this.

Collaborating on safety and knowledge transfer

NCL and DNV are also collaborating on numerous other projects, including those related to safety, operational waste reduction and planned maintenance optimization. The companies are also working together on staff training to ensure that everyone across NCL is aligned with its common goals. DNV provides training on many different topics, such as incident investigation, alternative fuel solutions and train-the-trainer courses.

“We’ve reimagined our safety approach for the company to improve operations driven by enhanced data collection and utilization,” says Dahlgren. “KPIs drive results and what’s measured can be managed, so we’ve established metrics across the entire operation to track efficiency and safety improvements while identifying cost-saving opportunities.”

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Prima-class newbuild Norwegian Luna being floated out of the Fincantieri dock in spring 2025.

Evaluating alternative fuels and technologies

In joint research projects, NCL and DNV have examined a range of different emerging decarbonization measures. Through these projects, DNV helps NCL evaluate the benefits and challenges of various alternative fuels, such as methanol and biofuels, and provides know-how and support for other decarbonization measures, such as on-board carbon capture and storage, shore power and enhanced itinerary development projects, all of which contribute to reducing the company’s carbon footprint – with DNV’s emission verification tools in place to monitor the outcome.

“The insights gathered in all these initiatives will also have an impact on our newbuild and refurbishment projects,” says Dahlgren. “Our new vessels are built by Fincantieri and together with DNV we’ve a strong three-party solution to find the best ways forward. Our newbuilds are equipped with methanol multifuel engines that ensure fuel flexibility. In addition, 40% of our existing ships have been tested on biodiesel. We’re making every effort to upsize blend-in fuels and are working with DNV to explore biodiesel sourcing opportunities, especially in Europe.”

Applying risk management for maritime decarbonization

But the partnership does not end there. The next joint steps, says Dahlgren, include maritime and project risk management: “DNV has been instrumental in changing the way we think about our processes and projects and our approach to risk. We want to enable our teams to mitigate risks, while improving the efficiency of our projects, including newbuilds.”

DNV supports NCL proactively in evaluating critical risk areas such as safety culture, human factors, system and component reliability, and cybersecurity, proposing solutions to address current and potential risk levels.

“We question the status quo daily,” says Dahlgren. “We always look beyond, striving to be adaptable, and take a tailored approach to each ship. DNV has shown us how to couple technology with personalized experiences to bring value to our customers. We want to lead the cruise industry by example, and DNV enables us to elevate our people, our product and our performance as essential prerequisites for continued growth.” READ MORE