Project Breakaway Plus ships are two new passenger cruise ships being constructed by Meyer Werft, for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). Upon delivery, the two ships will become the biggest German-built passenger cruise ships in NCL’s fleet.

The order for the first Breakaway Plus vessel was placed in October 2012 and the second ship was ordered in July 2013. The first ship was delivered in October 2015 and the second ship is scheduled to be delivered in mid-2017.

In September 2013, the two ships were named Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Bliss, through an online campaign held in the US, Canada (excluding Quebec), Spain, Germany and the UK.

The contract value of the project is estimated to be €1.4bn ($1.92bn). NCL has arranged for 80% of export credit financing through KfW IPEX-Bank of Germany.

Breakaway Plus ship design

NCL’s new Breakaway Plus ships are similar in design to its Breakaway Class vessels, Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway.

The Breakaway Plus class vessels feature interiors with innovative designs, plush staterooms and world-class amenities surpassing NCL’s existing fleet of cruise ships. The new vessels are approximately 10% bigger than the Breakaway class ships.

An additional deck is built to incorporate any new innovations. The total length of each cruise liner is approximately 325.9m, width 41.4m. Each ship will have 4,200 passenger berths.

Bolidt collaborates with Swedish company Tillberg Design and SMC Design to design synthetic floors and deck surfaces for the two Breakaway Plus cruise ships.

Breakaway Plus propulsion and machinery

Each Breakaway Plus vessel is fitted with five tier II-type V48/60CR engines supplied by MAN Diesel & Turbo. Two of the five engines have a power capacity of 14V each and the remaining three have a capacity of 12V each.

The engines have a total power capacity of 76,800kW and use common-rail injection system, which is suited for both heavy fuel oil and distillate fuels, and helps reduce fuel consumption and gas emissions.

Four propulsion transformers of 11,250kVA each and four distribution transformers of 2,500kVA each are fitted. The remaining 11 transformers, whose efficiency is between 550kVA and 2,500kVA, are fitted in different parts of the ship.

The Breakaway Plus vessels are fitted with transformers, azipods, converters, switchgears and motors supplied by ABB. A total of 19 transformers were manufactured at ABB’s transformer plant in Brilon, Germany. ABB’s Turgi plant in Switzerland manufactured the converters, while its facilities in Finland and Italy manufactured the azipods and switchgears.

Advanced scrubber technology

Advanced scrubber technology developed by Green Tech Marine (GTM) is used by the Breakaway Plus ships. GTM provides five scrubbers for each ship.

These GTM-R scrubbers are small and occupy little cabin space and other service areas. The scrubbers enable the ships to comply with the 0.1% sulphur limit in emission control areas (ECA).