Iconic features or functional items? Let’s talk about Cruise Ships Funnels!
Why are we, at Navim, so interested in Cruise Ships Funnels?
Well, first of all, because of the iconic evolution of their nature: born with a technical function they have overcome their essence becoming their brand flag.
And Secondly because here at Navim we have given a new life to Funnels: from fixed systems we have transformed them in translating systems suitable to be installed on the highest decks of the biggest ships ever!
But first things first!
Essentially designed and built as functional devices to get rid of the exhaust from coal-burning boilers, expel smoke and fumes from below decks, funnels have today gained popularity and have become also something else: design elements.
They where first introduced in the steamship days and designed as chimneys and, despite the fact that today’s ships are much cleaner, funnels are still needed and their amount and size directly relate on the exhaust produced by the engines.
For a long time nobody thought of the funnel as anything but a functional structure. But, as it often happens, the vision of some enlightened forerunners and the power of branding has given them a new more fascinating scope.
Today’s funnels are in fact much more personalized: they feature extended wings, they vehiculate logos, they boast bright colors and images, they even offer privileged observation spots. In a word: Funnels are now legendary and iconic and they immediately identify the brand they belong to.
Let’s take Carnival Ships for instance! Well then, Carnival’s ships are immediately spotted by their red-white-blue swept-back winged funnels. What does an iconic cluster of three bright yellow funnels stand for if not for the Costa’s newest ships? Shall we not mention that Princess Cruises portray their iconic “Sea witch” symbolizing the gentle and flowing grace of ocean waves?
But guess what? Royal Caribbean has managed to go even further, beyond the basic iconic logo, thanks to the vision and idea of former President Ed Stephan whose aim was “to conceal the stack and turn it into a work of art”: that is how RCCL most striking funnel design was created. Each RCCL ship has a lounge cantilevered or wrapped around its funnel. This not only provides a lofty aerie for passengers, but has created a highly distinctive feature for the line. Disney Cruise Line recalls steamships of old, with bright red funnels punctuated by a familiar Mouse-eared silhouette -by the way one of the funnels is a fake, housing youth clubs instead.
But let’s to go back to what concerns us most and let’s see what is our big deal with Funnels!
As we all know, before the pandemic, the general trends of the latest years highlighted the demand for ships of constantly increasing dimensions. For Navim, these trends translate into the demanding design, conception and construction of more and more increasingly powerful innovative original and safe solutions.
The Funnels Handling System responds to this logic and it is the result of Navim designers’ expertise in engineering. Conceived to meet logistical technical needs, it is a revolutionary hydraulic solution for big dimensions Cruise Ships allowing the lowering and the translation of the funnels during their passage under different bridges, among which the Verrazano Bridge in New York, the Stanley Bridge in Vancouver and others.
Often Navim brand-new products are born in this way: an experimental project tailored for a specific customer where a successful outcome leads to ordinary production.
So far we have installed the FHS system on the MSC Seashore and we are at the moment engineering and completing the supply on the Norwegian Prima. The entire system consists of some sub-systems, according to the characteristic of the supply, which can be single with a double translation for each pipe, or triple with double translation for each pipe or even quadruple with a single translation system for each pipe. The supply is completed by the Hydraulic Power Unit dimensioned to complete the pipes extension of each system in abt. 4 minute, for a total ca. 16 minute. This new state-of-the-art plant designed specifically for cruise ships takes us higher and higher in the true sense of the word.
Video Funnels Handling