A wide range of factors will influence what HX’s ships of the future look like, Chief Executive Officer Gebhard Rainer believes, as the line targets 2026 for its fleet’s next generation.
HX’s present focus is on its current fleet, as it awaits further context about the needs of its future cohort of ships.
“We’re very focused on our existing fleet and what’s going to happen in the future in terms of the development,” he told CW.
“By ’26, hopefully we will have clearer sight as to what makes sense, what is available and what is sustainable going forward.”
“We need to be able to maintain that technology and then go into the next generation of shipbuilding,” he added.
Rainer said HX is taking particular interest in future propulsion, particularly as its sister brand Hurtigruten forges ahead with its carbon-neutral Sea Zero Project (CW 14 Oct).
Contemporary technology such as hybrid ships will not necessarily be the best solution of the future, Rainer added.
“In our case, it’s [about] watching technological development very carefully as to what the future propulsion is going to be for us,” he explained.
“There are others who are betting on LNG; I am not a big fan of LNG because it creates methane [which is] very bad for the environment…it’s not being talked about, but it should be.”
Rainer said adjustments to a ship’s hull design, to allow her to cut down on fuel consumption, will likely be of importance.
Practical solutions such as better voyage planning, are also pragmatic, present-day solutions.
The HX chief believes the cruise line has topped out with its largest ships, which at a capacity of just under 500, are unlikely to be eclipsed by future builds.
Rainer said HX has reached this size in order to satisfy its “relaxed luxury” positioning, but that future restrictions will likely force vessels down in scale.
“I think it’s going to tighten from a regulatory perspective, as to what you can do, how many landings you can have, how many people you can actually take on land at one go,” he pondered. MS
