Maritime Partner enters tour boat market

This will be the second boat for the growing tourism market Maritime Partner has sold within one year – and represents a new and exciting market segment for the Ålesund-based company.

This is the largest individual contract in Maritime Partner’s history. The size of the boat is also historic for MP and a rebuilding of the production hall is required to make room for the catamaran, and to increase the efficiency of the production.

Geiranger Fjordservice is a company providing fjord adventure experiences. They have developed and tested new experience concepts including adventure cruises and kayak paddling. The response has been so positive that they saw the need to increase their capacity and develop a new boat customized for sightseeing in the fjord, in addition to keeping their current boat Geirangerfjord. The new boat will be certified for 147 passengers and for operations in relatively open seas. The boat may therefore be used for longer chartered trips as well as being used as a back-up boat for express boats during the off-season.

“After going through the process of finding the right company to collaborate with, the choice was simple. As MP is entering the market of tourist boats they were our natural choice.” Says Leif Magne Klubbnenes, chairman of GFS. MP will this summer deliver their first catamaran to Gjendebåtene and is now focusing on the expanding tourism market.

“Of course it is an added bonus that Maritime Partner is local to us, but MP’s expertise and willingness to find solutions to our specific requirements to what we hope will be the fjord cruise boat of the future, was the most important reason for why we chose them. It was also important to us that other valued local suppliers joined the project, such as Nogva which we have had good experiences with in the past.” Says Mr. Klubbenes.

That the boat will be environmentally friendly and have a green profile is almost given. That is why it will be made of a lightweight, environmentally friendly and recycled material, be equipped with environmentally friendly propulsion systems and be prepared for use with environmentally friendly fuels, like hydrogen, as soon as realistically possible. Over 50% of the boat will be built from recycled aluminum and can be recycled again in the future when the boat has reached the end of its lifecycle.

“The collaboration with the client is remarkable and MP are grateful for this contract, which is a new, larger step into the tourist boat market. It is very nice that our ability to adapt to new things make us capable to swiftly enter into new markets”, said Rune Midtkandal – Area Sales Manager of MP.

By Jake Frith