Star Cruises has brought new life to Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) after acquiring it two years ago.
According to Jan Erik Andersen, Senior Vice President of Marine Operation NCL, Star Cruises has given NCL its full support, making tremendous investments in safety and environmental measures. Instead of cutting costs, they have spent a substantial amount of money on crew training and equipment.
All of the NCL vessels now have a navigator and co-navigator. Black-box data and voice recorders have been installed on most of the NCL ships, enabling them to retrace manoeuvres in the case of an accident. Surveillance systems are installed on all vessels. Andersen emphasises the importance of such a surveillance system, enabling them to have a total overview of what is happening onboard the vessel at all times and to retrace steps in the case of an accident. Up to 800 cameras are located in all public areas, on open decks, in engine rooms and on the bridge.
All crew, regardless of their rank, must undergo basic survival, fire-fighting and firstaid training. The crew also undergoes continuous onboard training. The increased focus on environmental issues has resulted in environmental officers being stationed on each vessel and dedicated NCL shore staff dealing with governmental issues.
To succeed with a safety system, the top management in the company must set a standard, concludes Andersen. We have to identify the standards to which we want to operate, and demonstrate our commitment by following up. In NCL, we do not tolerate any failure to comply with our safety and environmental standards.