SeaWalk: the solution for offshore docking?

[Jason]

Cunard’s 2,068-passenger Queen Elizabeth was the first cruise ship in the world to trial a motorised, floating pier when she called into Skjokden, Norway recently.

At 720-feet long and 15-feet wide, SeaWalk is equipped with two 250 HP azimuth thrusters and unfolds in a zig zag from shoreside to the cruise ship, removing the need for tendering when ships are berthed offshore.

“Why should the ship be moored to the pier when the pier can be moored to the ship?” SeaWalk partner Ole Heggheim said in an email.

With the ability to offload over 4,000 passengers in an hour, x reports that the SeaWalk can also operate comfortably in one to two metre swells all for less than half the cost of a permanent dock.

The first of its kind, the company will not comment on which tender ports have expressed an interest.

Which tendering ports do you think the SeaWalk would be best suited to? Add your comment below!

Click here to view the article

[WeCruiseToo]

This sounds great! I think Grand Cayman always seems to be the most frustrating port waiting to tender in and out of…

[KeithnRita]

We agree, Grand Cayman for sure!

[DebbieandJerry]

Really? We tendered to both ports in the Grand Caymans and didn't find it difficult. I thought the tendering in Belize was painfully slow! Couldn't use the ship's tender. Had to use their's. Then, they waited for the tender to get completely full, which meant breathing diesel fumes FOREVER.

[Dan]

This unit sounds like something for deep ports without a pier. Which leaves out most of the Caribbean ports. Belize, Grand Cayman, the private islands etc, the ship can't get close enough to use something like this. Where this could help is ports without enough dock space. Say Grand Turk as one example. The ship pulls in behind one of the other ships already docked, and they roll this thing out so it can reach the pier. It would basically be a temporary "pier extender".

[GottaCruz]

Sounds great. I hate tendering.