On May 30, 2024, SunStone Ships’ seventh Infinity-series expedition vessel, the Douglas Mawson, reached a major milestone with its keel laying at the China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) Shipyard. The 186-guest expedition ship is set for delivery in 2025.

The keel laying was celebrated in traditional fashion, with representatives from CMHI (shipyard), SunStone (owner), Bureau Veritas (classification body), and MAKINEN (interior contractor) present. The ceremony highlighted the international collaboration essential to the project. MAKINEN will begin the interior works for the project in the coming week.

On May 30, 2024, SunStone Ships’ seventh Infinity-series expedition vessel, the Douglas Mawson, achieved a significant milestone with its keel laying at the China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) Shipyard. This 186-guest expedition ship is on track for delivery in 2025.

The keel laying ceremony, attended by CMHI (shipyard), SunStone (owner), Bureau Veritas (classification body), and MAKINEN, who has successfully completed interiors for the six previous vessels in the series, highlighted the global collaboration. This project involves a consortium of industry leaders including Ulstein Design, SunStone Ships, Tomas Tillberg Design, MAKINEN, and CMHI. MAKINEN will begin interior works for the Douglas Mawson project in the coming week, marking another crucial step towards completing this final vessel of the series.

The expedition vessel is part of a long-term charter with Aurora Expeditions and will join their fleet, which includes the Greg Mortimer and the Sylvia Earle. Designed for worldwide exploration and sustainability, the Douglas Mawson will start its expeditions in December 2025, traveling to places like East Antarctica, the Ross Sea, and New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands. Its first voyage will be a ten-day trip to Tasmania, leaving and returning to Hobart.

 

Timo Mouru, Director of Newbuilding:

”The next official milestone is the launch, scheduled for late November. So far, everything has gone as planned. Design and procurement have progressed well, setting us up excellently for the construction phase. Conditions are better than ever because we’ve had sufficient time to plan and procure properly. We aim to deliver our best performance yet in the ship series!”

MAKINEN team will be attending Seatrade Cruise Global 2024 in Miami Convention Center, April 9–11! As one of the largest cruise events in the maritime industry, Seatrade 2024 provides an excellent platform for networking, learning, and exploring the latest trends.

For inquiries or to connect with our team during the event, please reach out to

Jaakko Makikalli, CEO  jaakko.makikalli@ismakinen.com

Learn more: https://www.seatradecruiseevents.com/global/en/home.html

Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ latest and most prestigious vessel, in terms of both size, luxury, and technology was delivered in late November in Turku, Finland. The Icon embarked on its inaugural cruise from Miami in late January, 2024.

 

The vessel and the shipbuilding project of this Quantum-class vessel have been the hot topics in the cruise industry, with numerous contractors and suppliers participating in bringing this marvel to life. MAKINEN has been involved in this newbuilding project since last summer, successfully overseeing and coordinating various owner’s work scopes in public spaces, which included the entire art installation package. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the extensive project was executed without any delays.

MAKINEN Project Manager Ville Helenius shared his thoughts:

“Icon of the Seas was a truly fascinating project! In general, overseeing and coordinating the construction of numerous public spaces, along with the art installation package, was interesting and taught us a lot. The project underscored the importance of planning and site preparation. Our biggest advantage was our ability to be flexible, modify plans, and adapt on the fly. There were always surprises, necessitating adjustments to plans in real-time. Our can-do attitude was consistently evident, contributing to our success. The project’s biggest achievement was the confidence that we could overcome challenges, find solutions, and move forward. The project wouldn’t have been successful without everyone fulfilling their roles, so a big thank you to everyone involved.”

“Collaboration with the customer was seamless. Royal Caribbean had an excellent team supporting us throughout the project, and they were pleased with the outcome and MAKINEN’s operational excellence.”

For questions, please contact: Project Manager Ville Helenius at ville.helenius(at)ismakinen.com

 

 

Watch the video highlighting MAKINEN’s project scope and final outcome on the Icon of the Seas:

The Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo is returning this year, from November 29 to 30, hosted at London ExCeL. This two-day event focuses on the European cruise interior design industry, facilitating connections between interior suppliers and Europe’s top cruise lines, designers, and shipyards involved in refurbishment and newbuild projects.

MAKINEN is pleased to announce its participation in this industry event, with a booth #217.

Visitors are invited to join us at the expo and are encouraged to register as a visitor using our custom registration link:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Additionally, for those interested in discussing their interior solutions needs in more detail, you can schedule a meeting in advance with MAKINEN’s marine experts:

🌟  Jaakko Mäkikalli, CEO, jaakko.makikalli@ismakinen.com

🌟  Markus Makinen, President, MAKINEN USA, markus.makinen@ismakinen.com

🌟  Katri Rosnell, Director of Furniture Production, katri.rosnell@ismakinen.com

🌟  Tommi Tuusa, Director of Refurbishment, Cabins & Public Spaces, tommi.tuusa@ismakinen.com

 

We look forward to seeing you at this event and are at your disposal for any inquiries or arrangements.

 

The MAKINEN team partnered with Compagnie Française de Croisières to transform the interiors of CFC Renaissance, the former Holland America Line Maasdam. Acquired by the cruise line in August 2022, the vessel overwent a multi-million-euro renovation at the Damen Brest shipyard before debuting later in 2023.

In January 2023, the MAKINEN team dedicated themselves to refurbishing a total of 628 passenger cabins and staterooms, in addition to 17 public spaces. The areas were upgraded to ensure a higher standard of comfort and elegance.

Press play and enjoy some of the highlights of MAKINEN’s ship refurbishment project at CFC Renaissance!

Video: marine interior images – Alexander Rudolph