From concept to basic

When cruise ship projects call for cutting-edge naval architecture and marine engineering, owners and shipbuilders call Foreship. Few recent projects have called for such a comprehensive demonstration of the skillsets available as the expedition ship Silver Endeavour (formerly known as Crystal Endeavor).

At 20,000 gt, Silver Endeavour is the world’s largest and most spacious ice-class expedition yacht. Delivered by Germany’s MV Werften Stralsund in 2021, the 10-deck ship was conceived in 2016 as the first vessel of its type to be purpose-built for Polar operations. The 150m length ship is constructed to cruise in Arctic and Antarctic waters to Polar Class 6/Super 1A ice class standards, and meets Polar Code B requirements for summer and autumn operations in medium "first year" ice.

As well as for adventure, Silver Endeavour has also been built for those who value luxury. The vessel offers space for up to 200 guests in 100 suites, while 200 crew on board ensure exceptional levels of service. With guest adventures inspired by expedition rooms, inflatable boats, jet skis, kayaks, two mini-submarines, a recompression chamber, and two helicopter landing pads, attractions also include six restaurants, a theatre, a casino, a solarium, an infinity pool, and a wellness centre.

Foreship was engaged to help transform the owner’s vision of a luxury yacht fit for Polar cruising into reality at the project’s outset, in a multi-disciplinary role which made full use of its experience and expertise in naval architecture, marine engineering, and project management.

In addition to providing the concept design for the owner, Foreship developed Silver Endeavour’s basic design for the shipyard and contributed external resources to help the yard team advance the initial stages of the project. Basic design work also covered Classification requirements (including naval architecture, hull, machinery, deck outfitting, HVAC, electrical, and interior specifications, safe return to port documentation). In addition, Foreship provided hull form optimization and wind CFD studies.

Foreship also managed key parts of the construction project, liaising between the owner and the builder on achieving milestones, taking care of purchasing and production assistance, securing all documentation approval, and offering naval architectural support to the owner’s interior architects.

As a leading naval architecture and marine engineering firm, Foreship has over two decades of experience in cruise ship design, development, and build management, and a reference list of over 4,000 projects.

Today, Silver Endeavour remains the largest and most spacious expedition yacht afloat, whose Polar cruising performance, adventurous attractions, and luxury amenities compete for attention in equal measure. When it came to transforming a vision for a new type of vessel into reality, Silver Endeavour’s owner and builder chose to work in partnership with Foreship.