Norwegian Breakaway Approaches
Following the progress of Norwegian Cruise Line‘s newest cruise ship – the exciting Norwegian Breakaway – has been a blast. The vessel is now that much closer to her inaugural sailings out of New York City in May 2013, having completed her conveyance – passage from the inland shipyard to the ocean – and extensive sea trials. The conveyance from Meyer Werft down the Ems River is always a tight one (as you can see in the photos above and below), but she made it successfully while sporting her vibrant Peter Max-designed hull art.
Most recently, the cruise line announced that Norwegian Breakaway passed her sea trials with flying colors and listed the interesting tests performed as follows:
To demonstrate the agility of the ship, Norwegian Breakaway performed a “Williamson’s Turn,” to determine how well the ship would be able to turn around in the event of an on board emergency. The “Zig Zag” test was also conducted to demonstrate the ship’s ability to rapidly maneuver away from danger ahead, while still maintaining its forward course. Norwegian Breakaway passed both of these important tests successfully.
Norwegian Breakaway also executed a successful “Turning Circle” test that is conducted by powering the ship at full speed ahead and then quickly turning on the azipods, the ship’s propulsion units, to monitor the behavior of the vessel. When conducting the Turning Circle test, a certain minimum diameter is required in order to prove the ship’s seaworthiness, and Norwegian Breakaway successfully executed all tests.
A “Crash Test” was also performed. This test is conducted by running the ship full steam ahead and then quickly reversing the azipods in order to assess the ship’s stoppage capabilities. The stoppage is monitored in terms of time and distance, and Norwegian Breakaway exceeded all of the standards set.
Popular Cruising will be sailing onboard the Norwegian Breakaway on May 10-12, 2013 to share with all of our readers what she has in store for her guests. Stay tuned for our Live Voyage Reports coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy the latest photo tour from the ship as she finalizes her details below and learn more about Norwegian Breakaway at the cruise line’s website…
HEADER IMAGE SOURCE: NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE