33 SOLASAFE PROTECT MV ZUIDERDAM’S NAVIGATORS

The team at South Shields based Solar Solve Marine were really pleased when they were awarded a contract to manufacture and dispatch 33 of their well-known SOLASAFE marine window blinds to Florida. The marine window blinds were to be installed at cruise ship MS Zuiderdam’s Navigation Bridge windows so that personnel on board will be able to protect themselves from the sun’s glare and heat or the ice and snow’s glare and cold, simply by lowering them, depending on outside weather conditions.

When lowered, Solar Solve’s SOLASAFE marine window blinds reject glare, heat or cold and uv radiation and act as a navigation safety aid and are Type Approved by 4 international classification societies.

Solar Solve’s chairman, John Lightfoot MBE commented, “ZUIDERDAM is the ideal type of vessel to get full advantage from SOLASAFE’s feature’s of rejecting heat and cold. The vessel’s itineraries include round-the-world cruises, Caribbean cruises and Alaskan cruises with plenty sun and plenty ice and snow for the crew to be protected from. It was great news for us that we won this order. The global cruise industry is a highly competitive market for its suppliers, even more so since virtually all vessels were laid up for a year. Cruise ship owners have had a very difficult year but they are now getting back on track, very quickly and successfully and their potential customers are queueing up to take advantage of the situation. It’s good news all round.”

MS Zuiderdam is a Vista-class cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line (HAL). It is the lead ship of the Vista-class vessels, so named for the extensive use of glass in their superstructure. It is equipped with a diesel-electric power plant and an Azipod propulsion system, and eighty-five percent of her staterooms have ocean views and sixty-seven percent have verandas. Her art collection carries a Venetian theme throughout the ship; the most dazzling feature figures in the time of Carnival in Venice, created by Daniel Ogier. When it comes to dining, there are options for everyone, from steak at the Pinnacle Grill to burgers and fries at the Dive-In to exquisite Italian cuisine at Canaletto.