Orient Express has ordered two 108-guest cruise ships from Chantiers de l’Atlantique, with the primary being the Orient Express Silenseas and set to debut in 2026.
“With Orient Express Silenseas, we are beginning a new chapter in our history, taking the experience and excellence of luxury travel and transposing it onto the world’s most beautiful seas. This exceptional sailing yacht, with roots in Orient Express’ history, will offer unparalleled service and refined design spaces, reminiscent of the golden age of mythical cruises. Innovation is at the heart of this ultra-modern ship that will revolutionize the maritime world with new technology to meet today’s sustainability challenges. It is a boat designed to make dreams a reality, a showcase for the best of French savoir-faire,” stated Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO, Accor, mother or father to Orient Express.
“With a signed letter of intent to order two ships, Chantiers de l’Atlantique is proud to herald a new era in the shipbuilding industry with Silenseas. This concept, born in our design offices in 2018, is the quintessence of our savoir-faire in the fields of naval architecture, the construction of sophisticated hulls, as well as the design of luxurious spaces. In addition, the installation of three SolidSail rigs, a revolutionary 1,500-square-meter unit wind propulsion system, for which we have developed and tested a first prototype, will contribute significantly to the propulsion of the ship. Combined with a hybrid propulsion system running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), Silenseas will thus become the ship of reference in terms of environmentally-friendly operation and design,” added Laurent Castaing, managing director, Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
The firm stated the ships will probably be impressed by the Golden Age of the French Riviera, and that Orient Express Silenseas will echo the wonderful period when writers, artists, painters, princesses and film stars frolicked between Monte-Carlo, the seashores of Saint-Tropez, Cap d’Antibes, Cannes and its well-known Croisette and found a refinement tinged with beautiful insouciance and joie de vivre, inviting them to excessive escapades.
A 220-meter-long ocean ship at 22,300 tons, the Orient Express Silenseas will function 54 suites measuring on common 70-square-meters, together with a 1,415-square-meter Presidential Suite, two swimming swimming pools together with a lap pool, two eating places and a speakeasy bar.
Orient Express Silenseas will sail with a revolutionary technological design often known as SolidSail: three inflexible sails with a floor space of 1,500 meters every will probably be hoisted on a balestron rig, with three tilting masts reaching greater than 100 meters excessive, ready to make sure as much as 100% of the propulsion in appropriate climate circumstances. This hybrid propulsion system will mix wind energy with a state-of-the-art engine operating on liquefied pure fuel (LNG) and plans to make use of inexperienced hydrogen as soon as the expertise is authorized for ocean passenger ships, launching a brand new, extra environmentally pleasant imaginative and prescient of sea journey.