VIKING POLARIS TO BE REPAIRED SOON

[CurlerRob]

13 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

I consider that Viking has partnered with Trip-Mate. Distributing its insurance through Viking sales people. I don't consider them to be at arms length   Trip-Mate describes itself as a "plan administrator" for Viking.

 

Viking has an obligation to assure that its customer package has been vetted. That's  no different than its responsibility for air packages and hotels it selects for its customers. Reporting on my experience is not disparaging Viking.

 

Reporting on your experience is valuable to others. Your opinion that your insurance refund took too long is one you are entitled to.

 

When you posted on a separate thread "I'm very unhappy with the way Viking and Trip-Mate are gaming their customers." - that went beyond reporting or opining. It was an accusation that was easily interpreted as disparagement of both Viking and Generali. 

 

I get your frustration and I don't expect to change your view, but after a career of dealing with dozens of insurers, 90 days to process a health-related claim is very reasonable by industry standards. Hopefully, you won't have to test that again! 🍺🥌

[chengkp75]

I see that the NAIB has issued their report on the rogue wave incident on Polaris.  Basically, they are saying that while there are no current design criteria regarding the pressure load of breaking waves on ship's windows, they recommend that the IACS (International Association of Class Societies) study this and make new recommendations.  They also recommend that the Norwegian Maritime Authority ensures that the two Viking expedition ships make "reinforcements" until class guidance comes through.  Typically, there are no concrete requirements, just "you need to do this, but we don't know enough about it to tell you what to do".  I would say that the "infinite veranda" windows will go away.

 

https://www.nsia.no/Marine/Published-reports/2023-06

 

My question for the NAIB is, since the class societies are to consider the "pressure force" of a breaking wave on the windows, what size wave is to be used as the benchmark, as the higher the wave, the greater the pressure on the window?

Edited December 2, 2023 by chengkp75

[ZNJ]

In addition to chengkp75's insightful question for the NAIB, my questions for Viking are:

• when and how will Viking reinforce the windows on Polaris and Octantis ?
• for the repairs already completed, did they install stronger windows in the damaged staterooms ?

By reading the report, I learned that Octantis and Polaris are the first ships to install SOMEC's Automatic Vertical Sliding Window (AVSW) on a lower deck, closer to the waterline than any other cruise ship.  For use on the lower decks of Octantis and Polaris, the windows were redesigned to be stronger.  This stronger window design did comply with DNV's classification rules for use on a lower deck. The windows were tested and installed properly. Unfortunately, the classification rules resulted in windows that were damaged by the weather conditions that day. The NSIA report found that these windows were not designed to be strong enough to survive the breaking wave on the day of the accident. The report states that, "IACS rules, international requirements and standards give too low values to withstand the pressure loads from breaking waves."  

 

The report states that SOMEC is the company that "supplied the windows for ‘Viking Polaris’ and manufactured, tested, delivered and installed the windows on deck 2."  The report also states, "According to the window supplier, similar windows have been installed on a number of other cruise ships. With the exception of the sister ship ‘Viking Octantis’, all of these windows were installed on higher decks and have a design pressure of 2.5 kPa. The design was based on a previous version that used many of the same components, but the window frame had been reinforced and a stronger motor was used to lift the heavier window. The weight of the window increased because of the thicker glass intended to withstand greater loads."

[ZNJ]

chengkp75 asked a question for the NAIB:

• since the class societies are to consider the "pressure force" of a breaking wave on the windows, what size wave is to be used as the benchmark, as the higher the wave, the greater the pressure on the window?

I asked questions for Viking: 

• when and how will Viking reinforce the windows on Polaris and Octantis ?
• for the repairs already completed, did they install stronger windows in the damaged staterooms ?