News
CruiseFlex Initiative Launched to Advance Sustainable and Adaptable Cruise Ship Design
The CruiseFlex – Design for a Sustainable Lifecycle project has been launched. The project is a two‑year research and development initiative aimed at transforming how cruise ship public spaces are designed, managed, and renewed across their lifecycle.
CruiseFlex addresses key long‑term challenges facing the cruise industry, including increasing sustainability requirements, evolving passenger expectations, and the need for more efficient lifecycle management. The project focuses on developing new public space scenarios and concepts, digital design methods, and business models that support modularity, retrofit readiness, reuse, and long‑term value creation.
“In cruise shipbuilding, sustainability is no longer only about choosing cleaner technologies, but about designing ships that can continuously evolve as regulation, markets, and passenger values shift. The key question is not what a cruise ship should look like today, but how it can remain relevant and compliant over 30 years of change. CruiseFlex helps move the industry towards that mindset by linking design decisions to long-term lifecycle strategy and transition readiness,” says Assoc. Prof. Anastasia Tsvetkova from Åbo Akademi University.
The project builds on extensive maritime research expertise across the consortium and collaboration within Finland’s maritime innovation ecosystem, aiming to develop more adaptable, sustainable, and future‑proof solutions for the cruise sector. Industry partners include Meyer Turku, SeaKing, NIT, and Kudos Dsign, that collaborate with the research organisations Åbo Akademi University, the University of Turku, Aalto University, LUT University, and LAB University of Applied Sciences. The project is coordinated by PBI Research Institute.
“New long-term value in cruise shipbuilding is created through focusing on flexibility, sustainability, and smart design. CruiseFlex helps us develop future‑ready ship concepts where public spaces can evolve efficiently over time, supporting both environmental targets and customer needs,” says, Meyer Turku project lead Janne Andersson.
The CruiseFlex project is partly financed by Business Finland and is part of Meyer Turku’s NEcOLEAP programme, which aims to accelerate sustainable innovation, competitiveness, and ecosystem‑driven development within the Finnish maritime industry.
