MATTIAS JÖRGENSEN: Ever since this pandemic started, the tourism industry was hit quite hard. We initiated Hygiea in March as an internal project to evaluate what we could do to help the industry, as well as how we would evaluate the spread of a virus onboard vessels.

I think everybody will agree that we are literally in the same boat; we need to work together to find a solution in order to get the industry back on its feet.

Our solution consists of four different stages. The first one is intersection, which aims at not letting the disease on board.

The second one is prevention, i.e. not letting the disease spread if it gets on board. The third one consists of mitigating the disease, while the fourth one is evacuating critical cases. 

Those are the four different topics that we are addressing when we are doing our analysis of the vessel.

As we realised that there is no silver bullet in attacking this pandemic, the approach needs to draw from a multitude of different processes, from design changes to technology upgrades. 

Given that we are engineers at heart, we used a risk analysis format called hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP). We thought that it might be a very good approach to analyse the situation because there is a problem and we need to analyse it and see how it affects the vessel. 

Only by running this process can we identify what technologies, procedures or design changes are needed to ensure that there is as much prevention as possible.

There are many different kinds of changes that could be done. When we're looking at a vessel, we not only need to look at physical spaces but also flows that go through them. 

By identifying the flow and analysing it, you can pinpoint where the risks and, once identified, you can find a mitigating safeguard to ensure you have a good process behind it.

There are a tonne of hygiene technologies that can be used. For example, you might be looking at filter shore or UV lights for ventilation systems or at coatings for wall coverings.

There is a multitude of different technologies which have to be filtered to ensure that we adapt the right technology to the right problem. 

Implementing a technology doesn't necessarily solve the problem if you don't identify it first.

The HAZOP in itself is an IEC standard type of approach for identifying risks. The process starts by identifying the risk areas, and then collecting the information from the vessel. 

The information goes through a series of workshops, where we identify, alongside the stakeholders, the risk rating for different areas, looking at what the existing safeguards are and what additional ones could be applied. 

The final output is a report stating recommendations moving forward, while after the HAZOP there still need to be feasibility studies to ensure the technology would be applicable for this particular project. But that will be Hygiea’s second stage.

The project’s advantage is that it has a collaborative approach as it really involves all the stakeholders.

And by having all the stakeholders at the same table, you support ideas and potentially solve problems that might not have been thought of initially.

The pandemic is a different kind of problem and therefore the process had to be adjusted. Given that facts change on a daily basis, this has been a learning process in itself.

The continuously updated information is, of course, a challenge but that is when an engineering approach is good because it enables us to document every stage as we go along, so it’s easy to roll back if there are new scientific developments.

We realised quite quickly into the process that although we were focused on the pandemic at hand, we are looking at it on a broader basis. The project does not necessarily have to do only with Covid-19 but it tackles the spread of viruses and pathogens aboard vessels in general, which will be beneficial to the industry. 

It's still too early to identify how the pandemic has and will change the industry, but we firmly believe that the industry will get back on its feet, stronger and better prepared. 

There will be of course moments which will feel different for cruise passengers but I think that is a natural process for the relaunch phase itself.

The coronavirus pandemic has been a shock to everybody in the industry, but I think that a unified effort from technology and service providers like us, as well as shipowners, will deliver a better industry after this has passed. 

I believe the future will be bright and the sector will be even better when it gets back on its feet.