Orient Express Corinthian

The 2016-built Orient Express Corinthian cruise ship (OE Corinthian) is a new-generation sailship currently under construction at Chantiers de l'Atlantique Shipyard (STX France) in Saint-Nazaire.

The vessel's construction started in 2024 with the steel-cutting ceremony held on March 28th. The hull I designated B36

The vessel (IMO number 1050208) will be France-flagged (MMSI tba).

When launched in 2026, the vessel will be the world's ever-largest wind-powered sailing ship by volume/gross tonnage (26600 GT-tons). The first boat (Orient Express Corinthian) debuts in 2026-Q1, to be followed by the sistership Orient Express TBN (2027).

According to Accor, the 2-ship order with Chantiers de l'Atlantique includes an option for building two more units of the same design.

The fleet is owned by the French holding Accor SA (via the subsidiary Orient Express Silenseas) and managed under the new travel brand Accor Cruises.

Curiously, Accor also owns the famous long-distance sleeper train Orient Express (1883-built, operated until 2009). In 2017, Accor bought from SNCF (France's national state-owned railway company) a 50% stake in the Orient Express brand to launch the new luxury hotel chain Orient Express Hotels (4 properties in 2 countries/Italy and Thailand) with 282 rooms total.

In 2022, Accor and SNCF announced plans to relaunch (in 2025) the renovated/reconstructed Orient Express train (on its historical Paris-Istanbul route) as well as to introduce (in 2024) the Orient Express La Dolce Vita service (8 different Italy-based train routes). The Orient Express comprises of 17 authentic carriages (discovered in 2015 at the Małaszewicze Station/Poland-Belarus border) which in 2018 were transported to France and fully renovated as common areas (corridors, restaurant, bar) and accommodations (12 deluxe cabins plus 19 suites).

History - construction and ownership

The shipowner Accor Cruises (2023-founded) is a subsidiary and new cruise brand owned by Accor SA (1967-founded, Paris France-headquartered multinational hospitality company). Accor's portfolio includes fully owned and franchised hotels and resorts as well as numerous vacation properties. By total assets (EUR 11,7 billion in 2022) and Total equity (EUR 5,4 billion in 2022) Accor is ranked France's biggest and the world's 6th-largest hospitality company - following Marriott International Inc, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG), Four Seasons Hotels Ltd, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc.

As of 2022, Accor SA operates (owns/manages) ~5300 properties in 5445 locations worldwide/110+ countries) with 800,000+ rooms. Additionally, Accor owns and manages ~10,000 F&B venues globally. In the last decade, Accor hugely invested to expand its business by acquiring numerous luxury and premium hospitality brands. Next are listed Accor's largest subsidiaries/hotel brands by the year of acquisition - 2015 (Raffles, Fairmont, Swissotel), 2017 (Banyan Tree, Rixos, 25 Hours, Angsana/Carlton), 2018 (Delano, SLS Hotels & Residences, 21c Museum Hotels, Mantis Collection/Zambezi Queen houseboat, Movenpick/Nile RIver hotel ships, Mantra Group's Art Series and Peppers), 2019 (Morgans Originals, Orient Express, Hyde Hotels & Residences), 2021 (Emblems Collection, Faena).

Orient Express (1884-established luxury hotel brand of Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels) now includes the 2024-opened Orient Express La Minerva (Rome City) and Orient Express Palazzo Dona Giovannelli (Venice City). Another hotel is under construction in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).

On January 12, 2023, was announced that the Acoor Group's subsidiary Orient Express has signed a shipbuilding order with STX France for two units/sisterships of the revolutionary Silenseas sailship design. The order was signed by Sebastien Bazin (1961-born French businessman, Accor's CEO Chairman and CEO since 2013) and Laurent Castaing (STX France's Managing Director).

The ship design was developed by Maxime d'Angeac (1962-born French architect) who also redesigned Accor's train Orient Express (2025).

Each of Accor's Orient Express ships is fitted with three SolidSails (rigid sails with total area 4500 m2/48440 ft2 or 1500 m2/16145 ft2 each) mounted/hoisted on balestron rigs (sailplans comprising a boom extending forwards of and pivoted on the mast). Each of the three masts is tilting, with height 100+ m (~330 ft) to ensure max wind propulsion capacity in suitable weather conditions. The propulsion is hybrid and based on sails plus dual-fuel marine engines (model Wartsila 25DF, medium-speed, 4-stroke) running on both LNG and conventional liquid fuels (LFO/light fuel oil, HFO/heavy fuel oil, biofuels/non-toxic and sulfur-free). The ship by design is also ready for using hydrogen-based fuel cells in the future.

On October 5, 2023, was announced that the shipbuilder has contracted Wartsila Marine Power - a subsidiary of Wartsila Corporation (1834-founded, Helsinki, Finland-headquartered equipment manufacturer and service provider for the marine and energy industries) to supply both Accor Cruises' ships with Wartsila 25DF.

STX France's engine order with Wartsila was booked in May 2023 and signed by Yann Penduff (shipyard's Project Manager) and Stefan Nysjo (Wartsila Marine Power's VP of Power Supply).

Wartsila's engine equipment was slated for delivery in 2024-Q3. For FY2022, the company reported net sales of EUR 5,8 billion.

Technology

In early March 2018, STX France revealed a carbon-free cruise vessel design (trademarked Silenseas) using wind as the main power source. The new wind-power technology was trialed on Ponant's yacht Le Ponant, on which one of the existing sails was replaced and the new technology tested.

STX France's project was something never done before. The carbon-free sailship design is an alternative to the popular hybrid-powered vessels. Hydrogen and fuel cells are still expensive, plus hydrogen is not available in most ports.

The technology uses the company's patented "SolidSail" concept. The sails (total size up to 1200 m2 / 12900 ft2) are mounted on masts but without any ropes or cables. STX France's design has 3 masts and 3 rigs, with masts rotating in order to adapt the sails to the wind. The new design also features the latest hybrid propulsion technologies, combining wind with LNG/liquefied natural gas, and potentially batteries, solar panels, and fuel cells.

The sailing ship can reach speeds of 12 knots (14 mph / 22 kph) under sail in 15 knots (17 mph / 28 kph) winds. In winds over 15 knots are used the ship's propellers (driven by electric motors), acting as a turbine that draws power from the sails. On Caribbean Sea routes, the new technology could reduce propulsion energy by 60%.

STX France's sailship design was developed for 3 vessel sizes, the biggest being 15000 GT-ton with LOA length 190 m (620 ft) and 150 passenger staterooms. The French shipbuilding company started research in sail propulsion in 2009,

Silenseas has technology patents (2009 and 2017) for the new sail. The unit is made from fiberglass, carbon and epoxy-resin panels.

SolidSail system debuted on October 31, 2018, on the yacht Le Ponant. The new Solid Sail (sized 300+ m2) was constructed at Chantiers de L'Atlantique and installed in Marseille France. The 3-masted Le Ponant departed from France to Cape Verde Islands, then embarked on a Transatlantic crossing to Cuba, testing the new sail for a year.

Similar is the concept of Ecoship (to be built at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard in Helsinki Finland).

In December 2022 was announced the shipyard's first SolidSail with a carbon-fiber mast. The project was a collaboration with the Lorient-based companies Lorima (manufacturer of carbon fiber masts and spars), Avel Robotics (manufacturer of composite parts), CDK Technologies (boat building company) and Mulitplast (Vannes-based shipbuilding company).

The carbon-fiber SolidSail mast has height 66 m/217 ft, width 2 m/7 ft and weight ~20 tons. It can carry a SolidSail sized ~1500 m2/16150 ft2.

Silenseas' SolidSail propels the world's largest wind-powered cruise vessel.

Aeoldrive (a rig comprising the mast and the SolidSail) is fully automated and 360-degree rotating, while the masts rotate/tilt up to 70 degrees to reduce air draft when the ship passes under bridges.

Each Orient Express/Accor cruise ship is equipped with 4x Wartsila 25DF/dual-fuel engines (total power output 8,28 MW/2,07 MW each at 1000 rpm/revolutions per minute). The powerplant also includes 4x Wartsila GVUs/gas valve units (controlling the gas feed pressure according to the engine load), and 4x Wartsila NOx Reducers (emission after-treatment system based on SCR/Selective Catalytic Reduction/scrubber technology).

Wartsila 25DF is a 2022-introduced dual-fuel/LNG marine engine. Wartsila 25DF is compact-sized and features a 2-stage turbocharging system and common-rail fuel injection (with combustion control) resulting in reduced fuel consumption and green-gas emissions.

Decks and Cabins

Orient Express Silenseas staterooms (54 total) are all outside, in Suite categories and with double occupancy, for max passenger capacity 108 (plus the crew/staff).

The largest accommodation is the Presidential Suite, sized 1415 m2 (15230 ft2), including interior space sized 885 m2 (9526 ft2) and a private sundeck/terrace sized 530 m2 (5700 ft2). Passenger cabins are average-sized at 70 m2 (750 ft2).

More details on cabins, as well as deck plans and facilities and amenities, are expected to be revealed gradually in the coming months.

What is known so far is that the ship has a spacious Sundeck/Lido Deck with three swimming pools (including a lap pool), an Orient Express Club Lounge & Bar, an Amphitheatre/Cabaret Lounge, two upscale restaurants, a private recording studio, a contemporary wellness complex (gym, spa, hair studio).

The Amphitheatre will also host Accor Cruises' onboard enrichment program consisting of lectures (themed on history, culture, music, arts, etc), media presentations, small-scale production shows (music and stand-up comedy acts), and will also double as Cinema/Movie Theater.

Itineraries

Traditionally for a French company, Accor Cruises ships will visit popular destinations in the Mediterranean (French and Italian/Ligurian rivieras) as well as in the Caribbean. Among Europe's "yacht cruise" ports will be French Riviera/Cote d'Azur's Marseille, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Toulon, Villefranche-sur-Mer/Nice, Monaco's Monte Carlo, Italy's Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, La Spezia. The sailships are also expected to visit the largest Greek Islands (Naxos, Mykonos, Santorini) as well as ports in Turkey (including Istanbul).

Among the Caribbean island nations to be visited by Accor Cruises are The Bahamas, The Netherlands Athiles, Cuba, Dominicana, the USVI and the BVI.

Accor cruise deals will be full-inclusive (onboard food and beverages, crew, gratuities, taxes and port fees, land transfers). The company will also offer pre- and post-cruise packages to combine the luxurious sea voyage with stays in Accor-owned hotels and resorts.