Case study · Marine engineering · Ice class
In 2019, Royal Arctic Line needed two PC(7) ice-class reefer/container coasters to serve Greenland's west coast. The basic design was Norwegian (Havyard 971). The yard was Galician (Nodosa, Marín). The steel engineering that connected one to the other was willbö's.
CN296 became willbö's first end-to-end steel project in FORAN. The process we refined on this vessel — Vigo modelling, Mumbai production drawings, Marín on-site support — became the blueprint we apply to every marine engagement since.
Concept renders · pre-delivery
What willbö did
We picked up Havyard's 971 basic design package and translated it into a full 3D steel model in FORAN — structure, hull, openings, reinforcements for ice-class PC(7), class-ready.
Production output tailored to a small yard's workflow: nesting-ready plates, pre-assembly blocks, pipe spools and outfitting drawings synchronised with the Marín erection schedule.
When the pandemic paused the yard, we used the window to re-engineer for the second unit (Tilioq Arctica) and consolidate the as-built of CN296 — all deliveries coordinated between Vigo and Mumbai under remote protocols.
Timeline · 18 months, two vessels
What this proves for your project
The basic was Havyard's. The steel, the production package and the class dossier were ours. Owners who already have a concept or basic from another partner don't need to restart — willbö plugs in at detail and carries through to production.
Nodosa is not a 3 000-worker facility — it's a focused Galician yard. The engineering package, the on-site liaison and the handoff rhythm were tuned to how a yard of that size actually builds a ship. We don't over-engineer the process.
Structural reinforcement for polar category operation, hull-form consequences, equipment cold-rating, class-society expectations under DNV-GL rules for polar ships. This is specialist territory that many engineering firms sub-contract; we don't.
The COVID pause could have been a programme failure. Instead we re-engineered the second unit mid-stream, issued a clean as-built on CN296, and delivered without an engineering-attributable delay. That flexibility is the default, not a heroic exception.
A second unit on the same Havyard 971 hull, with mid-programme engineering adaptations rolled in during the 2020 pause. Delivered to Royal Arctic Line to serve alongside Arpaarti Arctica on Greenland's west-coast service.
Specs · per General Arrangement
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Reefer / Container vessel | General dry cargo ship · container service |
| Build number | CN296 · Nodosa | + CN297 Tilioq Arctica (sister) |
| Length overall | 37.60 m | Coastal coaster profile |
| Breadth | 10.00 m | — |
| Design draught | 4.20 m | — |
| Gross tonnage | < 500 GT | Under 500 threshold · regulatory advantage |
| Power | 1 × 749 kW @ 1600 rpm | Single main engine |
| Class | DNV-GL +1A1, E0, General Dry Cargo Ship, Container, TMON, DG(P), LCS, PC(7) | PC(7) — Polar Category 7 · ice-class |
| Basic design | Havyard 971 | External basic · willbö took it from there |
| willbö scope | Detail design + production design + as-built | Vigo modelling · Mumbai production · Marín liaison · FORAN |
More case studies
CN296 is one of the projects that shaped how we work. SH Vega at Helsinki Shipyard, NB520 at HJ Barreras, the BOLT waterpark on Carnival Mardi Gras, Juan Pablo II at Murueta — more case studies coming to this format.
See all projects →Ice-class, small-yard, external-basic, sister-ship rework — bring the constraint and we'll talk engineering.
julian.fontela@willbo.es →