SHIP SETS SAIL WITH A TOUCH OF LUXURY

When the Norman Arrow set sail from Dover to Boulogne for the first time in May 2009, she made history. The new high speed catamaran was built to impress, and when it came to the flooring, that meant Amtico Marine.

The 112 metre Incat is the largest ever fast ferry to operate on the cross channel route between England and France. She is also the world's largest diesel-powered catamaran and the first ever freight carrying high speed vessel to operate across the Dover Straits.

Incat’s associate company Revolution Design created the interior of the vessel before she was sold to French ferry operators LD Lines. For the flooring of a number of busy communal areas Revolution chose a range of products from Amtico Marine’s wide and varied collection of high quality products.

The Norman Arrow was to make up to eight crossings a day between Dover and Boulogne, carrying up to 417 vehicles and 1,200 passengers at a time. Ensuring the floor could cope with such heavy foot flow was therefore a must, explains Incat Marketing’s Managing Director, Kim Clifford: “The reason we chose Amtico Marine over other brands was primarily due to its resilience in heavy traffic areas throughout the ship.

“It must not only be able to cope with thousands of people walking over it every day, but we also wanted the flooring to still look good after some time. With Amtico Marine we can be sure of this.”

For the busiest area of the ship, the main walkways, Amtico Marine planking finished in Fused Birch was used to give the area a neutral yet inviting look and mark out a clear route to guide passengers around the ship.

A more creative approach was taken for the café and shop area, using Amtico Marine tiling in Onxy Grey, a dazzling metallic silver colour, to create a striking contrast against some strips of blue marble flooring.

Finally, to reflect the more luxurious nature of the Business Class Lounge, Amtico Marine tiles in rich Vanilla and Mocha were used to give the room a sumptuous and elegant feel.

Incat were equally impressed with the finished look of Amtico Marine on the Norman Arrow as they were on previous projects, having used Amtico Marine on all of their vessels built in recent years.

Kim said: “The comments we have received on the Norman Arrow’s interior have so far been very favorable. Amtico Marine helped us to create the right look and gave us the reassurance we were looking for thanks to the floor’s durable qualities.”

The flooring work was carried out over the 14 months it took to construct the ship, as and when spaces became available. In total Amtico Marine flooring covers over 400 square metres.

Issued on behalf of Amtico International by Connect PR

For further information, please contact Sue Foster or Lee Southen on 01902 714957 or email suefoster@connect-group.com / lee@connect-group.com