All language subtitles for Building Giants Series 4 Part 8 Cruise Ship of the Future 1080p

Narrator: At 1,034 feet long
and 213 feet tall,

Msc bellissima
is one of the largest

Cruise ships on the planet.

This leviathan carries
over 5,500 guests

To destinations
all across europe.

How did engineers build
a cruise ship this big?

And what innovations keep it
sailing all year round?

We unlock the secrets
that help this vessel

Deliver a super-smooth ride.

From ingenious stabilizers
to keep the ship level

In the roughest seas,

To near-silent propellers

That thrust it fast
through the water,

To reveal what it takes to build
the ultimate mega cruise ship.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

The mediterranean coast.

Tourists from around the world

Flock to these
spectacular shores

To soak up the area's rich
history, culture, and sunshine.

Each year, over 3 million of
them choose to take it all in

From the comfort of a luxury
mega cruise ship,

12 cruise operators

Running a total of
40 supersized vessels

Compete for a slice
of the $60 billion

Mediterranean vacation industry.

Passengers looking for a
once-in-a-lifetime experience

Expect five-star service,

Spacious outdoor areas
with the finest amenities,

And an itinerary full of stops
in spectacular locations.

To corner the market,
operator msc cruises

Built this extraordinary
cruise ship --

Msc bellissima.

At 1,034 feet long,

141 feet wide,
and 19 decks high,

This is msc's biggest ship,

The innovative
engineering hidden inside

Bellissima's mighty frame

Helps give passengers
the ultimate cruise experience.

A unique hull design
allows it to glide

Into shallow european ports.

Superfine membranes filter
molecule-sized particles

To turn the salty sea
into pure drinking water.

An ingenious scrubber system
cleans noxious chemicals

From exhaust
released above the deck.

All of these elements combine
to make msc bellissima

The ultimate cruise ship.

♪

11:00 a.M. Barcelona, Spain.

Bellissima opens its gangways

And welcomes
passengers onboard.

Immigration purser
alfonso gargiulo

Has six hours to get all
of them onto the ship.

Across the ship,
the 1,500 person crew

Completes final preparations

Before the vessel departs
for its seven-night voyage,

Which will include stops in
six iconic mediterranean cities.

From the port of barcelona,
bellissima will head northeast

Along the spanish
and french coasts.

First stop, marseille.

The voyage continues
into italian waters,

Stopping next in genoa
to pick up vital supplies.

From here, the ship
will head southeast,

Stopping at naples
and messina.

The ship will then
call into valletta, malta.

Before it makes the 747-mile
trip back to barcelona.

Bellissima is double the size
of a traditional liner

And carries three times
as many passengers.

Building a ship this big
with a draft shallow enough

To enter the most popular
mediterranean ports

Is a huge engineering challenge.

The ship's draft
is the distance

Between the bottom of its keel
and the waterline.

The more load a ship carries,
the deeper its draft becomes.

A large traditional liner

Carries 2,000 passengers
throughout 12 decks,

And has a 28-foot draft,

Shallow enough
to enter most harbors.

But today's mega cruise ships
need extra decks

To entertain
thousands more passengers

Than the largest
classic liners.

Adding this extra weight
to a standard liner design

Would make its draft so deep

That the ship could
run aground in port.

♪

Shipbuilders chantiers
de l'atlantique

Came up with a solution
when they designed

And built bellissima in 2016.

The engineers
at this facility in France

Weld over 1,100
tons of steel every week

To construct msc's fleet
of mega cruise ships.

Design manager guillaume lagree

Has to balance
every new vessel's size

With its need
for a shallow draft.

Guillaume sculpted
bellissima's hull

To make the supersized cruise
ship float higher in the water.

A ship floats higher
and reduces its draft

When it spreads its weight
over a larger area.

Guillaume's team takes
a traditional hull shape

And stretches it longer.

And pulls the beam
wider to 141 feet,

Increasing the area of its hull
in contact with water.

The team also flattens the keel

For extra clearance
over marine obstacles.

This ingenious design means
bellissima should glide

Into most ports with no danger
of running aground.

But this innovative design is
just one part of the solution.

Classic liners were constructed

From thick steel plates
riveted together,

Which made them strong,
but also very heavy.

Building bellissima's
huge structure

Using these traditional
techniques and materials

Would cancel out the benefits
of the ship's hull redesign.

Any vessel still risks grounding
if it weighs too much.

At the shipyard,

Engineers use an innovative
construction method

To keep the frames of ships like
bellissima as light as possible.

They build ships
by welding together boxes

Made out of lightweight
sheet steel.

Project manager elise guerin
oversees the operation.

To make bellissima's deck,
robots welded together

Large sheets of steel,

Each less than
10 millimeters thick.

Workers welded on metal plates

Called stiffeners
to strengthen the decks.

Next, computer controlled
plasma cutting machines

Sliced more steel
to make the deck's walls.

A team of welders join
these wall pieces to the decks

To make a giant
reinforced hull section.

They joined together
an average of 12 hull sections

To build a megablock.

This super-huge ship section
is 141 feet wide

And 33 feet tall and weighs
more than 1,100 tons.

Elise's team used

One of the most powerful
gantry cranes in europe

To lift in place each
of the 50 megablocks

That make up bellissima.

♪

It took elise's team
around 18 months

To turn over 38,000
tons of steel

Into the finished bellissima.

Megablocks make it possible
for engineers to build a vessel

That weighs almost the same
as a traditional liner

But is double the size.

Constructing bellissima
from thin but tough steel

Keeps the ship's 7,000
passengers and crew

High in the water

And prevents the ship
from running aground in port.

In barcelona,

The dockside crew releases
bellissima's mooring lines

And the ship's huge engines
thrust it out of port.

The eight-day mediterranean
voyage begins,

What ingenious technology
makes the propellers

On this mighty ship near silent?

And how does it create
over 3 million gallons

Of drinking water
out of the salty sea?

♪

♪

Narrator:
As day one of its eight-day
voyage comes to an end,

Cruise ship msc bellissima

Powers across
the mediterranean sea

Towards the city of marseille
on the french coast.

♪

Most of the 5,600 passengers
onboard spend the evening

In one of the ship's 32 bars
and restaurants.

Or in one of the vessel's
two theaters

Watching live performances.

♪

At the end of the night,

Passengers retire
to their cabins

To rest up for the second day
of their trip.

Housekeeping manager supriyanto
must ensure

Every passenger onboard
gets a good night's sleep.

The ship will have
to travel over night

At a speed of up to 20 knots,
or 23 miles per hour,

To reach marseille
by 8:00 a.M.

Belowdeck, four huge diesel
electric engines

Produce 40 megawatts
to power the vessel's pair

Of 20-foot-diameter propellers.

Insulation stops engine noise

From disturbing
the sleeping passengers.

But it does very little
to quiet the noise made

By the spinning propellers.

♪

The faster a propeller rotates,
the more thrust it produces.

An area of low pressure forms
in front of each propeller blade

As it slices through the water.

The pressure is so low,
the water boils.

Creating thousands of tiny
team-filled bubbles

On the surface of the blades.

These bubbles pop --
a phenomenon called cavitation.

One tiny bubble pop on its own
doesn't matter.

But thousands popping
simultaneously

Can send powerful,
noisy vibrations

Throughout the entire ship.

To ensure bellissima's
passengers

Get a good night's sleep,

Hydrodynamic engineer
loic morand had to come up

With a way to eliminate
cavitation noise.

Many traditional propellers
have three blades.

Their fast rotation
generates huge thrust

To push a ship forwards.

But the propellers' fast turning
speed creates noisy cavitation.

One solution is to slow
the propellers' rotation,

Which will generate
fewer bubbles

And cut cavitation noise.

But slow propellers will reduce
a ship's thrust.

To bring the ship
back up to speed,

Loic's team adds
two extra blades

To each of the ship's
two propellers.

Having five blades increases
the propeller's surface area

Pushing against the water.

This boosts thrust with
little increase in cavitation.

These special propellers allow
the ship's passengers and crew

To enjoy both a fast
and quiet ride.

♪

In this giant foundry,

Engineers forge propeller blades
from an aluminum bronze alloy.

Robots cut and polish
the cooled metal

According to a precise
computer design

To shape the five blades.

The individual blades
fit into a central hub

To create a giant
20 foot diameter propeller

Weighing over 33 tons.

Bellissima's two propellers
attach to a pair of mounts

On the ship's stern.

Thanks to loic and his team,

Bellissima's propellers
are among the quietest installed

On any operational cruise ship.

The guests onboard sleep
peacefully

As the ship sails
towards marseille.

♪

At 8:00 a.M., bellissima
pulls into marseilles

Right on schedule.

The passengers take in
all the sights

And sounds of the famous
french city

Before returning to the vessel
eight hours later.

At 6:00 p.M., the ship
set sail for genoa, Italy.

Ahead lies a huge challenge
for the ship's crew.

They must keep over
5,600 passengers fed

While navigating through
over 1,200 miles

Of turbulent seas.

What engineering secret
helps this megaship

Stay stable
in the roughest waters?

What technology

Allows it to produce
fresh water on demand?

♪

♪

Narrator: It's day three of msc
bellissima's eight-day voyage

Around the mediterranean.

At 8:00 a.M.,
the mighty cruise ship docks

At the italian
port city of genoa.

Here, the crew loads 420 tons
of provisions

Into the ship's
21 giant storerooms belowdeck.

The supplies include
nine tons of flour,

15 tons of meat, and over
22 tons of fresh fruit,

Enough to keep the passengers
and crew fed

For the remainder of the voyage.

But this ship's lifeblood
is fresh water.

Together, the ship's passengers,
crew, and all its processes

Consume over
3 million gallons of water

During a typical
eight day voyage.

Supplying this much fresh water
is a huge engineering challenge.

To make things
even more complicated,

Room onboard the ship
is at a premium.

Cabins and entertainment areas

Take up 74%
of the space onboard.

The engineering department
and guest service occupy

An additional 23%.

And the vessel's fuel, ballast,
and waste tanks,

Another two%.

That leaves enough space
to carry

Just over one million
gallons of water.

Less than half of what
bellissima needs to run systems

And supply its 7,000 passengers

And crew
for their eight day voyage.

♪

At the shipyard,

Engineers deploy an
innovative technology

To make sure bellissima
and its sister ships

Never run out of fresh water.

Project manager antioine gondet
oversees the operation.

Hidden deep inside bellissima
is an ingenious system

That turns over 250,000 gallons
of seawater

Into fresh water each day.

♪

Pumps suck seawater into the
ship through pipes in its hull.

Layers of sand
and special carbon

Filter out the largest
pieces of debris.

Next, filters remove
microscopic contaminants

50 times smaller
than a human hair.

Then the water
passes through columns,

Each containing a spiral
of molecular membranes.

The superfine membrane weave
separates salt chloride ions

From water molecules.

Once free of salt, this fresh
water is ready to use onboard.

The process converts
almost three gallons

Of water per second
when the ship is at sea.

♪

At the end of day
three of the cruise,

The megaship departs genoa
and heads out into open sea.

This is when the water plant
kicks into action.

Powerful pumps pressurize
the fresh water...

...And push it through dozens
of miles of plumbing

Woven throughout the ship.

20 giant tanks each hold up
to 66,000 gallons

Of the desalinated water.

This liquid must pass through
one last process

Before it's fit
for passengers to drink.

Vice president
of environmental operations

And compliance minas myrtidis

Must ensure the system
works without a hitch.

Man: Yeah?

♪

Narrator: It's the morning of
day four of bellissima's cruise,

The megaship docks at naples.

Passengers disembark to visit

The famous roman
ruins of pompeii.

♪

They return to the vessel
six hours later.

The megaship leaves port
en route to messina

On the island of sicily.

But new challenges lie ahead.

Strong sirocco winds can make
this part of the journey

Very bumpy for
the passengers and crew.

What ingenious technology

Keeps this megaship
stable in the roughest seas?

And what is its secret
for producing

Some of the cleanest emissions
of any ship in its class?

Narrator: It's dinner time
on day four of msc bellissima's

Eight-day mediterranean cruise.

Thousands of passengers
enjoy meals

In one of the ship's
four huge restaurants.

Maitre d' vincenzo porzio

Must make sure every diner
receives five-star service.

But running a restaurant
at sea has its challenges.

Sudden changes in weather

Can make this stretch
of water rough

And cause the ship
to pitch and roll.

Choppy seas make any ship
move from side to side,

Risking spills
and even injuries.

And if the ship encounters
a big squall,

The effects onboard
can be devastating.

The higher a ship floats
in the water,

The greater the effect
can be of violent movements

Caused by rough seas.

Bellissima's towering
213-foot height

Makes it vulnerable
to a phenomenon

Called parametric rolling.

Large regularly-timed waves
hitting the ship head on

Make the vessel see-saw.

When a large wave reaches
the back of the vessel,

It makes the ship tip forward.

The way the weight
is distributed across a ship

This tall can then cause
the vessel to roll to one side.

When the next wave hits,
it rolls back the other way.

Each new movement
is more extreme than the last

And can cause passengers
to become seasick.

At the shipyard where
bellissima was constructed,

Engineers worked to solve
the problem.

First they identified the
specific type of ship movement

That causes passenger sickness.

To minimize this rolling motion,

Engineers installed
a pair of fin-shaped

Stabilizers
into the vessel's hull.

The stabilizers arrived
at the shipyard

Ready to plug into holes
cut into the ship's hull.

Hydraulic pistons move their
articulated wing-shaped fins.

Measuring 18.4 feet long

By 8.2 feet wide,

These stabilizers
are bellissima's

Secret to smooth sailing
in all weather.

♪

Sensors on each stabilizer
measure the direction and degree

Of the ship's roll.

If the motion goes
past just one degree,

Bellissima's crew can deploy
the pair of stabilizer fins

Stowed inside its hull.

The fins work like wings
to correct the ship's roll.

If the sensors detect
the ship rolling starboard,

They automatically
instruct the fins to rotate,

Shifting the vessel
the other way.

In big seas,
the system works continuously

To level out the rolling motion,

Ensuring bellissima's
passengers and crew

Experience a smooth ride.

Up on the ship's bridge,
officers monitoring the weather

Give the order
to activate the stabilizers.

Chief engineer
luigi de martino

Makes sure they deploy
without a hitch.

A pair of 5.2-foot-long pistons
turn bearings

That swing each fin
into position.

A computer automatically adjusts
the angle of the fins

To counteract any roll caused
by waves hitting the ship.

Each fin is just 13% the width
of bellissima's hull.

But their combined effect
on the ship is huge.

♪

With the stabilizers deployed,
vincenzo's team

Is able to wait on every table

Without danger
of being thrown off balance.

♪

Bellissima arrives at messina
on the morning of day five

Of the cruise.

After a 10-hour stay in sicily,
it will power onwards to malta.

And this megaship will face
new engineering challenges.

What innovative technology
keeps the air

Around the outside decks
free from noxious exhaust gases?

And what's the secret
to maneuvering this leviathan

Into the tightest ports?

♪

Narrator: 8:00 a.M., day
six of msc bellissima's

Eight-day tour
of the mediterranean.

The mighty cruise ship
docks at valletta,

The capital of
the island of malta.

While many passengers
disembark to explore

The winding streets
of the old city...

...Some remain on the ship
to relax on the sundeck

Or take the plunge
in the vessel's water park.

Pool supervisor
alonso stewart is onsite

To ensure nothing ruins
the guests' outdoor experience.

Guaranteeing good air quality
across a cruise ship's

Outside spaces
is a tough challenge.

The ship needs
a reliable source of power

To run all
its essential systems

And provide all passengers
onboard

With a constant stream
of electricity.

♪

Bellissima's four diesel
electric motors

Work around the clock.

At peak output,

They produce 67 megawatts
of electricity,

Enough to power 50,000 homes.

But burning heavy fuel oil
produces exhaust gases.

Many cruise ships vent
these fumes from funnels

Positioned above the top deck.

On bellissima, these outlets
are just a few feet above

The ship's popular water park.

So engineers have to make
sure guests

Don't breathe in harmful gases.

♪

Classic liners solved
the problem

With long exhaust funnels

That release dirty sulfurous
fumes high above the top deck.

Bellissima's upper-most public
space is over 180-feet high,

Nearly double the height
of a classic liner.

And it's around 33 feet away
from the ship's exhaust outlet.

Simply making bellissima's
funnels longer

Will create a big problem

When the megaship enters ports
spanned by low bridge decks.

[ ship horn blows ]

♪

At the shipyard, workers raced
to finish building

Bellissima's sister ship,
msc virtuosa.

A giant equipment install
reveals both ships' secret

To beating harmful fumes.

A pair of huge steel drums,
16 feet in diameter

And over 33 feet tall,
each weighing 22 tons.

These steel drums called
scrubbers remove almost

All of the environmentally
damaging sulfur compounds

From the engine's waste gases

As they move through
the exhaust system.

Nozzles inside
a scrubber's drum

Spray nearly 6,000 gallons
of seawater per minute

Into beds packed
with metal filings.

Engine exhaust gases rise
through the moist beds

And pollutants
dissolve into the water.

Water droplets trickle down
the inside of the drum

And collect
in a treatment chamber.

Here, a chemical process
separates the clean water

From pollutants.

And the waste forms a sludge.

Experts responsibly dispose
of this waste on land

When the ship is in port.

♪

Bellissima departs valletta
and powers forward

Into open water toward
its final stop -- barcelona.

The scrubbers kick into high
gear to clean waste gases

Ejected by the ship's four
giant diesel electric motors.

On the top deck, guests are
busy racing down the water
slides

Or working on their tans,

Oblivious to
the ingenious technology

Working in the background.

750 miles of open sea

Lie between the vessel
and barcelona.

Will this giant ship
arrive on schedule?

And what is its secret

For docking in the narrowest,
busiest ports?

♪

♪

Narrator: In the mediterranean,

Cruise ship msc bellissima
closes in on barcelona.

The port city is the last stop
on the mighty vessel's

Eight-day, 1,864-mile journey.

Captain raffaele pontecorvo
and his officers

Will have to reverse
the vessel over a mile

Down this narrow channel
to reach the busy harbor.

Parking backwards means
the ship will be facing

The right way
for a fast departure

Later this afternoon.

But guiding this ship to its
berth is a huge challenge.

The vessel's tall profile makes
it vulnerable to high winds

Blowing it off course.

One wrong move during
the reversing maneuvering,

And it could collide
with another megaship.

Bellissima relies
on a responsive

Steering system to help guide
it through narrow channels

In all weather conditions.

[ ship horn blows ]

♪

At the shipyard in France
where bellissima was built,

Engineers prepare to install a
sister ship's propulsion system,

A pair of 20 megawatt electric
motors in waterproof housings

Called podded thrusters.

Unlike fixed propeller
propulsion systems,

These pods swivel their
propellers to direct thrust

Precisely where it's needed.

Bellissima carries a pair
of podded thrusters at the rear.

Four fixed thrusters
in the bow

Direct powerful jets
of high velocity water

To help steer the ship
from the front.

Together, they make this
huge vessel highly nimble.

♪

Outside barcelona port,

Captain raffaele engages
the podded thrusters.

They slowly turn the vessel
180 degrees.

♪

The ship is ready to begin the
1.2 mile journey to its berth.

Luckily, high winds
are not an issue today.

But threading this giant ship
through the port's entry channel

Is still no simple task.

Moored up on one side
is a mega cruise ship.

On the other,
a massive container vessel.

Environmental engineering
officer pasquale maresca

Helps steer a perfect line
between them.

Pasquale relay's readings
from this laser measurer

To track the distance
between bellissima

And the moored megaships.

♪

Bellissima's berth
comes into view.

Captain raffaele
turns the rear thrusters

And pulses the bow thrusters
to delicately maneuver

The 1,034-foot-long ship
alongside the key.

♪

The megaship completes
its eight-day,

1,864-mile voyage
right on schedule.

Passengers disembark
to return home

After their mediterranean
adventure.

Msc bellissima is one of
the most innovative

Mega cruise ships in the world.

Built into its mighty structure

Is a series
of engineering marvels

That make this ship
the pinnacle

Of passenger vessel design.

A wide hull and small draft

Allows it to slide
into the shallowest ports,

Extra-quiet propellers
drive the ship

Without disturbing the guests,

An ingenious water plant

Turns the salty sea into
crystal-clear drinking water,

Fin stabilizers keep the ship
steady in the roughest weather,

Exhaust scrubbers
clean waste gases

And reduce noxious emissions.

This giant passenger vessel

Is one of the world's
biggest cruise ships.

Msc bellissima is built
to be the ultimate.