Chantiers de l’Atlantique collaborates with NAPA to flesh out digital shipyard vision

French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique has entered a collaborative agreement with Finnish maritime software provider NAPA to enhance the efficiency of its hull design process by co-developing advanced 3D software and digital workflows.

As informed, the two companies will collaborate to digitalize and enhance the detailed design processes at Chantiers de l’Atlantique using NAPA Steel, a 3D structural design tool.

By integrating NAPA Steel with the software used in the production design stage, the combined solution will enable teams of engineers and naval architects to communicate swiftly and work together from the basic design stage, with hull design and outfitting, through to production design. This helps manage growing design complexity and allows Chantiers de l’Atlantique to respond to the industry needs for efficient and innovative vessels.

This digital leap is driven by the recognition that no software alone can meet all the needs of the design process, from the basic to production design. Tackling this challenge, Chantiers de l’Atlantique adopted a pragmatic approach. This is where enterprises can bring together different software to perform a particular function.

By bringing together engineers in charge of structures, propulsion, electrical, general arrangements and weight estimations, this collaboration helps ensure smooth coordination and optimal performance in shipbuilding projects where complex requirements and frequent changes demand agility and precision, as per the shipbuilder. Furthermore, through the interface between the NAPA 3D model and production design 3D model, the 3D models created by structural teams can be made available earlier to their colleagues in outfitting and production designs, thereby saving time and boosting efficiency.

The new deal follows a pilot that confirmed the potential of NAPA Steel to streamline ship design workflows, resulting in tangible time and cost savings.

The partnership with NAPA is said to mark ‘a new milestone’ in Chantiers de l’Atlantique’s ‘digital shipyard’ strategy.

“This collaboration with NAPA helps us raise the bar in building the next generation of safer, smarter and more efficient vessels,” Laurent Castaing, CEO at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, commented.

Castaing added that for Chantiers de l’Atlantique, which produces cruise, navy ships and offshore installations, managing design complexity is business critical, requiring efficient and streamlined workflows through a vessel’s design and production phases.

“Using agile tools and digital processes is at the heart of this, enabling our teams to take innovation to the next level and respond to our customers’ needs for efficient and future-proof designs,” Castaing continued.

“It has been an exciting journey with Chantiers de l’Atlantique to take their digital shipyard vision to new heights. Co-developing a solution that makes greater use of 3D-based digital tools and workflows is the way forward for ship design, unlocking a new level of collaboration and efficiency,” Mikko Kuosa, CEO at NAPA, said.

“Today this is more important than ever, at a time when there is growing demand for innovative vessels to support shipping’s energy transition. The digital era gives shipyards a solid foundation to innovate, while also enhancing their own productivity to maintain strong businesses.”

Last year, NAPA and compatriot software company CADMATIC teamed up with South Korea’s shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) to accelerate the digital transformation of the shipbuilding industry.

The trio aims to develop a next-generation ship design and information management solution, which will also embed a product lifecycle management (PLM) system. The partnership will harness advanced 3D models and the latest developments in information management technology to create intelligent solutions to support the entire shipbuilding process.

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