A progress report on the design and pre-construction phase of the world’s first sustainable residential ship
The Construction Team Behind Our Landmark Residential Ship
Imagine the immense effort required to build a land-based residential community, and then think about the complexity of constructing a state-of-the-art cruise liner. Now, merge these two massive undertakings into a single project. That’s the scale of what we’re building—a fusion of residential living and maritime innovation.
We’re taking you behind the scenes in Split, Croatia, where our residential ship, MV Narrative is being designed and constructed. As progress continues, we’re sharing exclusive updates from our marine architects, Gelen Marine and our interior designers, Tillberg Design of Sweden.
Bringing this vision to life requires a global team of experts, each orchestrating countless moving parts to seamlessly come together. Here’s a snapshot of the departments and professionals driving this extraordinary endeavor.
The design and engineering process is divided into three phases:
- Initial Design (complete)
- Basic Design (underway)
- Final Design
Phase 1: Initial Design (Complete)
The first phase of the design process—Initial Design—focused on ensuring the ship’s concept was both technically feasible and compliant with international maritime regulations. This stage involved creating over 100 engineering plans and calculation documents, covering everything from structural integrity to safety systems. This included countless, meticulously detailed workshop drawings, each one essential to ensuring precision at every stage of construction. Dr. Paul Read, VP of ship construction and operations, estimates that up to 1,000 design prints will be created during the pre-construction phase alone.
Gelen Marine led the technical review to ensure compliance with specifications, operational efficiency, and maintainability, while Lloyd’s Register assessed key safety plans for regulatory approval.
Once finalized, the shipyard received the approved design, setting the foundation for architectural planning.
Several areas of documentation under the following categories are now complete:
- Ship stability
- Safe Return to Port (SRtP)
- Hull engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Machinery engineering
- Outfitting
- Safety
- Architecture
- Building standards
The Initial Design served as the basis for the Basic Design phase.
Phase 2: Basic Design
We are now well into the Basic Design phase upon renewing the ship-building contract and bringing on board various machinery and equipment suppliers. In this phase, we are working on integrating the suppliers into the overall systems design. Gelen Marine will review and approve everything related to quality, operability and technical compliance and Lloyds Register will sign off on all safety plans. Let’s take a closer look.
Engineering Safety and Stability at Sea
Before construction can begin, meticulous safety planning, rigorous testing, and strict regulatory certification are essential to ensure the vessel is built to withstand the demands of the open sea. Every structural component must meet the highest industry standards, guaranteeing both safety and comfort for future residents. Gelen Marine has completed comprehensive weight and center of gravity calculations and other key safety measures critical to the ship’s stability.
Engineering designs for the ship's stability analysis
Ensuring stability while maintaining optimal maneuverability and onboard comfort requires precise alignment of the vessel’s center of gravity and buoyancy. Project engineers have meticulously developed structural main-class drawings for hull engineering—an essential foundation for damage stability studies. These studies evaluate potential emergency scenarios, such as impacts and flooding, by analyzing how water would spread through compromised compartments and identifying containment strategies to mitigate risks.
The insights from these analyses drive critical design decisions. For MV Narrative, this process led to strategic changes to enhance overall stability. Based on these findings, engineers have completed the ship’s Safe Return to Port (SRtP) documentation, ensuring all evacuation and emergency response protocols are fully optimized. With these rigorous safety measures in place, one thing is certain: as we bring this extraordinary vessel to life, we do so with confidence in its resilience and reliability.
MV Narrative employs a modular technique known as block construction
These foundational engineering milestones mark significant progress in bringing MV Narrative to life. The electrical engineering team has completed a comprehensive voltage analysis, ensuring the ship’s power systems—from lighting and navigation to HVAC and onboard amenities—are fully optimized for efficiency and reliability. Meanwhile, the machinery engineering team has successfully developed key systems essential for both safety and performance, including the bilge system for flood prevention, the propulsion system for smooth and efficient movement, and the main engine design to power the vessel through the open seas.
Coming soon
Alongside everything technical, Tillberg Design of Sweden is simultaneously working on the interior design of all residential units and public spaces. Stay tuned for more information on the architectural designs for the public spaces where we’ll look at the progress of refining the ship’s layout and shaping its essential features.
One of the architectural design drawings for the marina
"Designing and building MV Narrative is more than shipbuilding—it’s engineering a floating residential community. Every detail, from structural integrity to onboard amenities, must integrate seamlessly to ensure safety, comfort, and long-term sustainability at sea."
~ Dr. Paul Read, Executive VP of Ship Operations