The steel of the first of two LNG cruise ships for Princess Cruises, a brand within Carnival Corporation & plc, took place in San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine) at Centro Servizi Navali, Fincantieri said in a statement.

This is a company specialised in logistics and production of sheet metal for the Fincantieri yards located in northeastern Italy. The ship will be built in the Monfalcone yard.

At 175,000 gross tons the “Sphere” vessels will be the largest ships built so far in Italy. They will each accommodate approximately 4,300 guests and will be based on a next-generation platform design, being the first Princess Cruises ships to be dual-fuel powered primarily by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). 

According to the original plans, the first ship of the class was due for delivery in 2023 and the second one two years later. Fincantieri did not mention the delivery date of the ships in its statement on the start of work on the first ship.