Meyer Werft and Saga lays the keel of Spirit of Discovery

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 29 June 2018 29 June 2018

The keel was laid down yesterday for Spirit of Discovery, the first new vessel for the British shipping company Saga Cruises at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. The first block of the new ship weighs 320 tonnes and is 5.5 metres high, 23.5 metres long and 20 metres wide. This is the first ship of its kind for Great Britain and will be delivered in summer 2019.

Lance Batchelor (Chief Executive Officer of the Saga Group), Sir Sebastian Wood (British ambassador in Berlin) and Tim Meyer (Managing Director of Meyer Werft) came together to lay a “lucky penny” underneath the first block. The block has been lowered onto the dock bracing, and now the hull can be assembled. This is also going to use Building Dock I again for complete new builds at the shipyard. It also means three cruise ships will now be delivered to various customers in 2019 and 2020, as opposed to the two ships that were originally planned. “This implies that we do offer additional jobs for specialists within our organization," said Tim Meyer.

The Spirit of Discovery is the first of two ships for the successful English cruise line, Saga. The ships have an overall length of 236 metres, a width of 31.2 metres and a tonnage measurement of 58,250 gross tons. They can accommodate 999 passengers. Another new ship will follow in summer 2020.

The new ships will be tailored to the English market with a completely new design to make them stand out in every port, and their interior design and technology will set new standards.

Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard lays the keel of Seven Seas Splendor

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 28 June 2018 28 June 2018

The keel laying ceremony was held today at the Ancona shipyard for the Seven Seas Splendor, the second super luxury cruise ship that Fincantieri is building for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, brand of the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. The delivery is scheduled for 2020.

The ceremony was attended, among others, by Jason Montague, President and CEO of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, who was welcomed by Giovanni Stecconi, the Fincantieri Ancona yard manager.

Like her sister ship Seven Seas Explorer, delivered by Fincantieri at the Sestri Ponente (Genova) shipyard in 2016, the new vessel will be 55,000 gross tonnes with accommodation for 750 passengers. She will be built using the very latest in environmental protection technologies. The interiors will be particularly sophisticated, with every attention paid to passenger comfort.

“Seven Seas Explorer has earned remarkable acclaim since debuting in 2016 as the most luxurious ship ever built. Now, her sister Seven Seas Splendor builds upon the success of that lauded ship as it strives to perfect uncompromised luxury on the seas” said Jason Montague, President and Chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “In our pursuit to exceed guest expectations, we are creating a work of art, from bow to stern. Wherever you turn on Seven Seas Splendor, you will be surrounded by elegance, comfort and hospitality."

Luigi Matarazzo, Fincantieri Executive Vice President New Building - Merchant Ships Business Unit, said: “We are satisfied to have the opportunity to partner for the second time with a ship owner like Regent Seven Seas Cruises. It means that we have met all the expectations of a company that has made quality and sophistication the distinguishing features of its business. I am sure that this vessel will represent another success for our shipyard in Ancona, which confirms its mission in the medium-sized luxury ships segment, but also for the Fincantieri Group, a leader in the cruise market."

SunStone Ships celebrates keel-laying of Greg Mortimer

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 26 June 2018 26 June 2018

SunStone Ships, Inc. announced the June 12, 2018, keel-laying of the first Infinity Class vessel at China Merchants Heavy Industries in Haimen, China. The Greg Mortimer is the first passenger ship to combine European design and technology with the efficiency of Chinese shipbuilding. “We are pleased to have brought together world-class design from Tillberg, ground-breaking X-Bow technology from Ulstein, interior construction by Makinen and over a century of shipbuilding expertise from CMIH. This dream team is helping us pioneer a new age of expedition cruising, and we are proud to be a part of it,” remarked Niels-Erik Lund, SunStone’s President & CEO.

The first Infinity-class vessel, to be named Greg Mortimer, will be delivered in August 2019 to Aurora Expeditions, Australia on a long-term, deck and engine timecharter. The vessel will operate Antarctic cruises in the winter; and Arctic cruises in the summer. The technical management will be the responsibility of Cruise Management International, Miami, while the hotel management will depend on the expertise of CMI Leisure, Miami.

Representing Aurora Expeditions were Messrs. Neville Buch, Chairman, and Robert Halfpenny, President. Also participating in the keel-laying ceremony, were representatives of the partners in all of the Infinity Class vessels: China Merchants Industry Holdings, China Merchants Heavy Industries, Ulstein Design and Solutions, Makinen-Finland, Tillberg Design-US, SunStone Ships and SunStone Marine Advisors-Miami.

The Greg Mortimer is the first in the series of Infinity Class vessels ordered by SunStone in a Framework Agreement for four firm orders and six options.

Costa Cruises and Fincantieri celebrates float out of Costa Venezia – its first ship being built specifically for China market

Details

Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 22 June 2018 22 June 2018

Costa Cruises and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, one of the largest shipbuilding groups in the world, today celebrated the official float-out ceremony of Costa Venezia – Costa first ship designed and built specifically for the China market. The ceremony was held at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, where the ship is being built.

As part of today’s float-out ceremony, the new Costa ship officially reached the sea for the first time. The celebration followed the protocol provided by the seafaring tradition for such occasions, by flooding the basin where the ship took shape in recent months, following the cutting of the ribbon and the breaking of the bottle by the float-out ceremony’s godmother Chiara Ustulin, an employee of Monfalcone shipyard. Costa Venezia will enter service in March 2019, once the interior fittings have been completed.

More than just a new addition to its existing China-based fleet, the Costa Venezia marks a new milestone for the Italian company and its commitment to the future of the Chinese cruise industry.

“As our first ship built specifically for the Chinese market, Costa Venezia marks a new era not just for Costa Cruises and Fincantieri but for the Chinese cruise industry as a whole,” said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Group Asia. “From its initial conception all the way through to today’s float-out ceremony and beyond, everything about Costa Venezia has been designed with the Chinese consumer in mind. Costa Venezia will continue to deliver on Costa Cruises authentic Italian experience while also providing a unique vacation experience that will resonate with Chinese guests by being fully tailored to their travel preferences.”

“Today we celebrate a milestone in the construction of Costa Venezia which, together with its sister ship, will strengthen Costa's commitment in an emerging market,” said Luigi Matarazzo, Fincantieri Executive Vice President New Building - Merchant Ships Business Unit. “Thanks to the effort of the Monfalcone shipyard, in a moment of exceptional growth of the cruise industry, we confirm our global leadership in this sector and our long term relationship with Costa Cruises”.

Designed with the specific leisure and entertainment requirements for Chinese guests, Costa Venezia will bring to life the passion of Venetian and Italian culture. The ship’s theatre will be inspired by the Venetian “La Fenice” theatre; the main atrium will recall “Piazza San Marco”, while restaurants will be dedicated to the typical architecture of Venetian alleys. Costa Venezia will also feature original “gondolas”, made by local artisans. An enchanting masked party will recreate on board the magic atmosphere of the famous Carnival of Venice. Guests will also be able to sample the delights of fine Italian dining, luxury Italian shopping and world-class Italian entertainment, while enjoying home comforts such as a range of Chinese cuisines and Chinese-style karaoke and the "Golden Party", with lots of surprises and gifts to be won every ten minutes.

Before arriving to China next May, Costa Venezia will set sail for two cruises, both departing from the Italian port of Trieste. On March 3, 2019 the vernissage cruise to Greece and Croatia, followed on March 8 by a 53-day inaugural cruise, in the footsteps of Marco Polo, making its way through the Mediterranean, the middle east, Southeast and East Asia, before arriving at Tokyo. The vernissage and the inaugural cruises will be the only departures available for European and American guests to enjoy a holiday on the new ship. Starting from 18 May 2019, Costa Venezia will be dedicated to Chinese guests, offering them an Italian twist throughout East Asia, with homeport in Shanghai.

Costa Venezia will mark the latest step in a long list of innovations from the first international cruise company to begin serving the local Chinese market in 2006. At a length of 323 meters and measuring 135,500 gross tons with a capacity of more than 5,100 guests, Costa Venezia will be Costa largest ship operating homeport cruises from China. Costa Venezia will also be followed by the launch of its sister ship in 2020, being built by Fincantieri at Marghera shipyard. These two new ships for Asia will bring to 14 the total number of Costa ships built by Fincantieri in Italy, for a total investment of over 6 billion euros. The projects for construction of the new ships require thousands of shipyard workers and ancillary employees. Employment benefits not only concerns the shipyards but, above all for the interior design, also external companies, most of which are Italian.

Overall, the Costa Group currently has seven new ships on order by 2023. Costa Venezia will be followed by Costa Smeralda, the new flagship of Costa Cruises, scheduled for delivery in October 2019.