Singapore yard to transform Holland America Line ships into Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard has started work to transform Holland America Line’s Ryndam into P&O Cruises’ Pacific Eden.
Pacific Aria, formerly Holland America’s Statendam, will join Pacific Eden at the yard on 31 October in what will be Singapore’s first-ever double drydock project.
Over the next three weeks, more than 900 contractors from 43 different nationalities will spend around 250,000 man hours working onboard the ships. In total, each ship will spend 11 days in drydock and engineers will continue to work onboard while they sail to their new Australia homeports in November.
Each ship will receive an estimated 20,000sqm of carpet, 2,500sqm of wall coverings, more than 300 pieces of art, 2,500 pieces of furniture and 2,500 signs, as well as 500 litres of paint. Engineers will also reconfigure the ships with Australian power points and beer taps, while they will be filled with a total of nearly 5,000 products ranging from forks to furniture.
“We can’t wait to introduce Australians to Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden,” said Sture Myrmell, P&O Cruises’ senior vice president. “They’re unlike anything we’ve ever seen in these waters – they’re stylish but relaxed, just like modern Australia, so we think local cruisers will love them.”
Pacific Eden is scheduled to emerge from drydock on 3 November, when she will sail to Sydney Harbour via Fremantle and southern Australia. Pacific Aria will leave drydock on 12 November and sail straight to Sydney.
In an industry first, both ships will then be christened via social media during a dual naming ceremony in Sydney Harbour on 25 November. ARIA Award-winning singer Jessica Mauboy will share the official naming words for Pacific Aria via Twitter, while award-winning actress and TV presenter Kate Ritchie will do the same for Pacific Eden during the dual christening ceremony. The social media launch will also see the naming posted simultaneously on the godmothers’ Facebook and Instagram accounts and shared by P&O Cruises across its platforms.