By
Michele Witthaus |
TUI Cruises has formalised its agreement with STX Finland for design and construction of a 97,000 gt cruise ship.
The contract for the vessel was signed on 27 November with delivery scheduled for spring 2014. Energy efficiency is a key feature of the ship, which represents around 5,500 man years of labour for STX Finland's Turku shipyard. There is an option for TUI Cruises to order another ship subject if approval is gained from TUI Cruises shareholders.
The vessel will be approx. 295 metres long and approx. 36 metres wide. The 2,500-passenger ship will have 1,250 staterooms and will be served by a 1,000-strong crew. Most of the staterooms will have their own balconies. A variety of restaurants, a theatre, a spa, a nightclub and a large deck area are planned for the ship.
Sujou Kim, CEO of STX Europe and STX Finland, said his company was extremely pleased to sign the contract with TUI Cruises. “This order is highly important for STX and STX Finland. By building this innovative ship we continue our successful and long history of building top class cruise vessels,” he remarked.
“This is a very important contract for STX Finlands Turku Shipyard and for the entire Finnish maritime cluster,” said Jari Anttila, Director of STX Finland's Turku shipyard. “We are delighted to deliver to TUI Cruises their first newbuilding which will represent the next generation of energy efficient and environmentally friendly cruise ship.”
Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises, commented: “Due to its outstanding positioning as a shipyard and long-term cooperation with Royal Caribbean Cruises, we trust that STX Finland is a great partner for us and will successfully realise our ideas in the new ship.”
The ship order builds on a period of growth for STX Europe, which on 28 November reported a third-quarter pre-tax profit of NKr535m ($91.3m), up from NKr195m a year earlier.