Helsinki Shipyard signs contractual agreement for another 5-star cruise vessel

Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard Oy said it has an order from shipping line Swan Hellenic to build one luxury expedition cruise vessel of 12,000gt. The order is worth 150 million euros.

Two vessels for Swan are already in Helsinki Shipyard’s orderbook. In September, the keel of the first cruise vessel for the British cruise line, to be named SH Minerva, was laid at Helsinki Shipyard. The now-agreed 125m-long ship is designed to explore locations difficult to access. It will carry 192 passengers in 96 cabins, mostly with large balconies, and a crew of 140. Design work has already started and the construction will begin in the summer of 2021. It is scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2022. The procurement of the main equipment for the third vessel has also already started on a fast schedule, as the main goal is to stick to the schedules agreed with the customer, the yard added.

The new vessel is larger than its predecessors and designed to sail to all continents. “The new order is significant for Helsinki Shipyard, as it shows our customers’ confidence in our operations and is also a strong signal of the long-term nature of our operations,” said Mr Carl-Gustaf Rotkirch, the shipyard’s chief executive officer. “In these times in the world, this is a very good signal, not only for Helsinki Shipyard but also for the Helsinki maritime industry and the whole country’s maritime cluster.”

The vessel ordered now will feature a 4.6-MW diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system with selective catalytic reduction, a 3-MW battery package and a PC6 ice-strengthened hull.