Genting Hong Kong and the newly formed Lloyd Werft Group, Germany have signed first shipbuilding contracts for ten cruise ships, comprising of two mega cruise ships for Star Cruises and eight vessels for Crystal Cruises, Genting said in a press release.
The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Uwe Beckmeyer, State Secretary of Maritime Affairs, Mr. Erwin Sellering, Prime Minister of the State Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Mr.Martin Günthner, Senator for Economics and Port Affairs of Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Chairman of Genting Hong Kong.
Star Cruises has designed the “Global Class” of ships for worldwide cruising, each measuring 201,000 gross tons with 5,000 lower berths. Delivery of the “Global Class” series of ships will commence between 2019 and 2020 starting with one ship a year and eventually increasing to two ships a year. The first two ships ordered in the “Global Class” series are designed with “Chinese Characteristics” and they will be the first purpose built cruise ships deployed for the contemporary Chinese market.
“Passengers on our “Global Class” ships will enjoy an international class cruise experience to all parts of the world, yet in an environment where they will feel at home, whether it is food, culture, shows, enrichment programs or excursions,” says Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay. “With the first two ships, we are focused on delivering a world-class vacation experience for Chinese cruise passengers at an affordable price whilst enjoying fun-filled onboard and on-land adventures in many cities in the most seamless way, without the necessity of checking-in and checking-out of airports and hotels.”
Genting Hong Kong pioneered year-round cruising in Asia 23 years ago with Star Cruises and found further success with the acquisition of Norwegian Cruise Line 16 years ago - rejuvenating and growing the line to be the third largest and most profitable cruise line on a per berth basis in the United States. “Now it is time to come home and rebuild Star Cruises with a fleet of brand-new vessels which will transform Star Cruises to be the youngest, largest and most innovative cruise line in Asia and reclaim our leadership position with our “Global Class” series of quality-built mega cruise ships,” added Tan Sri KT Lim during the signing ceremony in Wismar, Germany.
Genting Hong Kong’s stable of brands include Crystal Cruises for the international luxury cruise market, Dream Cruises for the Asian luxury cruise market and Star Cruises for the contemporary cruise market. In order to produce sufficient ships for early deliveries for its rapid fleet expansion, Genting has purchased four shipyards in Germany to form the Lloyd Werft Group, which will eventually produce two mega ships of over 200,000 gross tons each and a mid-size ship of 50,000 gross tons a year.
“We are pleased that Genting chose Lloyd Werft Group for the construction of their new vessels as the company has built all but one of its new cruise ships in Germany for the Star, Dream and NCL brands due to the company’s desire for quality-built cruise ships,” says Rüdiger Pallentin, the Managing Director of Lloyd Werft Group. “We have the ability to tap into the complex cruise ship subcontractor industry in Europe, many of whom are centered in Germany and we can build cruise ships without major uncertainties in delivery and pricing.
The Lloyd Werft Group has two huge covered new building drydocks, a ship launching platform and half a million square meter of covered fabrication halls to build quality cruise ships in all weather conditions.”
Lloyd Werft was founded in 1857 and initially focused on the general ship repair business, moving into the conversion and newbuilding businesses in the 1970s. With the newly acquired yards at the Baltic Sea in Wismar (560,000 sqm), Warnemünde (848,000 sqm) and Stralsund (343,000 sqm), the Lloyd Werft Group was formed in 2016, optimizing the strengths of each yard for design, fabrication, outfitting and final assembly using the two large covered dry docks in Wismar and Warnemünde and one ship launching lift in Stralsund. The Lloyd Werft Group currently employs about 1,700 people and is set to create up to 1,000 more new jobs in all areas of shipyard business.