Construction work has begun in Papenburg on the first new ship for the British shipping company, Saga Cruises. Today, Meyer Werft started its steel-cutting process for the “Spirit of Discovery”, the first ship to be delivered in summer 2019, the company said in its press release.
Lance Batchelor (CEO of Saga Group) and Tim Meyer (Managing Director of Meyer Werft) pressed the start button on the computer-operated cutting machine that will process the first sheets of steel for the new ship. This marked the start of the ship’s production.
This project will “reactivate” Meyer Werft’s Building Dock I, which is not currently being used to manufacture new ships. 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.
The “Spirit of Discovery” is the first of two ships for the successful English cruise line. The ships each have an overall length of 236 metres, a width of 31.2 metres and a tonnage measurement of 58,250 GT. 999 passengers can be accommodated. 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.