Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has finalized a contract with Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven for an 80,000-ton, 2,000-passenger sister ship to the Norwegian Sky to be delivered Sept. 1, 2001. The contract includes an option for a third vessel.

“Our objective is to get a fleet of four to six Sky­ class vessels,” said Geir Aune, president and CEO.

In other news, NCL has sold the Aida back to her former German owners for $180 million, which is what NCL paid for the ship in 1997. In the meantime, NCL said it had earned $20 million in charter fees during the two-year period that it owned the ship.