TUI Cruises has ordered two new cruise ships from Fincantieri.
The new class of vessel will be powered by LNG and will be built at the Monfalcone shipyard. The ships will delivered in 2024 and in 2026, respectively.
It marks the third ship order in the last two weeks, and pushes the orderbook to 110 new ships.
Fincantieri said the ships would be around 161,000 tons, making them the largest in TUI’s fleet, which is getting new 110,000-ton ships in 2019 and 2023 as well.
“With the new class of ships we are responding to the wishes of our guests and creating offerings that will also inspire new cruise passengers. As with the other ships in the fleet, the passenger/space ratio remains generous,” stated Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises. “The decision to run the two additional low-emission new builds is a logical continuation of our environmental strategy.
“With the new class of ship we are responding to the wishes of our guests and creating offerings that will also inspire new cruise passengers to spend a holiday on board with us. As with the other ships in the fleet, the passenger/space ratio remains generous,” she continued.
TUI Group recently said its cruise brands were benefiting from a “shortage of supply” in a recent investor presentation.
While commenting the announcement, Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: “These will be the largest ships ever built in Italy: we proved once more we can provide the market with the best mix of reliability and innovation, pillars of Made in Italy and distinguishing features of Fincantieri in the global shipbuilding landscape. The project we developed and offered to the client allowed us to achieve this outstanding commercial record, which is not just about adding a new brand to our client portfolio, but also a confirmation of the absolutely cutting-edge technological content of our products. All of these factors consolidate our leadership in the field and further extend the workload horizon of our shipyards, which has no comparables in any other industrial sector.”
