Nor Cruises has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for up to five 82,000-ton cruise ships, set to be built at Shanghai Waigaoqiao, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
The deal was announced during a ceremony at SMM Hamburg and is for two ships plus three options.
If confirmed, the MOU would represent the first large-ship order from a foreign company for CSSC.
While further details of the project were not revealed, the South China Morning Post reported that the newbuilds would adopt designs from Fincantieri.
According to business registry data, Nor Cruises AS was incorporated in early 2023. An address listed on its corporate filings traces back to a Regus shared coworking office just outside Oslo, Norway.
Originally founded as Venera Nor AS, the company is said to offer technical and project consultancy in the maritime industry.
The company’s 2025 annual account filings say the company has been formed to build a cruise ship, but will need to raise capital first. In 2025 they raised $1.4 million and have $180,000 in loans from shareholders; and so far this year they have raised $310,000 with $100,000 in loans.
The hurdle, they say, is that they are trying to raise the money in the Middle East and because of circumstances there this has become difficult but the board believes that circumstances are improving and they will be able to raise the rest of their financing in the form of equity or convertible loans in the near future.
The Norwegian company has no registered employees according to its corporate filing, but lists Terje Berg Adolfsen as general manager and Knut Christian Abrahamsen as chair, according to a corporate registration filing.
Other board members include Svein Eloff Pedersen, Kjetil Bogstad and Ronny Bjørnådal.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Adolfsen is CEO of the company, having previously served as COO from 2018. He did not immediately return a request for comment.
Pedersen’s LinkedIn lists him as CTO of the company since 2018 and based in Dubai; a request for comment was not immediately returned.
Both have decades of experience in the maritime industry, mostly working for Norwegian companies in insurance, ship management and offshore.
In addition to signing the MOU with Nor Cruises, CSSC is also said to be pressing ahead with an order from Adora Cruises.
As reported by Cruise Industry News, the Adora announced plans to build two large cruise ships in China earlier this year.
The South China Morning Post also reported that CSSC is in contact with other potential clients, including Resorts World Cruises, which runs the StarDream Cruises brand.
