Approximately nine months after the keel laying of TUI Cruises' first new build Mein Schiff 3, TUI Cruises and STX Finland celebrated the keel laying of Mein Schiff 4 in the Turku shipyard.
The keel-laying ceremony marks the completion of a quarter of the work required to build a cruise ship. Out of the total number of 1,400 workers at the shipyard some 800 were employed to work on the steel blocks for Mein Schiff 4, processing about 21,000t of steel, reports Cruise Industry News.
During the keel-laying ceremony, the first fully assembled part of the ship - measuring approximately 19m in length, roughly 19 in width and weighing around 390t - was laid on the bottom of Turku shipyard's dry dock. Like her sistership, Mein Schiff 4 is being built using separate blocks that are welded together in the yard's building dock.
The ship's launch will take place in September 2014 and delivery is scheduled for spring 2015. At present, Mein Schiff 3 is almost 90%completed, while Mein Schiff 4 is almost 30% completed.
Each vessel will consume around 30% less energy compared to cruise ships of similar sizes, but, by using a combined exhaust gas treatment system to reduce emissions, they will also fully exploit what is currently technically feasible.
The two new well-being ships will have an overall length of approximately 294m, a breadth of about 36m and an approximate gross tonnage of 99,500. 1,253 cabins with 2,506 lower beds will be spread over 15 decks.
