Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has cut first steel for the first of two LNG-powered cruise ships being built for Princess Cruises, a Carnival Corporation brand.
The steel cutting ceremony took place last week in San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine) at Centro Servizi Navali, a company that specialized in logistics and production of sheet metal for the Fincantieri yards located in northeastern Italy. The ship will be built in the Monfalcone yard.
At 175,000 gross tons the “Sphere” vessels will be the largest ships built so far in Italy.
They will each accommodate approximately 4,300 guests and will be based on a next-generation platform design, being the first Princess Cruises ships to be dual-fuel powered primarily by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), seen as the cleanest fossil fuel, which will reduce air emissions and marine gasoil usage.