China to Build Huge Luxury Cruise Ship

The China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), the nation's largest shipbuilder, will build China’s first luxury cruise ship, which is expected to begin operations as early as 2021, said a report in SCMP.

China's first domestically built luxury cruise liner, designed to be bigger than the ill-fated Titanic, will be 323.6 meters long and 37.2 meters wide, will have 3,921 beds and accommodate 4,980 passengers.

CSSC has signed an agreement to build the 135,000-metric-tonne cruise ship in partnership with British-American cruise operator Carnival Corporation, the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and British Lloyd’s Register in Shanghai.

China is currently the world’s eighth-biggest cruise market and its  cruise market is developing fast with the number of outbound cruise passengers topping 2 million in 2016, according to figures from the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association.

Experts forecast Chinese will make 10 million cruise trips annually by 2025, becoming the most dynamic cruise market in the Asia-Pacific region.