Keel Laid for First Virgin Voyages Ship
A keel laying ceremony was held at Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente shipyard in Genoa, Italy for the first of three new cruise ships to be built for the Virgin Group’s new cruise line arm Virgin Voyages.
The ceremony was attended by Richard Branson, founder of Virgin; Tom McAlpin, President and CEO of Virgin Voyages; Alberto Maestrini, Fincantieri General Manager; Giovanni Toti, President of the Liguria Region; Marco Bucci, the mayor of Genoa; and other authorities.
Each of the new ships will weigh about 110,000 gross tons and will be 278 meters long and 38 meters wide, with more than 1,400 guest cabins that can host more than 2,700 passengers and 1,150 crew members.
The ships will stand out for original design and craftsmanship, the builder said, adding they will include innovative ideas and design solutions, notably for energy recovery, such as an energy production system of approximately 1 MW, which uses the diesel engine’s waste heat.
The three vessels, the first in the Virgin fleet, are scheduled for delivery in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.