http://www.shipsmonthly.com • Summer 2018 • (^13)
GAS POWER
COSTA
The fi rst of Costa Cruises’ LNG
ships will be named Costa
Smerelda at a naming ceremony
in Savona on 3 November 2019
after a 15-day maiden voyage
beginning in Hamburg. Currently
being built at the Meyer Turku
yard in Finland, the ship is one
of a series of eight such vessels,
with four being built in Turku and
the others in Papenburg for four
Carnival Corporation brands.
The overall design is based
on the Aida product, with a
central three-deck Theatrium,
although on the Costa ships this
will be named the Colosseo.
A particularly interesting feature
will be the CoDe, the Costa
Design Museum celebrating
Italian design, generally in
relation to Costa’s ships.
The next generation of
NCL ships. Ncl
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news
PROJECT LEONARDO NEW LIVERY AND REBRAND
MARELLA AND MEIN SCHIFF
MARELLA/TUI CRUISES
Marella Cruises’ Marella Discovery
2 (1995/69,472gt) suffered engine
failure while outbound from
Venis on 14 May. Three tugs
manoeuvred her back to a berth at
the Venice Cruise Terminal, where
she remained overnight for repairs.
Marella Discovery 2 joined
the Marella (formerly Thomson)
fl eet in 2017 and prior to that was
Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the
Seas. Marella took delivery of
Marella Explorer (1996/76,998gt)
in May, following a refi t at Cadiz.
Previously Mein Schiff 1 for TUI
Cruises, she was built as the
second ship in the Century class
for Celebrity Cruises but has been
with TUI for about eight years.
The chartered Marella Spirit
(1983/33,930gt) will be returned
to her owners at the end of her
2018 season, to be replaced
in 2019 by Marella Explorer
2 (1995/72,458gt), originally
Celebrity’s Century and latterly
Skysea Golden Era.
Meanwhile, the new TUI
Cruises’ 115,000gt Mein Schiff 1
arrived in Kiel from her builders at
the end of April and was named
on 11 May. TUI subsidiary Hapag-
Lloyd has now ordered a third
expedition ship from Fincantieri
subsidiary Vard in Norway. The
fi rst two of these 230-passenger
vessels will be delivered in 2019.
ANTARCTICA 21
With the introduction of the
new Magellan Explorer in 2019,
Antarctica XXI has rebranded
itself as Antarctica 21. The
new ship will carry just 100
passengers (limited to 69 on
air cruises) and a crew and
expedition staff of 60.
The principal concept for the
ship, which is certifi ed to Polar
Class 6, is extended Antarctic
stays of up to 60 days, with
passengers being fl own to and
from the ship, which is based at
King George Island in the South
Shetland Islands.
In order to operate these
itineraries, Magellan Explorer
can carry 720 tonnes of fuel,
and her desalination plant is
capable of producing 24 tonnes
of fresh water daily. Hitherto,
the company has operated with
ships chartered for a number
of cruises each year, including
Ocean Nova and Hebridean Sky.
NCL
Details of the next new class of
NCL ships have been released.
The so-called Project Leonardo
comprises four ships, with options
for a further pair. The current series
of Breakaway Plus vessels is being
built by Meyer at Papenburg,
but the new ships were ordered
from Fincantieri, because there
were no suitable slots available
at the German yard. Carrying
3,300 lower berth passengers, the
Leonardo class are smaller than
the most recent builds, which
have a capacity of 4,200.
The NCL vessels and the MSC
Seaside class, also being built
by Fincantieri, are based on a
common general design. Delivery
of the fi rst of these 140,00gt ships
is scheduled for June 2022, with
further units arriving at yearly
intervals. If exercised, the options
will follow in 2025 and 2026.
NCL will be utilising traditional
technology in the propulsion
system and will not be going
down the LNG path.
The new Mein Schiff 1 was named in
Hamburg on 11 May by the German
beach volleyball gold medallists Laura
Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst as
part of the port’s 829th anniversary
celebrations. TUi cRUises
Artist’s impression of the new
livery. aNTaRcTica 21
nandana
(Nandana)
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