Another Behemoth From Saint-Nazaire

The 236,857gt Wonder of the Seas sailed from the Saint-Nazaire yard on 5 November for drydocking and final work in Marseilles before starting service next March with Royal Caribbean International.

The 362m Wonder of the Seas is the latest evolution of the Oasis-class. The seminal Oasis of the Seas and sister Allure of the Seas were completed at Finland’s Turku shipyard in 2009-2010, while the first of the follow-on series ordered from Saint-Nazaire, Harmony of the Seas, made her debut in 2016. The second of the Harmony variant, Symphony of the Seas, was commissioned in 2018. It is understood that the new vessel will be formally handed over in early 2022, following the sojourn at Chantier Naval de Marseille.

As the third of the French-built trio, Wonder of the Seas had originally been intended for operation out of Shanghai and Hong Kong, on the strength of the fast-growing Chinese appetite for cruising. It was subsequently decided to have her first undertake a series of Caribbean voyages out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, starting in March 2022, followed by transfer to Barcelona for the Mediterranean summer season, before returning to the Caribbean over the 2022/2023 winter period.

The orderbook at Chantiers de l’Atlantique includes a fourth Harmony-type newbuild, which will be the sixth of the Oasis family, slated for 2023 completion.

Harmony of the Seas had surpassed the original Oasis of the Seas in size by 2,000gt and about 2m in length, while achieving somewhere in the order of a 20% efficiency gain. While retaining the main hull dimensions of the Harmony-type, Wonder of the Seas brings a further progression as regards earning capacity expressed in passenger facilities and numbers. Whereas Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas each have some 2,747 cabins affording a double-occupancy figure of 5,494 and maximum passenger intake of 6,780, the latest ship incorporates 2,867 cabins for 5,734 passengers on a double-occupancy basis, and 6,988 at maximum.

Such is the enclosed volume of the latest iteration that Wonder of the Seas is attributed with a registered tonnage of 236,857gt, compared to the 226,963gt of the Harmony of the Seas, and 228,081gt of Symphony of the Seas. The range of amenities has been continually extended through consecutive deliveries, and Wonder of the Seas hosts new features such as a cantilevered pool bar, and interactive childrens’ play area, plus an eighth addition to the cruise line’s concept of distinct, themed public areas, known as “neighbourhoods”.

The diesel-electric Wonder of the Seas provides another showcase, at considerable scale in terms of sea-going plant, for Wartsila medium-speed engine technology. The power station-type installation comprises six gensets based on 12- and 16-cylinder vee-form models of the wide-bore 46F diesel, offering a nominal, maximum mechanical output of some 96,000kW. Hybrid scrubbers render flexibility to run in either open-loop or closed-loop mode using seawater to remove SOx from the exhaust streams. The auxiliary/emergency power system is founded on two aggregates driven by MTU 16V4000 engines.

Main propulsion potency and shiphandling precision is achieved by a triple Azipod setup, employing AO units rated at 20.5MW, so potentially capable of delivering a combined thrust effect of around 60,000kW. Fore-end rotational capability, to meet the exacting demands of manoeuvring the towering vessel in exposed harbours and at tight berths without tug assistance, is conferred by four powerful bow tunnel thrusters.

The departure of Wonder of the Seas from the construction dock at Saint-Nazaire has cleared the way for the assembly of a huge new gantry crane to span the dock. Ordered from Konecranes of Finland, the rail-mounted gantry crane will provide a 1,250t lift capacity for the heaviest hull blocks. The 10m-higher clearance compared to the existing gantry will also facilitate handling of all the superstructure elements of the largest ships to be built at the yard.

The dock will provide the cradle for the first of MSC Cruises’ 205,700gt World-class series, the MSC World Europa.