Conditional agreement for largest cruise ships ever

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Kvaerner Masa-Yards have signed an agreement that could lead to a firm order for two 160,000g cruise ships. The design, developed jointly by the companies is named the “Ultra-Voyager”. A firm order is dependent on favourable conditions such as the euro-dollar exchange rate. The agreement, if confirmed, would result in one newbuilding, deliverable in 2006, and one option, for delivery in 2007 or 2008.

The “Ultra-Voyager” design is a development of the Voyager-class ships, currently the largest cruise ships in service in the world. It would have 15 percent extra space and passenger carrying capacity (about 3,600 double-occupancy). Royal Caribbean hopes the new ships will enjoy a lower capital and operating cost per berth than earlier Voyager-class ships.

The company hopes to finalise the order later this year. It may activate the agreement up to August 31, 2003, or under certain terms up to December 31, 2003.

“We are pleased that Royal Caribbean continues to place its faith in Kvaerner Masa-Yards and hope that conditions will allow us to proceed with our mutual plans,” says Jorma Eloranta, president and chief executive officer of Kvaerner Masa-Yards Inc. “We will work hard to improve our cost efficiency even further, without compromising our high quality standards.”

“We are nearing the completion of an aggressive shipbuilding program unprecedented in our history,” says Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean. “We are operating in a different environment today, and we anticipate that the company’s future fleet expansion will proceed at a more measured pace in terms of capacity, but not in terms of innovation.”