Irving to build small cruiseship

Irving Shipbuilding Inc. in Canada will begin cutting steel for a new cruise ship next week, and construction of the vessel, said to be the first cruise ship built in Canada since the 1930s, could lead to a new niche market for the company.

Halifax Shipyard will build an 88-metre vessel for Pearl Seas Cruises LLC of Guildford, Conn., an affiliate of American Cruise Lines. The ship, to be delivered in May 2008 and accommodate 166 passengers, will be small by today?s standards but is aimed at a more upscale market, with a very plush interior and the latest technology throughout.

Irving spokesman Peter Williams sees the vessel as a stepping stone. “Once we have done this one, the step up to other types of cruise ships, albeit the same sort of size, should be relatively straightforward for us,” he said. “I?m convinced this is the first of hopefully a number of years working on cruise ships. We currently have three times as many serious inquiries for vessels as would be usual at this time of the year. We have six owners we are talking to right now with serious plans or (who) have actually given us specifications and drawings to price.”

Williams expects there will be worldwide demand for 15 to 20 of these smaller cruise vessels over the next five years. The ship?s hull will be built in the Halifax yard and the accommodations, or hotel, portion of the ship, with its sophisticated modern staterooms, will be built at Irving?s Woodside facility in Dartmouth. At peak production, the construction is expected to employ about 200 people.

Irving has an option to build a second, slightly larger vessel for Pearl Seas. Details are still being worked out, but Irving hopes to sign a contract for that ship within months.

Not many shipyards are building smaller cruise ships as the major yards in Europe prefer to work on the larger ones. However, a boom appears to be starting in the small cruise ship market according to Williams, “so it is important to be in it from the start,” he said.

The vessel?s itinerary will include ports in Atlantic Canada, New England and St-Pierre-Miquelon and on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. In the winter, the ship will sail in the Caribbean. The second vessel is expected to be based in Europe. Construction cost of the vessel is confidential.