It’s time to get excited as work has begun on the third Oasis-class ship for Royal Caribbean International. It’s also been confirmed that the new ship – currently nicknamed Oasis 3 by Royal Caribbean and A34 by the shipbuilders until the official name is announced – will be the biggest cruise ship in the world.
At a ceremony on Monday, the chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean, Richard Fain, pushed the button that triggered the cutting of the first piece of steel, which was a silhouette of the ship. This was then signed by Fain himself along with the Royal Caribbean president and vice-president, Adam Goldstein and Harri Kulovaara respectively, as well as the STX chief executive Laurent Castaing and the shipbuilders’ operations director Jean Yves Jaouen.
STX also released a detailed fact list which revealed that the ship will measure at 362.15 metres long, which is 2.15 metres longer than her sister ships and makes her the largest vessel. She will also have an extra 2,718 gross tonnage, and she’ll be able to accommodate 6,360 people, which is 42 more than the Allure of the Seas can cope with.
What’s interesting is that Castaing, now the chief executive of the shipyard, was just an apprentice 27 years ago when Royal Caribbean ordered one of the former ships of its fleet, the Sovereign of the Seas. It shows the long-standing relationship that the two companies have had, and how people have grown through both.
The name of the ship, along with further details on what she will include, will no doubt be released over the coming months as we look towards her launch, which is currently schedule for Spring 2016. Fain did say “We have a few things up our sleeve but we will keep them close to our vest. There is an opportunity to tweak some things, but we are not fundamentally changing a successful design.”
By Ian Lewis
Google
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