Germany’s Meyer Werft has handed over the second LNG-powered Nova class cruise vessel to Silversea Cruises, the ultra-luxury brand of Royal Caribbean Group.
The delivery of Silver Ray took place on Tuesday in the Dutch port of Eemshaven, according to Silversea.
Following a conveyance of aabout 40km down the River Ems from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg at the end of April, Silver Ray completed her technical and nautical sea trials in the North Sea on May 8.
Silver Ray joins her sister ship, Silver Nova, marking an “important milestone” on Royal Caribbean Group’s journey to reduce emissions and carbon intensity.
Due to embark on her maiden voyage from Lisbon on June 15, Silver Ray will spend her inaugural season in the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic to the Americas in December 2024, Silversea said.
The new class of ships will operate using a trio of power sources including a fuel cell system, battery technology, and dual-fuel engines using LNG as the main fuel.
Meyer Werft previously said that the fuel cell system with an output of 4 megawatts will complement the LNG engines, supplying the ship with enough electricity to power the entire hotel operation.
Both of the ships have a travel capacity of 728 guests and a gross tonnage of 54,700 tons.