Germany’s Meyer Werft has held a keel-laying ceremony for the second LNG-powered Nova class cruise vessel it is building for Silversea Cruises, the ultra-luxury brand of Royal Caribbean Group.
The ceremony took pace at Meyer Werft’s yard in Papenburg on March 23, according to a statement by Sliversea.
Meyer Werft started building the LNG-powered Silver Ray in November last year.
Silver Ray is a sister ship to Silver Nova which is nearing completion at Meyer Weft and will join Silversea’s fleet this summer, Silversea said.
The firm expects the second LNG-powered ship to enter service in summer 2024.
A first for Silversea, both Nova class ships will incorporate an asymmetrical design and a horizontal layout, with public spaces and suites spanning the entire length of each ship.
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 as the first large-scale installation of its kind in the cruise industry, supplying the ship with enough electricity to power the entire hotel operation.
Both of the ships will have a travel capacity of 728 guests and a gross tonnage of 54,700 tons.