Ειναι πολλα τα λεφτα, πολλα και τα βαπορια

[Nick the Greek]

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has signed a contract for up to three new 150,000-gt cruiseships from the former Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, in its first deal with the shipbuilder since the 1980s.

NCL is paying a total EUR 2.17bn for two firm orders, plus one option. The contract price is equal to some $2.8bn at today’s exchange rate. Each vessel will have 4,200 passenger berths.

The yard, now part of the Aker group, has not built ships for NCL for more than fifteen years. However the Asian-owned cruise company signalled today it wished to expand its yard relationships.

“We have successfully built exclusively in Germany for the last ten years but with our expanding newbuild program, we have felt the need to work with an additional yard,” said Colin Veitch, president and chief executive of NCL.

Aker Yards will deliver the two firm orders in fourth-quarter 2009 and second-quarter 2010 respectively. The option for a third, if exercised, would be handed over in first quarter of 2011.

The two firm orders will cost EUR 735m, with the third vessel slightly less at EUR 700m.

NCL said the ships would represent NCL’s third generation of ‘Fresstyle Cruising’ ships, aimed at shaking up the traditional concept of a cruiseship. More design details would be released closer to delivery, but the company said the ships would offer 60% more passenger space than NCL’s current largest vessels.

With the order NCL claims it is on track to own ‘by far’ the youngest fleet of the North American lines by 2010.

KT Lim, chairman of NCL and parent company Star Cruises said there would be practically nothing remaining of the original NCL, bought by the Asian group in 2000, by then.

Meanwhile the company says the order further underlines its belief in the North American market, where it is now concentrating all its growth, and blames high start-up costs on its Hawaii operation for ‘obscuring’ the excellent returns now being made on its international fleet.

NCL has placed all its recent orders with Germany’s Meyer Werft.

However the purchase of Chantiers de l’Atlantique by Aker in June appears to have kickstarted the new approach. NCL last ordered vessels at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in the 1980s and at Aker Yards' Finnish subsidiary in the 1990s.

The order is also the first won by the St Nazaire-based yard since the Aker group took over.

Πηγη η Tradewinds