The keel-laying cermony for the second of Fjord Line’s two new cruise ferries were marked at the shipyard in Gdansk on Thursday 15 December 2011.
“Laying the keel” has more symbolic than practical significance in that the keels of the modern ships no longer stretch the traditional way. Yet is this concept of the procedure indicating that the vessel is now taking shape.
Fjord Line has ordered two new cruise ferries from Bergen Group Fosen. It is the yard Polish yard Stocznia Gdansk, which produces the hull of the two ships. The first of cruise ferries, MS “Stavangerfjord”, will be towed from Gdansk to Fosen in January. There, the ship will be outfitted before delivery to the Fjord Line.
The new cruise ferries to be delivered to Fjord Line are of 25,000 gross tons and have a length of 170 meters. Both “Stavangerfjord” and “Bergen Fjord” will have 306 berths, of which a large proportion of suites, and have room for 1,500 passengers. The vessels each have capacity for 600 cars or a lower number in combination with trucks and cargo. The ships are decorated with well-equipped facilities for meetings and conferences.
The top modern cruise ferries will have restaurants, shops and salons that combine the needs of cruise guests and travelers.
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World Maritime News Staff, December 21, 2011; Image: Bergen-Group