Construction starts on NYK Cruises’ LNG-powered Asuka III

Construction of the new cruise ship for NYK Cruises, a division of Japanese shipping company NYK, has begun at German shipyard Meyer Werft with a steel-cutting ceremony.

NYK Cruises placed the order for the ship back in 2021. The ship, which will be named Asuka III, will have a length of 230 metres and a width of 29.8 metres. It will offer space for 744 passengers.

Meyer Werft will use numerous customized solutions for the new cruise ship. These include hydrodynamics optimized according to the planned routes, contactless controls as well and onboard facilities adapted to the needs of Japanese passengers.

The vessel will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition to the reduction of CO2 emissions, the emission of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter can be almost completely eliminated, and sulphur oxides completely avoided, according to the company.

“The order from NYK Cruises in 2021 in the middle of the pandemic was a strong signal for shipbuilding in Papenburg. Therefore, we are also very pleased today to have won NYK Cruises as a customer and to be able start in the construction of this modern cruise ship,” said Managing Director Thomas Weigend.

“In the ship’s designing, we are all grateful to the cooperation rendered by Meyer so far. We wish to continue this excellent relationship with them to the successful delivery of ASUKA III and beyond,” stated Hiroyuki Endo, President NYK Cruises.

Delivery of the 52,200 GT ship Asuka III is scheduled for 2025.

Established in 1989, NYK Cruises provides Asuka Cruise to the Japanese market and now operates the cruise ship Asuka II. The first vessel in the Asuka series was launched in 1991 and was the first Japanese cruise ship to conduct a world cruise.

Asuka II, which was launched in 2006, conducts a variety of cruises throughout the year to ports around the world.