Aker Finnyards signs yet another letter of intent for cruise ship

Hull assembly in Turku; delivery to client could take place in Helsinki

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Aker Finnyards announced on Tuesday the signing of a letter of intent for building a sister vessel to the M/S Color Fantasy cruise ship/car ferry  for its owner the Norwegian shipping company Color Line.
      The contract was signed late on Monday evening. A few hours earlier, a similar LOI had already been sealed for building a third Freedom-class cruise liner for the American shipping company Royal Caribbean Cruises.
      The Color Line contract is valued in the region of EUR 300 million, and is scheduled to be made effective in May-June.
     
In December, Finnyards handed over to the Norwegian buyer the M/S Color Fantasy, which Yrjö Julin, President of Aker Finnyards, describes as "the world’s largest cruise ship with car decks".
      The Color Fantasy operates between the Norwegian capital Oslo and Kiel in Northern Germany. The shipping company has been pleased with the ship's popularity. Customer reservations have been booked far into the future.
      The new ship is scheduled for completion at the end of 2007. It would pair up with M/S Color Fantasy in such a way that the ships would sail off simultaneously from Kiel and Oslo.
     
If the contract is made effective, the ship's hull will be assembled at the Aker Finnyards shipyard in Turku, while some segments may be constructed in Rauma or elsewhere in the Baltic region.
      "The handing over to the client may take place at any of our three shipyards, Rauma, Turku, or Helsinki", says Julin.
      At the moment the Turku and Rauma shipyards have a much better situation with their order-books than Helsinki.
      Helsinki's somewhat parlous situation will improve significantly if the LOI with Norwegian Cruise Lines for the building of a EUR 400 million luxury cruise liner becomes a genuine order.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Aker Finnyards´ Turku shipyard gets order for third new cruise liner (8.3.2005)

Links:
  Aker Finnyards press release

Helsingin Sanomat