The Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland has received ship blocks for Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas.
These massive components of what will comprise the hull of the Icon of the Seas were transported to the shipyard by tug boats in order to be fitted together.
Cruise ships are constructed through a module method, in which engineers dismantle the ship into smaller components and reassemble them afterward.
The reason ships are built this way is so that multiple engineers and specialists can work on them at the same time, reducing overall building time.
The blocks will be connected and welded together once they arrive at the shipyard.
Icon of the Seas, according to Royal Caribbean, will be a “game-changer” new ship for the cruise line.
The unnamed Icon Class ships will have a capacity of about 5,600 passengers, according to Royal Caribbean Group SEC filings from April 2021.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fuel cell technology will be used to power each ship. In the third quarter of 2023, the Icon of the Seas will be delivered.
Back in April 2021, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley talked briefly about the new ship, “We have the brand new Icon class coming, which is going to be a real game changer.”When you think about what a game changer Oasis-class was and is, Icon is the next generation the evolution of Oasis.”
Photo Credit: Janne-Petteri Kumpulainen
