Genting Signs Agreement To Add 10 Luxury Cruise Ships To Its Fleet

Genting Hong Kong announced that it had signed an agreement this week with its German partner Lloyd Werft Group for building 10 cruise ships. Two mega ships are slated for its brand Star Cruises while the remaining eight are for Crystal Cruises. The delivery for the ships is scheduled between 2019 and 2020.

A signing ceremony was held in Wismar in Germany attended by Erwin Sellering, Prime Minister of the State Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman of Genting Hong Kong, Uwe Beckmeyer, State Secretary of Maritime Affairs and Martin Günthner, Senator for Economics and Port Affairs of Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

Genting Hong Kong operates three cruise brands namely Crystal Cruises which targets the international luxury market, Dream Cruises which services the Asian luxury market and Star Cruises which is focused on the contemporary market.

The two ships for Star Cruises will be the largest to be built in Germany, each measuring 201,000 gross tons. They will have 5,000 lower berths and will be first cruise ships expressly built and launched for the contemporary Chinese market, which usually comprises families.

In a statement, Lim Kok Thay Genting Hong Kong chairman said

With the first two ships, we are focused on delivering a world-class vacation experience for Chinese cruise passengers at an affordable price, while enjoying fun-filled onboard and on-land adventures in many cities in the most seamless way, without the necessity of checking in and checking out of airports and hotels.

Lim Kok Thay added that passengers on the ships would enjoy an international cruise experience travelling to places across the world while feeling at home aboard the ship. Genting partnered with the Lloyd Werft Group after buying four shipyards in Germany so as to ensure the speedy development of ships for its fast-growing fleet. The company had stated earlier that the rapid growth of the cruise industry had led to these new cruise ship orders. In order to mitigate any risk to its 10-year cruise ship fleet strategy, the company had decided to develop its own facilities and build ships.

The group is expected to produce on a yearly basis 2 mega ships of capacity more than 200,000 gross tons each and one medium sized ship of capacity 50,000 gross tons. A new design center for shipbuilding in Germany is being launched by Genting in collaboration with Lloyd Werft Group, which will be responsible for developing designs for the company’s ships.

Adrian Sterne

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