Watch: Chesapeake Shipbuilding Launches Latest Riverboat for American Cruise Lines

The latest river cruise ship for American Cruise Lines has been launched at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland.

The 175-passenger American Symphony is the fifth ship in a new class of U.S-built riverboats that was first introduced in 2018 with the American Song, the “first modern riverboat in U.S. history.”

Chesapeake Shipbuilding has a long history of designing and building ships for American Cruise Lines and will be constructing ACL’s recently announced 12-ship “Project Blue” series of coastal ships coming in 2023. Construction is also underway at the shipyard on the ACL’s sixth new riverboat, American Serenade.

American Symphony is reported to be the heavist vessel ever launched at the Chesapeake Shipbuilding shipyard. A video of the launch was filmed by a neighbor across the channel whose yard apparently gets flooded during each launch:

American Symphony is set to begin cruising in August 2022 on the Lower Mississippi River between New Orleans and Memphis before transitioning to the Upper Mississippi for cruises betwen St. Louis and St. Paul.

She will join ACL’s growing Mississippi River fleet, which includes American Melody, American Jazz, American Heritage, and American Splendor. In total, American Cruise Lines operates 15 ships accommodating just 100-190 passengers.