Fincantieri to Build Super-Luxurious Cruise Ship for France’s Compagnie du Ponant

The “Le Soleal” was recently delivered last month. © Philip Plisson via Compagnie du Ponant

Italian shipbuilding group, Fincantieri, and the French cruise line, Compagnie du Ponant, have signed a contract for the construction of a super-luxury cruise ship, Fincantieri said on Tuesday.

The new ship will be the twin to “Le Soleal”, the mini-cruise ship delivered last month, and follows “L’Austral” and “Le Boreal”, delivered in May 2010 and April 2011, respectively, Fincantieri said.

“This new order marks a firm consolidation of our relationship with this prestigious cruise operator and allows us to secure a strong foothold globally in a very promising business segment,” commented Fincantieri’s CEOm Giuseppe Bono. “This encouraging achievement, coming shortly after other new orders, has been realized in a still difficult market and has been possible also thanks to the greater cohesion achieved within the company that bodes well for the necessary improvement in efficiency and competitiveness.”

Like the previous three ships, the new ship will be built at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard and the fourth ships scheduled for delivery in the spring of 2015. It vessels will be approximately 11,000 gross tons, about 142 meters long, 18 meters wide and will have a cruise speed of 16 knots. She can accommodate more than 264 passengers in 132 cabins and suites (all with a sea view and 95% with a private balcony) and a crew of 140.

The vessels small size and environmentally friendly technology will allow her to reach ports and destinations inaccessible to larger vessels, including summer cruises in Alaska and Australia and New Zealand in the winter.

She will be built using the very latest in environmentally friendly technology, while her small size means that she will be able to reach ports and destinations inaccessible to larger vessels. Indeed this ship will cruise in Alaska during the summer, and in Australia and New Zealand during the winter.

Fincantieri describes the design of the interior as “on a human scale” with “the utmost attention to detail”.

Compagnie du Ponant CEO, Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée, stressed that “for Compagnie du Ponant this order is another step towards the future that validates an effective business model and strengthens our partnership with Fincantieri, which has been entrusted with building this fourth sistership after the excellent work achieved on the previous three yachts.”

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