The first-of-its-kind lengthening of a luxury cruise ship is underway at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Italy.
Over the last several days, shipbuilders have worked at cutting the ultra-luxury Sliver Spirit in half and inserting 15-meter prefabricated section into the central part of the ship. They are now working on reconnecting the vessel.
Delivered by Fincantieri’s Ancona yard in 2009, the Silverseas’ Silver Spirit had a gross tonnage of 36,000 tons and length of the 195 meters. Following the lengthening, the ship will measure 210.7 meters.
Approximately 846 tons of steel, 110,000m (360,892 ft.) of cabling, and 8,000m (26,247 ft.) of piping will be used in the lengthening.
Prior to installation, the 15-meter section was prebuilt and floated into the dry dock with the cruise ship. Once emptied, the section was maneauvered into place.
The project, a first for an ultra-luxury cruise ship, has been developed and carried out by Fincantieri’s Ship Repair and Conversion division.
The project is scheduled to be completed in early May, at which point the Silver Spirit will return to service in the European market.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson has selected Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to build three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries in a contract valued at $714.5 million. The Washington State Ferries (WSF) will...
In one of the UK’s largest drug seizures of the past decade, UK Border Force officers have seized cocaine with an estimated street value of £96 million (USD 130 million)...
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report has found that despite having four financial assistance programs designed to bolster U.S. shipbuilding, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) lacks proper performance metrics to...
July 2, 2025
Total Views: 1227
Get The Industry’s Go-To News
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
— just like 109,113 professionals
Secure Your Spot
on the gCaptain Crew
Stay informed with the latest maritime and offshore news, delivered daily straight to your inbox
— trusted by our 109,113 members
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.