The Keel has been laid for Dream Cruises first ever cruise ship at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
Genting Dream is now well under construction at the busy German shipyard. The keel was laid inside the large construction hall, a major milestone in the build process. As traditional there was a keel laying ceremony held inside the yard. Tan Sri Lim, Chairman of Genting and Bernard Meyer, Meyer Werft CEO placed a lucky coin on the bracings before the 800 ton crane lowered the first block of the second building phase for the new ship into place.
Tan Sri Lim, Chairman of Genting said:
“We are glad to see that our first new build for our new brand Dream Cruises is now starting to take shape. The ship will offer many special features for the Chinese market”
All the large blocks of the Genting Dream will come together over the coming months to form the 151,000 gross ton ship. Just last week Cruise Hive reported on the ship’s first main block appearing from the construction hall for the very first time. The keel laying does officially start the ship’s construction phase even though the first steel was cut back in February 2015.
Genting Dream will be one of the largest purpose-built cruise ships for the Chinese market and will join several other large vessels which are also to be delivered for the region over the next couple of years. Genting Dream will be the first ever ship for Dream Cruises, a new premium cruise brand for Asia.
Bernard Meyer, CEO of Meyer Werft said:
“It is our great pleasure to build these new ships for the new shipping company and to continue our long-standing business relationship with Genting Bhd, which began nearly 20 years ago with the construction of the SuperStar Leo”
Genting Dream will be completed in November 2016 and will carry 3,300 passengers at 335 meters long. A second ship of the same class has already been ordered with a delivery November 2017.
