Silversea Cruises has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for one 36,000-GRT, 540-guest, ultra-luxury vessel from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri with delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2009. The agreement with Fincantieri is conditional to final contract and financing. However, an irrevocable banking commitment, fully underwritten, has already been obtained and is only subject to the final loan agreement. The newbuild order is the first one for Silversea since 1998 when contracts for Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper were signed. The award-winning vessels entered into service in 2000 and 2001, respectively. With the newbuild, Silversea's overall fleet capacity grows from 1,356 berths to 1,896 berths, representing a 40% increase.