TTS to Deliver for World's Largest Cruise Ship

TTS Ships Equipment AB, a subsidiary of Norway’s TTS Group will deliver specially designed and built cargo access gear for installation aboard the Ultra Voyager cruise vessel, currently under construction at the Kvaerner Masa Yard in Finland. At about 160,000 grt, the new vessel will be the largest cruise vessel ever built.

This is the first of the Ultra Voyager Class of cruise liners built by Kvaerner Masa, TTS Ships Equipment having supplied similar systems to all five of the previous Voyager Class, also built at the Finnish Shipyard. Under a turn-key contract, originally signed in January, TTS is building side shell doors, hatch covers and lifting platforms for the vessel, which was ordered by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) last year. The mild steel equipment, which weighs a total of more than 140 tons and has been designed in accordance with DNV regulations, will be delivered to the Finnish yard between July this year and February 2005.

Altogether, TTS will supply some 50 components for the luxury vessel, together with the necessary hydraulic systems. The equipment will range from access doors for passengers, luggage, provisions and spare parts, to a series of foredeck opening hatches used mostly for the storage of ship’s mooring equipment. The Swedish company will also supply lifting platforms for spare parts and provisions.

The Ultra Voyager class was developed jointly by RCCL and Finland’s Kvaerner Masa yard as the next step in the natural evolution of the Voyager class of cruise vessel. The Ultra Voyager will be some 15 percent larger than its predecessor and will be capable of transporting some 3,600 passengers in a deluxe setting. The ship will carry a total crew of more than 2,000. The vessel is due to be delivered to RCCL in May 2006 and is likely to be deployed principally on Caribbean cruises although with potential to undertake worldwide itineraries if required. The vessel will represent a new phase in RCCL’s fleet expansion programme, which has seen its capacity increase by more than 75% over the last five years. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd is a global cruise company that operates Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. Together these companies operate a cruise fleet of more than 25 vessels.