Meyer Turku Begins Building Royal Caribbean's Next Cruise Ship

Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku on Monday commenced production of Royal Caribbean International's next cruise ship Icon of the Seas. 

The start of production and the revealing of the ship’s name were celebrated at the shipyard's plate hall, where Meyer Turku CEO Tim Meyer, Chairman of the Board of Meyer Turku , Bernard Meyer, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, Richard Fain, and Harri Kulovaara, Executive Vice President of Maritime & Newbuilds, were present. CEO and president of Royal Caribbean International, Michael Bayley, attended remotely.

“We made our commitment to making clean power at sea a reality – and soon the norm – when Icon Class was first announced in 2016, and we’re excited to see construction underway on what will truly be a ship unlike any other,” Bayley said.

For Meyer Turku, Icon 1 is both a challenge and a great opportunity to rise to the bright top of shipbuilding, Tim Meyer said: “We have eagerly accepted this challenge. Now that ship production in our halls has begun, we are beginning to see the results of our design take physical form. This is always a solemn moment for us shipbuilders.”

When completed in 2023, Icon of the Seas will be an advanced cruise ship with special focus on environmental technologies. The ship will have air lubrication of underwater hull, sending millions of microscopic bubbles along the hull of the ship to reduce friction and advanced waste heat recovery system to turn waste heat into up to 3MW extra energy.