The first of the Breakaway Plus vessels, Norwegian Escape, celebrated the first milestone in her construction. The steel cutting ceremony was held at Meyer Wert Shipyard in Germany. The 163,000gt ship is scheduled to enter service in 2015.
from Meyer Werft:
The first piece of steel was cut at MEYER WERFT in Papenburg, Germany today for the construction of Norwegian Escape, the first of two new Breakaway Plus Class ships for Norwegian Cruise Line, set for delivery in fall of 2015. Norwegian Cruise Line and MEYER WERFT executives watched as the first plate of steel was cut by a plasma torch in the yard’s state of the art facility. This plate will become part of Block 46 that will comprise the new vessel.
“Norwegian Escape will be the largest ship in our fleet and will continue our legacy of innovation,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian’s chief executive officer. “Cutting the first piece of steel for Norwegian Escape marks the official start of construction for this remarkable ship. We are eagerly anticipating her delivery in October of 2015.”
“Norwegian Escape will be 10th ship that MEYER WERFT has built for Norwegian Cruise Line within the last 15 years and this one is very special, because of the dimensions of approximately 163,000 gross tons and the many new innovations onboard,” said Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft.