Keel Laid for HANSEATIC nature: marking the start of the next construction stage

• Publishing of cruise overview in August 2017
• First brochure coming out in January 2018
• Christening and maiden voyage in April 2019

On June 20th, 2017 the next construction stage of HANSEATIC nature, the first of two expedition new-builds, has begun with the keel laying. At the VARD shipyard in Tulcea, Romania, Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, placed a coin inside the steel block; the coin was welded into the block and will accompany the ship on all its future cruises. This ship-building tradition is believed to bring luck to new ships.

HANSEATIC nature‘s keel consists of two steel blocks: each block is 9 meters long, 11 meters wide, 1,5 meters high and weighs 33 tons.

“It is a great pleasure to watch the development of our first expedition new-build. In the shipyard, as well as in the Hamburg office, many experts in their specialist field, are working daily on completing the two vessels. With our new expedition vessels, we will soon be able to offer very unique travel experiences” says Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

The christening and maiden voyage of HANSEATIC nature are planned for April 2019. The second ship, HANSEATIC inspiration, which will serve the international markets, will launch six months later in October 2019. As soon as August 2017, interested guests will receive a cruise overview featuring the upcoming expeditions of both new ships and they will be able to place reservations. The bookings can be confirmed after the publishing of the first official brochure in January 2018.

The new expedition ships, which will be positioned in the five-star-segment, are being built by Norwegian company VARD Group, which is a subsidiary of the Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri. The ships’ hulls will be constructed in the Romanian shipyard location of Tulcea and afterwards be towed to VARD Langsten in Norway, where the outfitting and the finishing of the interior will take place. Both HANSEATIC nature and HANSEATIC inspiration will be fitted with cutting-edge equipment and environmental technology and will each accommodate up to 230 guests (or up to 199 guests on Antarctica cruises). PC6, the highest ice class for passenger ships, makes it possible to conduct expeditions far into Polar waters, with tropical destinations such as the South Seas and the Amazon. Sixteen on-board Zodiacs and E-Zodiacs with eco-friendly electric drive systems allow for landings in remote expedition areas, regardless of the vicinity to a port.

Hamburg, June 2017