Silversea Cruises Unveils Plans for New Ship

Silversea Cruises signed a memorandum of understanding for one 36,000-ton, 540-guest vessel from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri with delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2009. The line also signed an option for a sister ship with Fincantieri. 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 company said.

"This is a very exciting time for our company as we are now poised to further develop our unique style of luxury travel with a new generation of ship design," said Silversea Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre. Added Amerigo Perasso, Silversea's recently appointed president: "This newbuild order shows great confidence in the luxury segment's potential for greater demand. Silversea will be well positioned to fully meet this future demand in North America and our international markets."

The newbuild order is the first one for Silversea since 1998 when contracts for Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper were signed. Those vessels entered into service in 2000 and 2001, respectively. With the newbuild, Silversea's overall fleet capacity will grow from 1,356 berths to 1,896 berths, representing a 40 percent increase. Silversea said the purchase price and design details about the new vessel will be forthcoming over the next few weeks.