On September 25, 2023, Construction of the new cruise ship for NYK Cruises, a company of the Japanese ship-ping group NYK, has begun at MEYER WERFT with the symbolic steel cutting ceremony. The ship will be named ASUKA III and is scheduled for delivery in 2025.
Delivery of the 52,200 GT ship ASUKA III is scheduled for 2025. With a length of 230 metres and a width of 29.8 metres,and will be able to accommodate up to 744 passengers and up to 470 crew members.The ship will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), one of the cleanest fuels currently avail-able for shipping. In addition to the reduction of CO2 emissions, the emission of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter can be almost completely eliminated, and sulphur oxides completely avoided.MEYER WERFT will use numerous customised solutions for the new cruise ship. These include hydrodynamics optimised according to the planned routes, contactless controls as well as on-board facilities adapted to the needs of Japanese passengers.
The order from NYK Cruises in 2021 and is said to be significant because no shipping company has placed a newbuilding order for a cruise ship since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Meyer Werft.
“In the ship’s designing, we are all grateful to the cooperation rendered by Meyer so far. We wish to continue this excellent relationship with them to the successful delivery of ASUKA III and beyond”, says Hiroyuki Endo, President NYK Cruises.