On April 28, the second domestically built large cruise ship “Adora Flora City” (H1509) successfully achieved the milestone of floating in the dock at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
From keel laying, assembly to first floating, the H1509 ship took one month less than the first domestic large cruise ship “Adora Magic Cit”. On the basis of 20% reduction in the total project target man-hour, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding utilized 57.2% of the actual man-hour to complete more than 70% of the overall project schedule.
Moreover, since the installation of more projects has been completed on the whole ship, the floating weight of the whole ship has also increased by 3,654 tons, and the construction efficiency and floating integrity have been greatly improved compared with the first ship.
Floating is a key node in the construction of large cruise ships. The realization of floating has laid a solid foundation for the delivery of the ship by the end of 2026. It also marks an important breakthrough in China’s shipbuilding industry’s comprehensive lean and efficient large cruise ship design and construction capabilities.
Under the command and coordination of CSSC, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding planned and deployed a detailed floating work plan, established a floating command network system, and formed a first- and second-level command system on land/onboard during the floating period covering project management, safety, quality, design, process and method, loading, outfitting, coating, interior decoration and other departments, providing all-round guarantee for the smooth floating.
Compared with the first cruise ship, H1509 has made great improvements in ship size, cabin layout, system configuration and standard. Its gross tonnage has increased by 6,400 tons to 141,900 tons, and its total length has increased by 17.4 meters to 341 meters. The public area and outdoor activity and leisure area have also increased by 735 square meters and 1,913 square meters respectively compared with the first cruise ship, reaching 25,599 square meters and 14,272 square meters.
The H1509 ship was successfully floated this time, with higher efficiency and better integrity than the first ship. This is not only the result of the concerted efforts of the builders, operators, government departments, relevant research institutes and universities, and hundreds of suppliers around the world to promote the progress of the project, but also fully demonstrates the strong development resilience and potential of China’s local cruise industry.
The second domestic large cruise ship, Adora Flora City (H1509), is scheduled to be completed and delivered by the end of 2026.