ROYAL CARIBBEAN CELEBRATES KEEL LAYING FORΒ ICON OF THE SEAS
Construction on Royal Caribbean’s highly anticipatedΒ Icon of the SeasΒ reached a new milestone. A keel-laying ceremony took place at Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku to celebrate the progress on the revolutionary cruise ship.
MIAMI, April 5, 2022 β The building of Royal Caribbean International’s highly anticipated cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has reached a pivotal milestone ahead of its fall 2023 debut. A keel-laying ceremony took place at Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku to officially mark the start of the revolutionary shipβs physical construction, with Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku senior executives and teams in attendance.
The keel laying, a longstanding maritime tradition, involved a 3,000-ton crane lifting a massive steel block that is placed into the new shipβs building dock and on top of freshly minted coins, which represent the shipyard and cruise line. The coins are meant to bring luck during construction, and they will be retrieved and given toΒ IconβsΒ captain and crew before setting sail.
βFive years ago, we began dreaming of Icon of the Seas, and now the next phase of this iconic adventure is beginning,β said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. βAs this game-changing ship takes shape, the excitement from families and travelers alike, travel advisors and our partners continues to build. Later this year, weβll reveal the lineup of firsts and favorites that will set a new standard for vacations come fall 2023.β
At the ceremony, the working teams behind constructing Icon were joined by Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group; Richard Fain, chairman, Royal Caribbean Group; Meyer Group Managing Partner Bernard Meyer; and Meyer Turku CEO Tim Meyer.
Icon will set sail next year with the latest innovations and signature features Royal Caribbeanβs teams have imagined and reimagined in bold, new ways, including a shift toward cleaner energy. The first of three Royal Caribbean ships will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) β the cleanest fossil fuel available to cruise ships today. Combining LNG with a lineup of the cruise lineβs proven applications, such as shore power connection and waste heat recovery systems that repurpose excess energy to help power the shipβs operations, Icon will be the next important step in Royal Caribbeanβs journey toward a clean-energy future.
To stay tuned on upcoming details aboutΒ Icon, visit Royal CaribbeanβsΒ website.
SOURCE Royal Caribbean International
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