Video: Large Cruise Ship Maneuvered from Building Hall to Dock

One of the largest cruise ships currently under construction, Royal Caribbean International’s Odyssey of the Seas marked a milestone in her construction. On November 28, the shipbuilder Meyer Werft successfully maneuvered the ship from the building dock in Papenburg, Germany to the fitting out berth.

The maneuver requires nearly seven hours to pull the 1,138-foot vessel with a 135-foot beam from the covered hall and turn her before docking. Meyer Werft issued a time-lapse video of the complex maneuver.

 

 

Due to height restrictions in the building hall, after the ship emerges cranes lift the final portion of the ship’s funnel as well as its mast into place. Also, the telescopic arm and observation capsule, which have become a well-known feature of this class of cruise ship, is fitted after the vessel leaves the hall. The lifeboats also were not in place on the portside during the maneuver from the building. In addition, the ship will undergo initial trials and tests at the pier.

Alongside the fitting out pier, the remaining elements of the interior fitting will also be completed for the Odyssey of the Seas. When she is fully outfitted, the cruise ship will feature 2,105 passenger staterooms along with 16 dining venues and 7 bars and lounges across 16 decks.

Once completed, the ship which measures 169,000 gross tons, will undergo an equally complex maneuver as she is conveyed down the river Ems to reach the North Sea. At that point, which will be in the winter of 2021, the ship will undergo the technical and nautical sea trials before delivery to the Royal Caribbean Group.

The Odyssey of the Seas is the second of the Quantum Ultra class of cruise ship and the last that line currently has on order from Meyer Werft. The class started in 2014 with the Quantum of the Seas, which accommodates 4,900 passengers, and was followed by two sister ships. The Ultra ships expanded the original design increasing capacity to 5,500 passengers along with adding other passenger amenities.

Construction of the Odyssey of the Seas, which began with the first steel cut on February 1, 2019, is approximately six months behind schedule in part due to the impact of the coronavirus on shipbuilding. She had been scheduled for a debut in North America in November 2020, which has been rescheduled for the spring of 2021 in Europe.