Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2026)

EUROPEAN YARDS ? ourishing cruise market and Europe- an shipbuilders’ unerring contractual success in the sector has taken order- books into the middle of the next de-

A cade, ensuring production continuity and underpinning fresh capital expenditure and R&D commitments by the continent’s foremost players.

Just how important the segment is to the industry and supply chain may be gauged from the fact that at least three-quarters of the value of European yards’ commercial orderbooks is attributable to cruise ves- sel construction.

Europe’s in-depth professional and trade skill strengths as regards the ecosystem covering de- sign, engineering, out? tting, and onboard systems, together with adeptness in project management, are fundamental to the market prominence achieved by the leading builders concerned, namely the Fincan- tieri Group, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Meyer

Werft and Meyer Turku.

Another card in the hand of the European yards is the propensity for an anticipative approach to design and powering. Fuel-? exibility is at the core of new and emerging generations of vessels, extending be- yond LNG dual-fuel solutions to embrace ‘greener’ options, such as methanol. The through-life design concept foreseen by builders also affords a wider platform for broader, ongoing technological updat- ing and internal design recon? guration.

Concerns had been expressed that the elongation of the European cruise vessel production program, by reducing the scope for owners to obtain medium- term delivery slots, might open up opportunities on the international market for Chinese shipbuilders.

However, the major brands have continued to keep faith with European yards, as expressed in a raft of orders over the past four or ? ve months carrying completion dates well into the 2030s.

China’s impact on the high-capacity vessel mar- ket to date has been limited and has been achieved so far through recourse to European know-how.

RDS BUILD

The technical foundation for the two diesel-elec- tric newbuilds ordered from Shanghai Waigaoqiao

Shipbuilding (SWS) by CSSC Carnival Cruise Ship- ping—which subsequently became Hong Kong-reg- istered Adora Cruises—was provided by Fincantieri

E MID-2030s in collaboration with China State Shipbuilding Cor- poration (CSSC).

Fincantieri remains the most proli? c builder, with

Monfalcone and Marghera being the points of con- centration for high-capacity cruise vessel construc- tion within the group’s Italian shipyard network.

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