Rumors have been flying this week after a Finnish newspaper published an article on an agreement between Royal Caribbean and STX Yards to build a third Oasis class ship.
Well, unfortunately this article is just a rumor. Royal Caribbean confirmed earlier today that the article is just a rumor and that at this time, Royal Caribbean has no intention of building another Oasis class vessel. The article states, “STX Finland’s Turku shipyard is very close to the new giant cruise ship order.” The new ship would be a sister to both Oasis and Allure of the Seas, who were also built by STX Yards in Turku, Finland. The Oasis class ships claim a tonnage of about 220,000 while carrying around 6,000 passengers.
STX Yards was recently passed over by Royal Caribbean during the yard selection process for their two new builds, Project Sunshine. The Project Sunshine ships will be built at Meyer Werft in Papenburg Germany and are slated for deployment in 2014 and 2015 respectively. If the rumor of the new build were true, it would definitely bring some much needed employment to Turku’s shipbuilders and contractors.
Royal Caribbean may not be building another Oasis class ship, but they are definitely planning on building another ship soon.
In your opinion: If the rumors were true, what do you think Royal Caribbean should have named the new build? Let me know in the comment section below.
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Header image and logo: Royal Caribbean
