Genting Hong Kong ordered two 5,000-passenger
ships for its Star Cruises brand, for delivery in 2019 and 2020.
The 201,000-gross-ton
ships are to be designed with “Chinese characteristics,” Genting said, and are
intended for the Chinese domestic market.
But Genting chairman
KT Lim said they will be the first of a new “Global” class of ship
intended to revive Star’s international market position.
“Now it is time to
come home and rebuild Star Cruises with a fleet of brand-new vessels which will
transform Star Cruises to be the youngest, largest and most innovative cruise
line in Asia,” Lim said.
Star Cruises last took delivery of a new ship in 1999, when the SuperStar Virgo joined the fleet.
The Global-class ships will be
built by Germany’s Lloyd Werft yard, which Genting acquired last year. They would be
by far the largest ships that yard has ever built.
Genting has two
3,364-passenger ships under construction for its new Dream Cruises brand, the first of
which is scheduled to be delivered by Meyer Werft later this year.