Miami-based cruise company Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has struck a financing deal worth USD 498 million for the construction of a newly-ordered 754-passenger cruise vessel to be built by the Italian shipyard Fincantieri S.p.A.
The financing has been secured with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB), SACE (CDP Group) and a syndicate of banks and it will be used to fund the construction of the vessel.
Under the arrangement, the ship will be purchased by Explorer II New Build LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCL Corporation.
NCL ordered the ship at the end of March assigning EUR 422 million (USD 480.8 million) for the ship. The vessel, a sister ship to Seven Seas Explorer, is expected to be completed in 2020 and will sail as part of the Regent Seven Seas fleet.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s 750-passenger cruise ship Seven Seas Explorer, which is currently under construction at Fincantieri, is scheduled to debut in July 2016.
At 54,000 gross-registered tons, Seven Seas Explorer will be the flagship of the fleet.
World Maritime News Staff