In a ceremony at Fincantieri’s shipyard “Arsenale Triestino San Marco”, in Trieste, Italy, Seattle-based Windstar Cruises, initiated construction of the first of three new ships sections, under Windstar’s $250 Million Star Plus Initiative. The initiative is the most complex and comprehensive small ship lengthening, engine replacement, and renovation project undertaken in cruising, the shipbuilder said.
John Gunner, Vice President of Expansion Projects for Windstar Cruises, pushed the button which activated the torch to make the first cut in the new steel.
Windstar will take half of its entire fleet – Star Breeze, Star Legend, and Star Pride – and renovate each ship in succession.
The work on the first of the three ships begins on Star Breeze in October 2019 and shall end with the departure of the Star Pride from the yard in November 2020. This steel cutting marks the beginning of true project construction.
The popular ships will be cut in half to allow the installation of a new stepped mid-body section that will lengthen each vessel by approximately 25 meters.
The new sections will be built in Trieste and then will be transported south by barge to the Fincantieri yard in Palermo Sicily, Italy to be inserted into the iconic Windstar ships along with the new engines.
This is not about just cutting a ship in half and making it bigger. We are replacing the engines and ‘back of house’ too, so that these ships deliver on their promise of visiting smaller ports and special waterways of the world with a softer environmental footprint for generations to come,
…Mr. Gunner pointed out.
The timeline requires the new sections to be fabricated from April through September, shipped in October, and then inserted into Star Breeze so that she can be completed in time for her arrival for re-inaugural activities at the port of Miami on 19 March 2020.
The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry in New York, led by Ray Chung, Director of Design, has been tasked with creating modern and inviting design aesthetics for the new public spaces and 50 new suites. In addition to new suites, there will be a new pool area, restaurants, a spa & wellness center, and enhanced “living room deck space.”
