MV Werften, the German shipbuilding group owned by Genting Hong Kong, said it has signed contracts for the basic and detailed design of the 200,001 gross ton “Global Class” cruise ships for Star Cruises, also part of the Genting Hong Kong group, with its engineering partners Elomatic Oy and Deltamarin Ltd

After completing the purchase of the MV Werften shipyards in April, the general arrangement plans for the “Global Class” cruise ships were completed with Foreship Oy in June. All the three partner companies are based in Finland.

“We are delighted to work together with Foreship, Elomatic and Deltamarin on a series of these innovative ships designed from the ground up for the Asian cruise market” says Tan Sri KT Lim, Chairman of the Genting Group.

 Star Cruises’ new “Global Class” mega cruise vessels will be over 340 metres long, 45 metres wide and measure 200,001 gross tons. The construction of these ships will be an important boost for the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the entire European cruise shipbuilding industry, especially when other shipbuilding sectors have slowed dramatically. Steel cutting for the first vessel is expected to begin in late 2017 and delivery is scheduled for 2020, the shipbuilder said in a statement.