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Launch of RCL’s second LNG-fuelled Icon Class ship

Meyer Turku has announced the successful launch of the Star of the Seas, the second LNG-fuelled Icon Class vessel being built for Royal Caribbean Group (RCL).

‘The float out began with traditional festivities, including the firing of a ceremonial cannon,’ the Finnish shipyard said in a social media post today (4 October).

‘After this, the dry dock gates were opened, and the massive dry dock—measuring 16 metres deep, 80 metres wide, and 365 metres long—was filled with water, a 9-hour process.

‘Once the dry dock was fully flooded, the ship was carefully floated out and moved to the outfitting pier, where the final outfitting stages are now underway. Emptying the dock afterward took an additional 12 hours.’

Star of the Seas will be homeported in the Port of Canaveral, Florida, and is set to debut in the 2025 cruise season.

As previously reported, the first ship in the Icon Class series, Icon of the Seas, was delivered last November. A steel cutting ceremony for the third vessel was held at the beginning of the year.

In August, Meyer Turku announced a new agreement with Royal Caribbean Group to build the fourth ship in the Icon class series, scheduled for delivery in 2027. The agreement also includes options for an additional two ships, bringing the total number of vessels in the series to six.

Image: Meyer Turku

Rhys Berry