The hulls will be built by Vard’s shipyard in Tulcea, Romania, for delivery in the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 from Vard Langsten in Norway.
The parties aim to enter into contracts at the beginning of Q3 this year.
The vessels, for which Fincantieri will supply some important parts to be built in Italy, are designed in cooperation with the customer by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway, for a high standard of facilities, ice-class and the highest demands for environmentally friendly and safe operations. They will be 137 metres long, 22 metres wide and able to accommodate 240 passengers in 120 cabins.
This letter of intent underscores Vard’s diversification strategy, carried out in close collaboration with Fincantieri, which earlier this year led to a letter of intent for four small luxury cruise vessels for Ponant under its new ownership by the Artemis Group, a holding company of the billionaire Pinault family.
Fincantieri holds a 55.63% stake in Vard and fully consolidates its financial results.
