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Silversea orders pair of new-style cruise ships plus an expedition vessel

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In June, when Silversea's Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, left, and Royal Caribbean's Richard Fain announced Silversea would be joining the RCL family, newbuild orders were predicted. That has now come to pass
As expected, Silversea Cruises' expansion under the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. umbrella will be happening fast. The companies today announced agreements to build three new ships for the Silversea fleet.

New Evolution class

Silversea signed a memorandum of understanding with Meyer Werft for two vessels in a new Evolution class, the first expected for delivery in 2022. No further details were provided. With this, Silversea becomes a new customer for the German shipyard.

Expedition ship for the Galápagos

Silversea also signed a contract with Dutch shipbuilder De Hoop to construct a 100-passenger expedition vessel, Silver Origin, that will serve the Galápagos Islands itinerary currently sailed by Silver Galapagos. The new ship is expected for delivery in March 2020.

De Hoop is building expedition ship Celebrity Flora for Celebrity Cruises, another brand in the RCL family.

'We are delighted to have entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft on the Silver Evolution series and De Hoop for Silver Origin,' Silversea executive chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio said. 'With our guests in mind, we are pushing the boundaries of ultra-luxury cruising, as well as expedition cruising in the Galápagos Islands and beyond, redefining the concept of immersive travel.'

Helping Silversea realize its ambitions

'We are excited to get to work helping Silversea grow and realize its ambitions,' added RCL chairman and CEO Richard Fain. These orders come shortly after RCL finalized its two-thirds acquisition of Silversea earlier this year.

'There is tremendous potential in the ultra-luxury and expedition markets of the cruise industry, and we believe discerning travelers will embrace the exciting designs Silversea is imagining for them,' Fain said.

The agreements are subject to certain contingencies that are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.

Meyer Werft and De Hoop welcomed the business.

'Together with Silversea we will create a new generation of environmentally friendly ships in the ultra-luxury cruise market,' said Tim Meyer, managing director of Meyer Werft.

'We are excited and proud to receive this order,' De Hoop CEO Patrick Janssens said. 'It is not only about building the best small expedition cruise vessel, but also about building and maintaining a high-quality partnership with Royal Caribbean and Silversea.'

Silversea also has newbuilds at Fincantieri

Silversea additionally has two 596-passenger, 40,700gt Silver Muse sister ships on order at Fincantieri: Silver Moon in 2020 and Silver Dawn in 2021.

In June, RCL announced plans to take a 66.7% stake in Silversea for $1bn and the assumption of about $500m in debt, based on an enterprise value of approximately $2bn, The deal closed in late July. At that time, Project Invictus, a program of product upgrades and ship reviltalizations for Silversea was sketched out.