Fincantieri’s subsidiary VARD, one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of specialised vessels, has delivered HANSEATIC spirit, the third ship in a new series of luxury expedition cruise vessels to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
HANSEATIC spirit will now join the state-of-the art expedition fleet alongside its structurally identical sister ships, HANSEATIC nature and HANSEATIC inspiration, delivered by VARD in 2019. The 138 metre long and 22 metre wide HANSEATIC spirit is scheduled to embark on its maiden voyage from Hamburg at the end of August 2021.
Each ship is tailored to allow passengers to access remote regions, ranging from the Arctic and Antarctic to the Amazon.
“We are proud to welcome the HANSEATIC spirit as the newest member of the fleet. I am delighted that we have been able to work successfully with the VARD shipyard in a challenging period to complete this build and we can now showcase a state-of-the-art expedition fleet with three small and maneuverable 5-star expedition ships,” said Julian Pfitzner, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
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General Manager for the Business Unit Cruise in VARD, Attilio Dapelo commented: “To build a ship like this, is quite a challenge. In addition, we’ve been faced with tremendous additional pressure due to COVID. Despite all this, thanks to an excellent and solution-oriented cooperation, we have succeeded to get HANSEATIC spirit finalised and delivered.”
Like HANSEATIC nature and HANSEATIC inspiration, HANSEATIC spirit can accommodate 230 guests or 199 guests. The steel cutting ceremony of HANSEATIC spirit took place in June 2019 at Vard Tulcea in Romania. The keel laying followed a month later and work began on building the hull of the expedition ship. The ship was towed to Vard Langsten in Norway at the end of 2020 for further outfitting, finalising, testing and delivery.
The vessel was formally delivered at the handover ceremony at Vard Langsten on 28 June 2021.