Building ships at untried shipyards is not a good move!

You would think that if you were a newcomer to the cruise market and were also entering the luxury sector, your choice of shipyard to build your new vessels would be of paramount importance. You would naturally look at shipyards that have a good track record in building quality, luxury vessels; yards with an impressive portfolio. You wouldn’t risk having your new ships built by a shipyard that has never built a cruise ship would you? No, that would be just asking for trouble. Well that’s exactly what newcomer Pearl Seas Cruises did and the company is now paying the price. The US line was so eager to enter the luxury small ship cruise market that it couldn’t wait for newbuilding slots at a tried and tested cruise ship yard; instead it placed a contract for two vessels with a Canadian shipyard which had never built a cruise ship before. The deal didn’t get off to the best of starts, with the first vessel being cancelled. The second vessel was supposed to have been delivered in the first quarter of this year, but deficiencies recently discovered during sea trials, along with quality issues and construction delays have resulted in Pearl Seas having to cancel the vessel’s inaugural summer season. When the Canadian shipyard secured this order a spokesman for the yard, Halifax Shipyard, said: ‘we don’t see a problem in building cruise ships for the first time as we have recently completed a number of vessels for the offshore oil and gas industries which have required extensive accommodation outfitting to a very high standard.’ I wonder what Peter Williams would say now! Sphere: Related Content