Norwegian Cruise Line's choice of name – 'Norwegian Epic' – for its latest vessel turned out to be more apt than it could have known.
Construction of the vessel at STX France's Saint Nazaire shipyard turned out to be an epic task. The vessel left Saint Nazaire on June 17 after a final breathtaking race against time as shipyard personnel and contractors struggled to repair the damage caused by a series of suspected arson attacks aboard the nearly completed vessel.
Police investigations are still investigating the causes of the fires, which appear to have been deliberate. The first fire on June 3 caused extensive damage to electric cabling, while two others had less serious consequences.
The original contract from Norwegian Cruise Line, which was signed in September 2006, was for two ships for a total of EUR1.47 billion (US$1.83 billion). There was even an option for a third that was never exercised.
Problems came to light in September 2008, however, when construction of the first vessel was already under way. STX Europe admitted that it was in dispute with NCL, apparently over the cost of design modifications introduced in the course of construction by the cruise company.
It is not clear what the causes of the dispute are, but after negotiations lasting several months they came to an agreement in December, 2008. This resulted in the cancellation of the second of the two vessels but construction of the one already being built.
Execution of the revised contract appeared to proceed smoothly during 2009, but new problems appeared this year that look likely to pose problems for STX rather than NCL. In March, STX Europe announced that it had incurred cost overruns of EUR15-20 million (US$19-25 million) on the contract, although it assured that these would be met without difficulty from working capital.
Later the same month, one of the vessel's six diesel engines suffered serious damage in the course of operation and had to be replaced. Fortunately, a spare was available or the consequences would have been more serious.
The second series of sea trials, which had been scheduled for April, had to be postponed a month to allow time for the work to be carried out.
The final sea trials finally began on the Thursday night preceding the vessel's scheduled departure from Saint Nazaire on June 17. The vessel was delivered on time to sail to Rotterdam for its first public presentation and the start of a two-day inaugural cruise to Southampton. It is due to leave Southampton on June 24 for its first transatlantic crossing to New York, where it is to be officially named on July 2.
It left Saint Nazaire without the traditional first naming or flag changing ceremonies but STX France assured that this was not a sign of bad relations between it and NCL. "It is not their style," a company source said, adding that there were still discussions between STX and NCL about the possibility of a follow-up order.
NCL chief executive Kevin Sheehan seemed to be happy with the result of the French company's "epic" struggle in any case.
"Following more than four years of development and construction, we are pleased to take ownership of this beautiful ship and introduce her to the world," he said in an official statement.
"We are confident that 'Norwegian Epic' will amaze our guests."
– Andrew Spurrier
'Norwegian Epic' specifications
Gross tonnage – 153,000 tonnes
Length – 330 metres
Breadth – 41 metres
Decks – 19
Number of cabins/passengers – 2,114/5,186
Number of crew cabins/crew members – 1 ,404/1,730
People onboard max. – 6,430
Propulsion – diesel/electric
Total propulsive power – 2 x 24MW
Classification – Det Norske Veritas
Flag – Bahamas
