Holland America Line celebrates new construction milestone

Bosses from the company hosted a ceremony to celebrate the first steel cutting for the new Pinnacle Class ship.

After months of intensive planning, whenever a new ship design first enters the construction stage, the company will hold a steel cutting ceremony to celebrate.

It’s a tradition upheld by most of the large cruise companies, including Royal Caribbean who hosted a similar ceremony last year to mark the milestone in their new Quantum Class ship’s construction.

The steel cutting ceremony marks the important milestone and both officials from the cruise line and the shipyard come together to celebrate.

When Holland America Line’s first Pinnacle Class ship entered construction at the Fincantieri shipyard earlier this month, it was no exception and the tradition was upheld once again. The italian company and Holland America Line both co-hosted the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, president and CEO of Holland America Line Stein Kruse said:

“This is a proud day for Holland America Line as we officially begin construction on our new Pinnacle Class ship.

We’re thrilled to be back at Fincantieri for such a milestone, and the next two years are going to be exciting as we unveil a host of new features that will be found onboard.

This is the 15th ship built for Holland America Line by Italian shipyard Fincantieri, which most recently constructed ms Nieuw Amsterdam that was delivered in July 2010.”

Antonio Quintano is the director of Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy, and he co-hosted the steel cutting ceremony in early February. He also said a few words to mark the occasion:

“Construction of this new Pinnacle Class ship marks our second decade of building vessels for Holland America Line.  Starting with ms Statendam in 1993, our relationship with Holland America Line has evolved even as cruise ships have evolved over the past 20 years.”

About the new Pinnacle Class ship:

The yet-to-be-named ship is due for delivery in February 2016. She’ll weigh 99,500 tons and will be the largest ever built for the line. The ship will have a beam that spans 35 meters and 12 enclosed passenger decks. It’s also reported she will comply with new Panamax dimensions, allowing her to cruise through the new wider locks currently under construction at the Panama Canal.

The new ship was announced by Holland America back in 2012. At the time, the company said:

“The Pinnacle class will have exciting new culinary and entertainment venues, will take our premium accommodations to an even higher level and will include many energy savings measures that will enable us to achieve significant fuel efficiencies.”

Since, the company claim to have put “blood, sweat and tears” into the intensive designing and planning of the new ship.

No further information is currently available about the new Pinnacle Class ship, but we expect to hear more specifics unveiled throughout the next two years.