MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ Entering the Port of Piraeus
Cruiseship of 2,018 Berths, built in 1998 at Meyer Werft, Germany

VESSEL IDENTIFICATION & DESCRIPTION: Call Sign C6TQ6, IMO Number 9141065. Ordered in 1995 and built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, delivered in Jun 1998, Bahamas Flagged, DNV Classed, P&I insurance with Steamship Mutual P&I, Length Overall of 268.60 m., Length Between Perpendiculars of 235.60 m., Draught of 8.40 m., Moulded Depth of 11.50 m., Beam of 32.20 m., Gross Tonnage of 75,338, Tonnage of 45,235 International Net and 8,395 Dwt (long).

The vessel was constructed by Meyer Werft in Germany in 1998 for account of Star Cruises, the Malaysia-based subsidiary of the Genting Group. Her Launch Name was MV ‘SuperStar Leo’ and she was the first vessel of Star Cruises’ Leo-class. Vessel originally home-ported in Singapore and operated for Star Cruises to Malaysia and Thailand. In 2000, Star Cruises acquired Norwegian Caribbean Line; In 2007, Star Cruises sold 50% of Norwegian for $1 billion to US-based Apollo Management (owners of Oceania Cruises).

In 2004, Norwegian Cruise Line was planning to launch the cruiseship MV ‘Pride of America’. However, just prior to completion, the vessel partially sank when a storm hit the Lloyd Werft shipyards. To meet the already booked cruises for MV ‘Pride of America’, the cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Sky’ was immediately rushed into service under the name MV ‘Pride of Aloha’. To compensate for the unexpected events, cruiseship MV ‘SuperStar Leo’ was immediately transferred to the NCL fleet, her planned cruises cancelled, and after only two weeks of refits, the vessel emerged as the cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’, ready to assume the planned cruises of MV ‘Norwegian Sky’.

There is only one sistership vessel built under the ‘Leo Class’ (now ’Spirit Class’ with NCL), the cruiseship MV ’SuperStar Virgo’ which is owned by Star Cruises. Since the ‘Leo Class’ vessels were designed for the Asian market, this cruiseship is generally on a shorter scale in height than most cruise ships. This also means shorter deck chairs for lounging, hand rails in the corridors and so on.

VESSEL’S OWNERS / MANAGERS: Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), United States. [Norwegian is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with major shareholders including Apollo Global Management (15.8%), Genting Group (11.1%), and TPG Capital (2.3%). Norwegian Cruise Line controls approximately 8% of the total worldwide share of the cruise market.]

PASSENGER CAPACITY: Total number of Passengers 2,300, 983 Passenger Cabins, 2018 Passenger Berths, 959 Crew. 14 decks.

MAIN ENGINE: 4 x Diesel Gen – MAN Energy Solutions 14V48/60 – 4-stroke 14-cyl. 480mm x 600mm bore/stroke 58,796mkW total at 514rpm driving 4 x AC generator(s) at 60Hz.

PROPULSOR: 2 x Azimuth (Aft) (electric) AC.

NEWBUILDING COST: Reported newbuilding price of US$ 350 million, contracted in 1995.

Images of Norwegian Cruise Line cruiseships posted previously on our blog, mostly from their port calls to New York Cruise Terminal and in Piraeus can be accessed by clicking on following link!

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. A pilot boat outbound. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Spirit’ entering the Port of Piraeus, Greece. Image credit: Karatzas Images

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