16 March, 2015 – Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has recently confirmed that the third in its Oasis class series of cruise ships, following on from the Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, will be named Harmony of the Seas. Currently under construction at the STX France St Nazaire shipyard, and due for delivery in 2016, the new vessel will – like its two older sisters – feature an extensive array of decking and related products from the Dutch company, Bolidt.
Further cementing the already close relations between Bolidt, RCI and STX France, a fourth vessel in the Oasis series, as yet only known by the code name B34, is also now being built by the shipyard. Steel cutting started this February and the newbuilding is due to be completed in 2018. Once again it also will be fitted out with decking from Bolidt.
In total Bolidt will supply 18,000m2 of decking systems to each of the new 227,000grt cruise ships. Bolideck® Future Teak will feature on the outer decks, for example, while Bolideck® Select Soft will be extensively used in public areas. In addition, for these latest two Oasis-class vessels additional areas onboard will use Bolideck® Future Teak, the environmentally friendly alternative product from Bolidt, as RCI has decided to replace all items that used to be manufactured from teak, including for example steps and benches.
Jacco van Overbeek, Bolidt Director Maritime Division, says: ”We are very happy that STX France has chosen to work with us again, with the full backing and support of RCI. We have collaborated with the yard for over 20 years now, including newbuilding projects for MSC and Celebrity Cruise Lines, and the fact that they chose us again for these two landmark new cruise ships is a big vote of confidence in our decking systems.”
While the Harmony of the Seas and its unnamed sister will, like its two predecessors, feature 16 decks and will require a very similar package of Bolideck® systems, the latest pair will be slightly larger than Oasis and Allure of the Seas. In total there will be 2,747 state rooms onboard, up from 2,706, and passenger capacity will be 5,479, compared with 5,400.
The new contract represents the continuation of a longstanding relationship between Bolidt and RCI. Most recently Bolidt has supplied decking systems to the Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, delivered in 2014 and 2015 respectively – as well as a third ship in this series, Ovation of the Seas, which is due for delivery in 2016. Bolideck® Future Teak and Bolideck® Select Soft feature extensively onboard all three ships. In addition, four new vessels being built for TUI Cruises (an RCI joint venture) at the Meyer Turku yard in Finland will receive Bolideck® systems.
Bolideck® Future Teak is a durable, lightweight synthetic decking system with the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of real teak. As well as being weatherproof and maintenance-friendly, it is ecologically responsible, reduces installation time and is extremely cost effective. Bolideck® Select Soft has been developed for its excellent sound attenuation qualities and has proved particularly popular for use in areas above cabins.
