Crystal Expedition Cruises luxury expedition ship Crystal Endeavor has been christened at a shipyard in Germany.
Godmother Manuela Schwesig, prime minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Stralsund, Germany, named the vessel.
The 200-passenger ship is set to enter service on July 17 from its summer homeport of Reykjavík.
Tan Sri KT Lim, chairman of Crystal owner Genting Hong Kong, described the vessel as “the most luxurious and expensive ever built” at $20,000 per gross tons.
He added: “She sets a new high standard in luxury cruising including the largest space ratio, at over 100 gross tons per guest, and most importantly, the highest staff to guest ratio in the industry at one-to-one.”
The Germany federal government agreed with the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to continue to support the MV Werften shipyard earlier in June with finance from its economic stabilisation fund.
Economic affairs and energy minister Peter Altmaier said at the ceremony on Saturday: “Today is a special moment of joy for all those who have contributed with great commitment to the creation of Crystal Endeavor.
“She exemplifies the level of shipbuilding expertise and broad maritime know-how we have in Germany and want to retain even in the difficult times caused by the pandemic.
“We want to further strengthen the competencies of high-quality shipbuilding and make shipping more climate friendly.
“The federal government is thus providing many hundreds of millions of euros for developing innovative solutions in shipbuilding.”
MV Werften president and chief executive Peter Fetten added: “We have shown that even under the most challenging conditions we can build ships of the greatest complexity that meet the highest standards.”