Breakaway on the starting block

The first of 73 giant construction blocks which will eventually make up Norwegian’s new cruise ship, Breakaway, was laid in the bottom of a dry dock in a German shipyard at the weekend.
Remarkably, it will take less than 12 months for construction of the 144,000-ton ship to be completed – a new record for a vessel of this size.
Procedures at the Meyer-Werft yard in Papenburg have been streamlined to improve efficiency, with the introduction of high-tech systems learned from the Porsche car factory. Some of the ship sections have been under construction for months, beginning in the giant laser-cutting and welding workshops at the site.
Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian’s chief executive, was on hand to place a traditional lucky coin under the first 350-ton block. He said: “It’s thrilling to mark the start of the block assembly and realise that in one year we will take delivery of Norwegian Breakaway. We can’t wait.”
On completion, the 4,000-passenger ship will be based in New York, sailing seven-night cruises to the Bahamas and Florida, and 12-night cruises to the Caribbean. Work has also started on Norwegian Getaway, a second ship of the same design, with the cutting of the first sheets of steel. The vessel, to be completed in 2014, will be based in Miami.