SeaDream Yacht Club and Damen Shipyards have decided not to proceed with the building of a new cruise ship for SeaDream. The new ship, SeaDream Innovation, was scheduled to be delivered in September of 2021 and was to be Damen’s first cruise ship.
Neither SeaDream nor Damen wanted to respond on the cancellation other than that the decision was made in ‘good faith and with mutual understanding’ and that ‘both parties are open to potential future projects and collaboration.’ The vessel was supposed to be built at Damen’s Romanian shipyard in Mangalia.
On the company website, Atle Brynestad, SeaDream Owner and Chairman, did say that other new build opportunities are actively being pursued and that ‘the company has been debt free for several years and has the equity needed to expand the fleet. We hope to announce a new ship in 2020.’
The existing fleet of two ships, the SeaDream I and II, will undergo a refurbishment of the suites as planned – starting with SeaDream II in spring 2020.
People who had already booked a cruise on the SeaDream Innovation will receive a full refund.
In the meantime, Damen’s cruise department continues work on the company’s first river cruise vessel A-Rosa to be delivered in 2021. Damen’s joint venture in Genua, Italy, Mariotti Damen Cruise SpA, is working on two cruise ships for Seabourn Cruise Line, based in Miami. The first, the Seabourn Venture is to be delivered in June 2021 and the second as yet unnamed vessel is to be delivered one year later.
