The World’s biggest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, has left from Saint-Nazaire, western France, for its three-day sea trials on Thursday.
The STX Shipyard started with the construction of the vessel in September 2013 for €1bn ($1.1bn) mammoth for the US shipbuilder Royal Caribbean International (RCI).
Highlights of the ship:
- The vessel is 361m long – which surpasses the height of Eiffel Tower. Also, it is almost 100m longer than the Titanic, and beats the Queen Elizabeth (314m) and the Queen Mary 2 (345m).
- The height of the vessel – 70m – made an imposing presence which could been seen from miles away.
- The vessel has 16 decks and is built with a capacity to hold 5,497 guest on board.
The first sea trial has some 500 people onboard,including crew as well as officials from the owners and engineers and suppliers. Three pilots, who have trained on a simulator in nearby Nantes for the past year, helped the captain in the tricky manoeuvres. The pilots will leave the vessel once it is 20km (12 miles) out at sea.
The tugs first helped the ship back out of its berth before turning it around and then guiding it out to the open sea. The ship will sail a short trip to Belle-Ile and the Ile d’Yeu before returning to Saint-Nazaire on Sunday morning. A second set of tests will be carried out in April. The vessel is expected to deliver in 12th May 2016.
Have a look at the video of Harmony of the Seas setting out for sea trials here.
Source: The Guardian
