World’s biggest cruise ship takes to the water in France

THE hulking shell of the biggest cruise ship in the world has slid into the water. When finished it will weigh some 227,000 tonnes and measure 362 metres long.

TOPSHOTS Fishing boats pass by as the cruise liner "Harmony of the Seas" is towed by tug boats into its new moorings at the STX Shipyards in Saint-Nazaire on June 19, 2015. The cruise liner, one of the largest ever built, with a capacity of 6,000 passengers is scheduled for delivery in April 2016. AFP PHOTO / GEORGES GOBET

THE hulking shell of the world’s largest cruise ship slid into the waters off western France on Friday, with workers aiming to have it ready for a 2016 inaugural trip.

The huge vessel, named Harmony of the Seas, has been under construction since September 2013 in the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire.

Now that’s a propeller!

When finished it will weigh some 227,000 tonnes and measure 362 metres in length, 50 metres longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower.

A view of the passenger cabins at the construction site.

Harmony is also a metre wider than the current twin ocean-going monsters of the pleasure cruise world, which are also 362m long.

It will take a fair bit of paint to cover this vessel.

Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise ships in current service, are 65m wide and come in at 225,000 tonnes a piece. All three belong to Royal Caribbean International cruise lines.

There’s still a way to go before it’s ready.

Some 2500 people are at work building Harmony, which will require 90,000 square metres of carpet and 500,000 litres of paint.

Technicians walk near a propeller of the ship.

The test runs of the boat are presently set for mid-February 2016 and its first voyage is planned for May next year, a trip from Southampton in Britain to the Spanish city of Barcelona.

People watch from the shore as the cruise liner is towed.

The ship will have room for some 6360 passengers and 2100 staff members.

A view of the passenger cabins.

A technician works with a soldering iron.