French shipyard Chantiers de l’Atlantique, formerly known as STX France, has boosted its production capacity by 30 percent having inaugurated the extension of the pre-assembly area.
The construction work on the extension was launched in July 2017, resulting in the expansion of the yard floor area by 17,000 sqm.
The project also included lengthening the rail of the 1,400-tonne gantry crane, which is used to assemble hulls of large vessels, by 135 m the completed project allowing six more mega-blocks to be assembled and outfitted.
“This investment worth EUR 16 million allows us to move to a simultaneous construction capacity of 22 blocks, compared to 16 previously and thus meet the increase in the current and future industrial load of the yard, ” said Laurent Castaing, General Manager of Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
The shipyard specializes in the construction of the world’s largest passenger ships, navy and offshore energy vessels.
The company’s most recent project included the construction of Celebrity Edge, which was delivered to Celebrity Cruises at the beginning of November. Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard is currently engaged in the construction of Celebrity Apex, a sister ship to Celebrity Edge.
The yard is also building the second unit of the Meraviglia series for MSC Cruises, MSC Bellissima, which is set for naming and delivery in less than 100 days.
The company has also started production of the first two units in the MSC’s World Class series –deliverable from 2022.