Launch ceremony held for twin of fire-damaged liner
The Japan Times: April 13, 2003
NAGASAKI (Kyodo) The launch ceremony for an enormous luxury liner, the
twin of a vessel that caught fire last year, delaying its construction,
was held Saturday at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. shipyard in
Nagasaki.
The 113,000-ton Diamond Princess has taken the name of the other vessel,
which was renamed the Sapphire Princess after being severely damaged in a
fire in October, MHI officials said.
Some 80 officials, including representatives of the ship's owner, British
shipping company P&O Princess Cruises PLC, attended the ceremony, which
included fireworks and balloons.
The ship, 290 meters long and 41.5 meters wide, is designed to accommodate
3,100 passengers and is one of the world's largest luxury liners.
The Diamond Princess was pulled by tug boats from the dock to a quay some
700 meters away.
Nobuyoshi Aikawa, head of the MHI Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works,
told staff to do their utmost to complete the liner and help restore trust
that was damaged by the fire.
MHI is scheduled to deliver the Diamond Princess to the owner in February
after finishing interior work, and to complete the Sapphire Princess in
May next year, the officials said.
Reconstruction of the Sapphire, of which about 40 percent was damaged in
the fire, is proceeding smoothly, they said. The fire caused an estimated
30 billion yen worth of damage.
