The world's largest cruise shipbuilder Fincantieri (via its subsidiary VARD) delivered HANSEATIC Spirit - the 3rd boat in a new series of luxury expedition ships designed for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Germany.
With GT tonnage 16000 and LOA length 138 m, HANSEATIC Spirit follows the sisterships HANSEATIC inspiration and HANSEATIC nature, both delivered in 2019 in Norway. Each vessel is tailored to allow guests to access remote regions, ranging from the Antarctic and Arctic to the Amazon.
In November 2017, Hapag-Lloyd announced that hull design changes resulted in a projected over 10% annual fuel savings for the new expedition vessels. After an initial assessment, the hull's efficiency was optimized using DNV GL developed form optimization process that included 10,000 hull design analyses to confirm the hull model optimization results. The main changes were done to the hull's stern - optimized for passenger comfort by minimizing the impact of slamming.
On July 3, 2018, VARD signed the shipbuilding contract for Hanseatic Spirit. Hapag-Lloyd officially announced that the ship will be marketed as adults-only. TUI Group announced its plans for a 3rd vessel in the Expedition series in May 2018.
In Romania is constructed only the hull (weight 6500 tons), while the rest of the ship is built at VARD's shipyard in Langsten Norway (near Alesund). The 4000 ml (6450 km) long towing of the hull from Romania to Norway takes around 5 weeks.
The vessel's keel-laying ceremony (at VARD Tulcea shipyard) was held on July 16, 2019. The ship was launched (floated out from VARD Tulcea's drydock) on July 14, 2020, and officially delivered from VARD to Hapag-Lloyd on June 29, 2021.