Video: Celebrity Silhouette Completes Ems Transit to the Sea

Yesterday Celebrity Silhouette departed the Meyer shipyard on its conveyance down the Ems River to the Sea. This video shows the first part of the difficult and complicated trip. The ship sails slowly backward - stern first for safer maneuverability - down the river choreographed with the tide and the winds. In preparation for the trip power and railroad tracks that cross the river have been removed. In the video, you get a perspective on just how little clearance the ship has as it passes through the locks.



Sometimes seeing behind the scenes is even more enlightening, as you'll see in this raw video taken during the first part of the transit.



This amateur video (below) taken near Leer gives a better impression of what the process is along the 26-mile route as the ship travels down the river - slow, and again how little clearance there is as it passes through the various locks and bridges.

Celebrity Silhouette Leaves Meyer Werft

Celebrity Silhouette backed out of the Meyer yard this afternoon at Papernburg for its 26-mile journey down the Ems River to the sea. It had to be timed precisely to go with the high tide to ensure maximum depth beneath the ship. In preparation for the trip power lines and railroad tracks that pass over the river were removed, and the ship moved slowly (about four miles per hour) down the river so it could maneuver carefully through all the tight passages in the dams and locks, sometimes with as little as five feet of clearance. By the time you read this the 12-hour overall journey will be completed, and the ship will be safely docked at Eemshaven.

The ship will leave from there on its sea trials, and return to Eemshaven for further outfitting. At completion, it will sail to Hamburg where it will be christened on July 21.

Weekly Video Cruise News Summary June 4, 2011

This weeks news from the cruise industry, brought to you via Cruise News Daily, has items about Carnival Corp ordering a new ship for their P&O brand, international cruise lines expanding programs from Brazil and what it means for the rest of the world, Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri revising its plan to return to profitability, Seabourn Quest being delivered, Celebrity Silhouette being floated out at Meyer Werft, Independence of the Seas escaping damage when an oil tank exploded on the pier in Gibraltar, Radiance of the Seas' drydock in Victoria continuing, and the construction progress on Carnival Breeze one year from delivery.

Links we mentioned in the video can be found on our website

Touring Celebrity Silhouette under Construction at Meyer Werft

Celebrity Cruises President Dan Hanrahan toured the almost-complete Celebrity Silhouette at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg (Germany). The ship is being readied for delivery in mid-July. The 122,000-ton vessel is the fourth in the Solstice-class line.

The ship was floated out of Meyer's covered building dock on Sunday, May 29, 2011. We have photos of the float out on the Cruise News Daily website.

A Cutaway View of Celebrity Silhouette.

Construction is in the early phases of Celebrity's fourth Solstice-class ship, Celebrity Silhouette. CND gave their readers the ultimate "cutaway" view in this photo taken at Meyer Werft.