NIT is celebrating the launch of the new AIDAprima, which is now cruising In European waters. AIDAprima is the 11th ship in the AIDA fleet. It was built in Nagasaki, Japan, by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and NIT supplied top quality interiors and AC rooms for the ship.
“Our delivery included the main staircase and spa and it was mainly implemented as an EPS contract,” says Jari Suominen, CEO of NIT. “We finished the stairs 12 months after signing the deal with Mitsubishi. I think this is one of the fastest deliveries of its kind in the history of NIT, and I am very proud of our hard-working team.”
The challenges presented for management, logistics and procurement were significant, as NIT’s home base is located near Turku, Finland, almost five thousand miles from Nagasaki. The effort and flexibility of Leo Steel, NIT’s own workshop, played a key role in meeting the project goals.
AIDAprima is the first ship in the new series for AIDA Cruises, one of ten brands of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s biggest cruise holiday company. The new flagship is 300 metres long and her gross tonnage is 124,100 GT. Mitsubishi is currently building the second ship in the series and NIT is among the suppliers – with a somewhat smaller role compared to the first project.
“It was absolutely necessary for us to look for new markets some years ago as the future of Finnish shipbuilding looked really worrisome,” Suominen says.
“Now the Turku shipyard has made a complete turnaround under the leadership of Meyer. Our competence has strengthened after projects with MHI and Meyer Werft in Papenburg, and this valuable experience is now available to all our customers.”
Sustainable and energy-efficient solutions have been the cornerstones in the design of AIDAprima. According to Jari Suominen, superb know-how, creative innovation and high quality installations are must-haves for successful turnkey suppliers such as NIT.
“Our goal is always to achieve the best competence in the business, with 100% readiness at project deadline.”