Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. today delivered AIDAperla, the second of two large cruise ships built for AIDA Cruises at MHI's Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works.

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Delivery Ceremony

This follows the delivery on March 14, 2016 of AIDAprima, the sister ship of AIDAperla, marking completion of two cruise ships' construction ordered by AIDA Cruises. AIDAperla is scheduled to set sail for Majorca, Spain, beginning of May, 2017.

The delivery took place in attendance of Michael Thamm, CEO of the Costa Group, and Felix Eichhorn, President of AIDA Cruises, welcomed by MHI executives, Shunichi Miyanaga, President and CEO, and Kazuaki Kimura, President and CEO of Industry & Infrastructure business domain. Once the documents were signed the delivery concluded with the traditional change of the ship's national flag (from Japanese to Italian).

After a couple of introductory cruises from Majorca starting on June 1, AIDAperla will be christened by German model and presenter Lena Gercke on June 30, 2017, in Palma de Mallorca.

AIDAperla has 18 decks, is 300 meters in overall length, has gross tonnage of 125,000 tons, and is equipped with 12 restaurants and 18 bars including an on-board brewery. Among its numerous indoor public amenities there is the Theatrium, a 3-story multi-purpose theater in the center of the ship's atrium, as well as saunas, a discotheque, a casino and a fitness gym. The uppermost deck has swimming pools under large foil domes. There is also a sports deck that, during the winter period, can be converted into an ice skating rink. The ship has a total of 1,643 staterooms, offering the greatest variety in the AIDA Cruises fleet.

AIDAperla utilizes a number of advanced technologies. It is equipped with MHI's "Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System" (MALS)( 1), a proprietary technology that enhances fuel efficiency and comfortable cruise at sea. It also uses a pod propulsion system(2), and a new air-conditioning system that saves on energy consumption by using waste heat.

Depending on the availability in the destinations AIDAperla can also be operated with eco friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG) while docked in ports. AIDAperla, the second next-generation cruise ship, provides a unique and comfortable holiday experience with state of the art environmental technology and enhanced safety systems.

(1) Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System (MALS): An innovative system in which air blown out from the vessel, produces small air bubbles that cover the vessel's underside like an "air-carpet," reducing friction between the hull and seawater during navigation. MALS also enables a significant reduction in energy usage and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
(2) Pod propulsion system: A propulsion system whereby a ship's propellers are turned by cocoon-shaped attachments called "pods" that have built-in electric motors. The advantages of a pod propulsion system include reduced fuel consumption, outstanding steering performance (because the pods rotate), low noise and vibration (because there is no propeller shaft), and greater freedom in the system's placement within the ship.

Main Specifications of the AIDAperla
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About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world's leading industrial firms with 80,000 group employees and annual consolidated revenues of around 38 billion U.S. dollars. For more than 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI owns a unique business portfolio covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI delivers innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense and space systems.
For more information, please visit the MHI Group website: http://www.mhi-global.com.
For Technology, Trends and Tangents, visit MHI's new online media SPECTRA: http://spectra.mhi.com.

Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Contact:

Joseph Hood, PR Manager
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Email: mhi-pr@mhi.co.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-6716-2168
Fax: +81-(0)3-6716-5860