Construction Begins on the Seabourn Odyssey

The keel was laid on July 11 for the new Seabourn Cruises ship, the Odyssey, at a ceremony in Friuli, in northeast Italy between Venice and Trieste. The 32,000-ton, 225-suite Seabourn Odyssey is due to enter service in June 2009.

The keel and its hull are being constructed there by CI.MAR, an alliance between T. Mariotti and the Cimolai Group, a firm specializing in steel fabrication, Seabourn said. Both will be floated to T. Mariotti’s Genoa shipyard where the ship will be assembled.

Following tradition, Seabourn president and CEO Pamela Conover placed a coin on the keel as it was joined to the first section of the hull. Marco Bisagno, president of T. Mariotti, then contributed a newly minted Italian one-Euro coin to complete the ceremony, which is meant to solicit good fortune for the vessel during its construction and throughout its seagoing life, Seabourn said.