Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class ship will be built at STX France shipyard and today ArcelorMittal has been selected to provide 100% of the steel for the hull and 20 bridges in the new ship.

The agreement will supply more than 40,000 tonnes of plates and coils from ArcelorMittal's European sites.

The coils will be produced at Fos-sur-Mer, France and will then be processed into sheets by ArcelorMittal's St Nazaire Distribution Solutions unit.  Afterwards, the coils will then be delivered to STX France.

The plates are being produced by ArcelorMittal Gijon, Spain and shipped to STX France.

Deliveries will commence in September 2013, when construction of the hull will begin.

Hervé Bourrier, CEO, ArcelorMittal France said: "This contract demonstrates our ability to deliver high quality steels and tailored services from our European industrial and sales units, and confirms our long-term presence as a steel supplier to the cruise ship market, one that has seen consistent growth over the last five years."

The ship, which will have around 2,700 cabins, will be delivered in 2016 to Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean has come to an agreement to get an unsecured loan for up to €892 million to finance its third Oasis-class cruise ship. COFACE, the export credit agency of France, will guarantee 100% of the financing, according to a filing.

As soon as the loan is funded, it will amortize semi-annually and will mature 12 years as soon as STX France shipyard delivers the new ship, which is currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2016.

Interest on the loan is expected to accrue at a fixed rate of 2.6%, including the applicable margin, or at a floating rate equal to EURIBOR plus 1.15%.

Société Générale is serving as facility agent and mandated lead arranger, BNP Paribas as documentation bank and mandated lead arranger, and HSBC France as mandated lead arranger.

In an interview with Royal Caribbean Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific Gavin Smith, the topic of Royal Caribbean's new Oasis-class cruise ship that is on order for a few years from now.

While Smith was not able to go into any great detail about the third Oasis class cruise ship, he did give us an idea of what to expect.

"It could be expected that the DNA of the earlier Oasis Class ships will be protected, and a host of new and innovative amenities will be added to further enhance guest experience."

Construction of the new ship will begin in September 2013 at the STX France shipyards. The third Oasis class ship is expected to be delivered to Royal Caribbean sometime in 2016.

Royal Caribbean ordered a third (and possibly fourth) Oasis-class cruise ship earlier this week and already many of our readers are wondering about what the new ship's name will be.  Perhaps recent trademark filings by Royal Caribbean will give us a clue.

Back on Friday, November 2, 2012, Royal Caribbean applied for trademarks for the following ship names.  Could one of these be the next name for the new third Oasis-class ship?

• Anthem of the Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Passion of the Seas
• Pulse of the Seas
• Quantum of the Seas
• Vantage of the Seas

For Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean held contests to name the ship.  It is not known if Royal Caribbean will use one of these six names or hold another contest to name the ship.

Royal Caribbean announced today it has secured a deal with STX France to construct a third Oasis class ship that will be delivered by mid-2016.

The ship will be the same size as the Oasis and Allure of the Seas, and will accommodate 5,400 passengers.

Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain commented on the news, "The Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas have fundamentally transformed the cruise experience for our guests. These ships have consistently generated outstanding guest satisfaction ratings and continue to produce superior financial results. We are thrilled to be adding a sister to this extraordinary class of vessels at a compelling price. Being back building in France just adds to the pleasure."

Including today's contract and existing ship orders, projected capital expenditures for 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 are $1.3 billion, $700 million, $1.2 billion, $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. The company's annualized capacity growth rate from 2012 to 2016 remains at a historically low rate of 3.5%.

Royal Caribbean was negotiating with STX Europe in Finland to construct the third vessel, but a deal could not be worked out with the Finnish government.

Royal Caribbean has a one-year option to build a fourth Oasis-class ship from STX France, which would be delivered in mid-2018.