Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis class cruise ship had her keel layed today at a ceremony at the STX France shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
The keel-laying marks the official start of construction for Royal Caribbean's unnamed fourth Oasis class ship.
During the ceremony, a 1,000-ton block measuring 32-ft by 154-ft (10 x 47 meters) was lifted by crane into the building dock. Newly minted coins were placed under the keel and will stay in place there until the end of the ship’s construction.
Once the ship is near to completion, the coins are retrieved and presented to the ship’s Captain and crew to be placed onboard the ship. According to maritime tradition, the coins are said to bring luck to the ship during its construction process and then to its Captain and crew when she is sailing out at sea.
Special thanks to Lloyd Marchand from the Oasis 4 Facebook group for providing these photos.
The fourth Oasis class ship is scheduled for delivery in spring 2018.
