China's second domestically built large cruise ship, the Adora Flora City, successfully completed its float-out on Monday. Photo: China Media Group

China's second domestically built large cruise ship, the Adora Flora City, successfully completed its float-out on Monday, marking an over 70 percent completion rate of the project. The ship has now entered the final stages of interior outfitting and system testing, according to China Media Group (CMG).

At 1:30 am, at the shipyard in Shanghai, workers opened the floodgates, allowing seawater to flow into the dry dock. After six hours of water injection and real-time monitoring, the cruise ship slowly floated up, marking a key milestone for China's second domestically built large cruise ship.

The workers then conducted a series of tests on process elements and technical indicators, including residual stress release and center of gravity measurements, which further confirmed the significant scientific achievements made during the design, craftsmanship, and assembly stages of the cruise ship, according to the CMG report.

"This float-out process went smoothly, and all the indicators were within our expectations," said Chen Gang, the project's site director and chief designer at China State Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd, was quoted by the report as saying.

"The structural assembly, including piping and cabling, is nearing completion, marking the transition to the final stages of system testing and the full start of interior outfitting. The project has now entered a new phase," Chen said.

Scheduled for sea trials in May 2026, the ship is expected to be delivered by the end of 2026. Before delivery, the ship will undergo 108,000 total inspections. Unlike the first ship, the Adora Magic City, the project's oversight team has been entirely local, replacing the previous foreign team, according to CMG.

Compared to the Adora Magic City, the second ship is 17.4 meters longer and features a 16-story living and entertainment area. The public and outdoor leisure spaces have expanded by 735 square meters and 1,913 square meters, respectively, with a total tonnage of 141,900 tons.

Chen noted that the overall construction time for the second cruise ship is expected to be reduced by more than 30 percent compared to the first ship due to a continued focus on digital control systems and enhanced design methods. 

According to the CMG report, through digital transformation, workers can use tablets to track the installation status of more than 25 million parts on the ship. The integration of artificial intelligence also allows the virtual model of the ship to be updated in real-time. Additionally, the increased rate of domestic components has significantly accelerated construction efficiency.

"Starting with the second cruise ship, we have systematically advanced localization, with key systems such as the stage lifting system, and entertainment systems being the first to be fully localized, increasing the localization rate by 5 percent compared to the first ship," Chen said, adding that "over the next 10 years, the goal is to achieve 80 percent localization in the entire cruise equipment industry, with a phased plan already in place and progress underway."

Global Times