The construction of RCI-Royal Caribbean's first ICON Class ship reached a major milestone on Tuesday, April 5, when the keel was laid for Icon of the Seas.
At an official ceremony held at the Meyer Turku shipyard (Turku, Finland) the start of construction was celebrated.
Icon OTS will be the first of 3x units, which RCI said would have a new design.
Royal Caribbean has not yet released any details on what the newbuild will look like or any of the onboard features.
Royal Caribbean Group's (RCG) new President & CEO Jason Liberty was joined by RCG's Chairman Richard Fain, together with Meyer Turku's senior executives and teams for the keel-laying.
The keel is the first block of the ship and it is a maritime tradition to commemorate this phase of new ship construction. The first block of Icon required a 3000-ton crane to lift it into place on top of the freshly minted coins, which represent the yard and line.
The coins are meant to bring luck and will be retrieved and given to the captain and crew prior to setting sail.
Icon of the Seas will be powered by LNG-liquefied natural gas.
More information on her deployment and ship details is expected later this spring.