Silversea’s Silver Ray Floats Out, Significant Milestone in a Ship’s Construction History

Silver Ray, the sixth addition to Silversea’s fleet in three years, floated out from its berth on February 25, 2024, at Meyer Werft shipyard, in Germany’s Papenburg. The second vessel in the innovative Nova-class series of ships, Silver Ray is officially in the final stages of its completion.

When a ship floats out it essentially makes the transformation from a land-based construction project to a floating ship. It’s always momentous to see that transformation – and at this shipyard, it’s even more exciting. That’s because Silver Ray was floated out inside the building hall in Papenburg,  then transits – backward – to the River Ems to the North Sea for sea trials. Our public relations colleagues gathered these specifics of how it works:

After Meyer Werft’s skilled craftspeople cleaned Silver Ray’s hull, approximately 100,000 cubic meters ofwater flooded the dock over four hours, and two tugboats repositioned the 728-guest ship from the vast construction hall into the neighboring harbor basin, where the docking out phase will continue. The team subsequently installed her funnel and radar mast. In observance of shipbuilding traditions, Capt. Alessandro Zanello, Master of Silver Ray, welded a newly minted, commemorative coin to a wall on the pool deck—a symbol of good luck. 

Silver Ray will soon undertake a conveyance of approximately 32 kilometers (20 miles) down the Ems River to the North Sea ahead of her sea trials — a unique journey, due to the narrowness of the waterway. She is scheduled to enter service in June 2024, spending her inaugural season in the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic in December.

As you may have read on Discover, Silver Ray, identical to its innovative first-in-class fleet mate Silver Nova, which debuted in 2023, has some standout features, including:

• Both are 40 percent more energy efficient than is required under international standards and regulations.

• The ships’ unique inside-out design incorporates 4,000 square meters (about 43,000 square feet) of glass, bringing the sea and the ports of calls into the onboard experience. We called Silver Nova the ship of light and Silver Ray will maintain that same airy ambience.

• If you’ve experienced S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) on Silver Moon and Silver Dawn, aboard Silver Ray – as with Silver Nova – it’s expanded to include S.A.L.T. Chef’s Table, in addition to its lab, bar and restaurant.

Silver Ray is on schedule to debut in June 2024 in the Mediterranean.