Aker Yards Finland will build a 900-million-euro luxury cruiser for Royal Caribbean International. It will be the biggest and most expensive ship in all shipbuilding history.

"And probably the biggest Finnish export deal," thinks Yrjö Julin, the President of Aker Yards Finland.

In size, the new Genesis-class vessel will be the biggest passenger ship in the world. With its 220,000 gross register tonnes the vessel will be 43 per cent bigger than Freedom of the Seas, which will be handed over to the same shipping company in April.

The giant of the seas will be 360 metres in length and 47 metres in width. Thanks to the width it has been possible to add a few decks and increase the height. The height above the waterline will be 65 metres and the draft more than 9 metres. It will carry at least 5,400 passengers.

The dimensions of the harbour basin in Miami, the world's busiest cruise harbour, put certain limits on the length of new ships. Harbour facilities in ports of call also have to be taken into consideration.

Richard D. Fain, the Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, considers the venture to be "an exhilarating giant step into the future." He describes the ship as bold in design and daring in innovation.

The ship will be built at Turku shipyard in Finland. The aim is for it to be ready in the autumn of 2009.

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The new ship, built under Project Genesis, will be the most expensive ship order in history. Building it will take up to 5,800 work years.