Papenburg, 05.06.2002 - The river Ems passage to the North Sea of the new cruise vessel for Royal Caribbean International (RCI), Brilliance of the Seas, is scheduled to take place between June 8 and 12, 2002. On Friday, May 31 the ship left the yard's covered building dock and was towed out to the fitting-out pier. The vessel will undergo extensive sea trials in the North Sea. Earliest possible timetable of the River Ems passage subject to alteration due to weather and tidal conditions: Saturday, June 8, 2002 (CET) 20:30 h - Vessel ready for sea 21:30 h - Departure from the shipyard 22:00 h - Vessel in front of the dock gate approx. 22:30 h - Passage dock gate approx. 23:00 h - Start of river Ems transit approx. 00:30 h - Passage Bridge "Friesenbrücke" approx. 02:00 h - Arrival at "Leerort" Sunday, June 9, 2002 10:50 h - Departure "Leerort" 11:20 h - Passage Bridge "Jann-Berghaus-Brücke" 14:00 h - Passage Emden Eastern Breakwater 16:00 h - Arrival Eemshaven pier The vessel's departure from Papenburg harbour and some passages of the river Ems transit will be presented live in the Internet. Internet: http://www.meyerwerft.de With a length overall of 293.20 meters and a breadth of 32.20 meters Brilliance of the Seas is capable of carrying 2,112 passengers in 1056 cabins. 577 of the 813 outside cabins have private balconies. The total installed power on board is 78,600 horsepower providing the new luxury cruise liner with a speed of more than 24 knots. The yard´s captain will again be Thomas Teitge (Lotsenbrüderschaft Emden), who has many years of experience as a pilot in handling the river Ems transits. There will be some more pilots on board to assist him. The whole team was carefully trained on a computer based simulator to be perfectly prepared for this river transit and to be able to manage even very difficult passages such as the "Friesenbrücke" bridge at Weener. During the transit the cruise liner will be assisted by four tugs: the tugs "Bremen" and "Wal" (2 x 1,600 kW and 2 x 1,450 kW respectively), and for stand-by and auxiliary services the tug "Hillerdine Wessels" (1,060 kW) and the yard´s own tug "Willm Rolf" (300 kW). During the river passage the vessel´s average speed will be approximately 7 km/h. Brilliance of the Seas will travel down the river Ems astern. This method was successfully tested in the previous transits. The pods fitted at the stern "shovel" the water under the vessel. In addition, with the podded drive the vessel can be more easily manoeuvred astern - comparable with the front-wheel drive of a car. Brilliance of the Seas will be delivered to Royal Caribbean International at the port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands at the beginning of July 2002. The vessel is intended to operate worldwide cruises and features a variety of luxurious cabins, a theatre, restaurants and a wide choice of sports facilities. At present under construction in the yard´s covered building dock is the cruise vessel "Norwegian Dawn" for Norwegian Cruise Line. The vessel is scheduled to be delivered in December 2002. Brilliance of the Seas - Main Particulars