Holland America Line (HAL) has held the keel laying ceremony for the company’s new 2,668-passenger ship, Ryndam, at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy.

A 505-ton block, about 14 by 34 metres, was lowered by crane into the yard’s building dock, marking the official beginning of construction. The Pinnacle Class ship is scheduled to launch in May 2021 with Europe sailings.

Holland America Group’s executive vice president of fleet operations, Keith Taylor, and Holland America Line’s project manager of newbuilds, Jan Koller, were both in attendance.

The block laid was one of 85 blocks in total that will make up the ship.

“The keel laying is an important construction milestone because it marks the moment when we can really start to watch the ship take shape and progress toward its launch in 18 months,” said president of HAL, Orlando Ashford.

“Adding Ryndam to our fleet will provide a new canvas for us to share our brand and enable us to show the world to even more cruisers.”

Ryndam is the third in the series and she will feature several of the Pinnacle Class amenities and innovations, including the 270-degree surround screen World Stage; Rudi’s Sel de Mer; Grand Dutch Cafe; Lincoln Center Stage; B.B. King’s Blues Club, and Rolling Stone Rock Room.

The ship’s design will be the responsibility of leading hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany and designer and architect Bjørn Storbraaten.

This is the 17th ship constructed for Holland America Line by Italian shipyard Fincantieri, which most recently built Pinnacle sister ship, Nieuw Statendam.

For more information, visit hollandamerica.com.