Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International’s newest cruise ship which is being constructed at Meyer Werft, a family owned Papenburg-based shipyard, has reached a major milestone – completing its conveyance down the River Ems.

The conveyance is a unique process for ships built at Meyer Werft as the shipyard is situated inland along the banks of the River Ems and the ship must make the trip from Papenburg down the river backwards to get to the North Sea. The journey takes 12 hours.

At 346 metres long and 41 metres wide, the 167,800 gross ton ship is one of the largest ever to go through conveyance. Thousands of revelers from surrounding local villages lined the 26-mile route along the river bank to watch and celebrate the ship’s journey.

Ovation of the Seas will be officially launched in April, when it departs Southampton, England for Tianjin, China on a 52-day Global Odyssey. It will begin its first homeport sailing season in China from Tianjin on June 24. Ovation of the Seas, together with Quantum of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Legend of the Seas, will make up the largest fleet of any cruise line sailing in China.