New Cruise Company Signs with China Merchant for Eight B-to-B Ships

 

Ship manager United Waterways announced its plans to expand its unique B-to-B approach into ocean cruising, focusing on the popular expedition and coastal cruising segments. The company, which has been a provider of ship management services, announced earlier this year plans to expand into the ownership of river cruise ships and now says it has booked construction slots with China Merchant for the expedition and coastal ships.

The B-to-B concept calls for the company to build the vessels, but instead of direct marketing, it is seeking partners. It reports strong interest from well-known tour operators and also looks to expand into lifestyle brands. The ships will operate under the name of the partner brands. Using a similar approach, the well-known Lindblad Expeditions is launching its first river cruises in 2026 by partnering with another company, Transcend Cruises, which is using a similar B-to-B business model.

United Waterways first announced earlier this year plans to build 10 river cruise ships. The company reports it found partners within six months, working with prestigious brands. The ships are being built in Europe, and the company says it is working with partners in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The ships, they report, will be the first multi-fuel platform and will be ready to comply with the European Union’s emerging regulations.

Based on the strong partner response to the river cruise segment, United Waterways believes there is a similar opportunity in the expedition and coastal cruising segments. It booked construction slots for a total of eight ships, four for coastal and four for expedition, with China Merchant Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Shipyard. United Waterways is launching a new brand, Ocean Advice, for these ships, and says it believes there will be crossover opportunities with its river partners. It says three of the eight vessels have already been reserved, and it expects to book all the ships within the next 12 months.

It notes that China Merchant has strong experience in the expedition and small cruise ship segment. The shipyard built seven 200-passenger expedition ships for SunStone, which are chartered to major brands. The last of the ships was recently delivered. China Merchant had said it would be deemphasizing the small cruise ships based on strong demand from other segments.

United Waterways reports it has two design concepts, designed in partnership with the well-known Tillberg Design of Sweden. For the expedition market, the ships will have a capacity of 186 passengers. For coastal cruising, the ships will have a capacity of 260 passengers.

Both of the ship classes are focused on providing cozy spaces and exploiting a destination focus. The size will permit the ships to reach out of the way and smaller destinations unavailable to bigger ships. Working with China Merchant, they will also incorporate China’s developments in electrification to make the ships hybrids. 

As part of its agreement with China Merchant, the company reports it has already exercised the first slot, signing a contract for an expedition ship due for delivery in 2028. It expects the first coastal ship in 2029.