Century Cruises enters European market – river cruise vessel under construction at Concordia Damen
c: Concordia Damen
Dutch, Werkendam-based shipbuilder Concordia Damen has commenced construction of a new River Cruise vessel for Century Cruises, one of China’s leading river cruise operators.
The vessel has been developed in partnership with United Waterways, and marks Century Cruises’ official entry into the European river cruise market.
The hull of the vessel, to be named Century Star, has recently arrived at Concordia Damen’s yard in Werkendam for outfitting. Delivery is scheduled for June 2026.
Century Cruises
Century Cruises is a Chinese luxury river cruise operator founded in 1992, best known for its operations on the Yangtze River and for pioneering luxury and eco-friendly shipbuilding in China. The company aims to expand its operations through a partnership with United Waterways, which in turn provides Century Cruises with white label services. United Waterways is a Basel-based river cruise service provider that acts as the operator behind its clients´ brands, handling infrastructure, ship management and hospitality services.
In August, Alex Ye, CEO of Century Cruises, already stated that United Waterways´ expertise is important in helping Century Cruises to introduce its customers to Europe’s river cruise culture. The CEO also said that “Concordia Damen’s reputation for excellence aligns seamlessly with our values of quality, innovation, and environmental stewardship.”
The operator recognised Concordia Damen for its sustainable and efficient river cruise designs. As with other inland navigation vessel types, the shipbuilder aims to combine proven designs and experience with modern, environmentally friendly technology.
In the coming months, Concordia Damen will tailor the Century Star for luxury cruising on Europe’s rivers, offering high standards of comfort, efficiency and design.
About Concordia Damen
Concordia Damen's core business is to design and build inland waterway vessels with an innovative and cost-effective profile, primarily for customers in Western Europe and South America. We serve small and large (family-owned) shipping companies, as well as multinationals looking to optimize their transport logistics.
Down-to-earth management enables us to successfully build vessels worldwide, for example: Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Paraguay.
Concordia Damen has delivered more than 270 vessels with different specifications, e.g. dry cargo vessels, tankers, pushers and river cruisers, and we have the capacity to go from 'simple, but effective' designs to full-fledged, zero-emission vessels with future-proof fuel and propulsion systems. High quality, innovative and efficient shipbuilding is the Concordia Damen trademark.
We see changes coming, understand what they mean and can thereby process them quickly and effectively in our services.