View source for Project America

{{Short description|US shipbuilding contract}}
{{About|the shipbuilding contract|the automobile platform|Mitsubishi PS platform|the World War II rocket program|Projekt Amerika}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=PlannedProjectAmerica.jpg
|Ship caption=  Artist rendering of The ''Project America''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=  [[Ingalls Shipbuilding|Litton Ingalls]], Lloyd Werft
|Operators=*United States Lines (planned)
*[[Norwegian Cruise Line]] (for modifications & completion)
|Class before=
|Class after=
|Subclasses=
|Built range= 1999-2005
|In service range= NCL (2005–)
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned= 2
|Total ships completed= 1 (modified post build)
|Total ships cancelled= 1
|Total ships active= 1
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (as designed)
|Ship type=
|Ship tonnage= {{GT|72,000}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{convert|840|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam=
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth=
|Ship decks= 
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion= 
|Ship speed= 
|Ship capacity= 1,900 Passengers
|Ship crew= 
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(built as [[Pride of America]])
|Ship tonnage={{GT|81,000}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|920.6|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|105.6|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|26|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship decks=15
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=2,146 passengers
|Ship crew=900
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''Project America''' was the designation for a contract between [[American Classic Voyages]] and the [[Ingalls Shipbuilding|Litton Ingalls]] Shipyard of [[Pascagoula, Mississippi]].  The contract was to build two cruise ships, with a [[gross tonnage]] of 72,000 each, with an option for a third vessel.  The contract had the initial potential value of $1.4 billion [[United States dollar|U.S. dollars]]. The first ordered ship would go on to be completed as the ''[[Pride of America]]''.

==History==

The intention of the project was to revitalise the U.S. passenger cruise shipbuilding industry.  These ships were to be the largest cruise ships ever built in the U.S., with the first planned to enter service in early 2003.  As points of nostalgia and history, Ingalls delivered the last [[List of American built ocean liners|American-built large passenger ships]], [[SS Brasil (1957)|''Brasil'']] and [[SS Argentina (1958)|''Argentina'']], in 1958.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.stirlinglaw.com/ea/mormack.htm|title= The Moore-McCormack Lines|accessdate= 2007-10-06}}</ref>

John McNeece and his company were engaged by American Classic Voyages as their consultant architects whose role was to plan and design the interior architecture and design of the leading vessel in the series. Construction began in June 2000 but the bankruptcy of American Classic Voyages in October 2001 halted the project and left only the partially completed hull of the first ship, and parts and supplies for the second.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Peter, Bruce.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1003587263|title=Cruise ships. A design voyage.|date=2017|publisher=Ferry Publications|isbn=978-1-911268-08-6|location=Narberth|oclc=1003587263}}</ref>

==Original ship plans==
The ships were planned to cruise within the Hawaiian Islands and were to represent the state-of-the-art in comfort and luxury.  At an estimated {{convert|840|ft|m}} long, each ship was to be approximately {{GT|72,000}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miller, William H., 1948-|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/782992495|title=Great American passenger ships|date=2012|publisher=History|isbn=978-0-7524-7022-1|location=Stroud|oclc=782992495}}</ref>  Each vessel was to feature a four-deck-high atrium, a 1,060-seat dining room, an 840-seat theater, a 590-seat cabaret lounge, and a "uniquely Hawaiian" outdoor performance stage.

Plans called for accommodations for 1,900 passengers which included 950 cabins, 77 percent of which were to be "outside cabins," and 64 percent of which were to have private balconies. The ships were to have {{convert|85850|sqft|m2}} of open deck space, extensive health spa and gymnasium facilities, and {{convert|2100|sqft|m2}} of conference space. In addition, the upper three decks of the ships were to be designed to "maximize the sense of spaciousness on board, and provide passengers with panoramic views of the Hawaiian Islands and the surrounding Pacific Ocean".<ref>{{cite web|title=American Classic Voyages Co. (AMCV) Signs Major Contract With Ingalls For Luxury Cruise Ship Construction|url=http://www.ss.northropgrumman.com/press/news/m_03_9_99.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814064931/http://www.ss.northropgrumman.com/press/news/m_03_9_99.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archivedate=2007-08-14|accessdate=2007-10-06}}</ref>

== Eventual completion ==

===Norwegian Cruise Line's involvement===
[[File:Pride of America seen from Aloha Tower (4677840953).jpg|thumb|left|250px|The ''Pride of America'', a derived version of the Project America ships.]]
In late 2002, [[Norwegian Cruise Line]] contracted [[Northrop Grumman Ship Systems]], the owner of Ingalls, to buy all of the materials, equipment and work performed on the two Project America vessels.  All of the materials were towed to [[Germany]] and the first ship was completed at [[Lloyd Werft]] Shipyard in [[Bremerhaven]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Homola (NYT)|first=Victor|date=2004-01-15|title=World Briefing {{!}} Europe: Germany: Rains Tilt U.S.-Flagged Cruise Ship (Published 2004)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/15/world/world-briefing-europe-germany-rains-tilt-us-flagged-cruise-ship.html|access-date=2021-01-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>  The ship was lengthened as is now {{GT|81,000}} plus additional exterior and interior changes were made.  This ship was named the ''[[Pride of America]]'' and entered service in 2005.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saunders, Aaron.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/904209672|title=Giants of the seas : the ships that transformed modern cruising|date=2013|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1-4738-5310-2|location=Barnsley|oclc=904209672}}</ref>

The materials for the second Project America ship were utilised in the construction of the ''Pride of Hawaii'' (now named ''[[Norwegian Jade]]''), at [[Meyer Werft]] Shipyard in [[Papenburg]].  ''Pride of Hawaii'' entered service in 2006 and is approximately {{GT|12,000}} larger than ''Pride of America''.

===Passenger Vessel Services Act===
In exchange for its purchase of the Project America materials, Norwegian Cruise Line lobbied heavily for an exception to the [[Passenger Services Act|Passenger Vessel Services Act]], which prohibits foreign built ships from operating between U.S. ports without making a foreign stop in between. The exception was granted and three ships (the aforementioned as well as [[Pride of Aloha]]), effectively all foreign built, were allowed to fly the [[U.S. flag]].  This exception allows Norwegian Cruise Line to have an exclusive right to operate Hawaiian itineraries that do not need to touch a foreign port.  A caveat of this exception, however, requires Norwegian Cruise Line to staff these ships with a crew made up of predominantly U.S. citizens.

==Goals==
Project America was the result of the [[U.S.-Flag Cruise Ship Pilot Project Statute]] passed by Congress in 1997, designed to do the following:

*Revitalise the U.S.-flag oceangoing cruise ship fleet
*Create more than 5,000 American jobs
*Help sustain and modernise the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base
*Increase U.S. tax revenues
*Boost Hawaii tourism
*Expand consumers' leisure travel opportunities

==Support==
The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] and the [[U.S. Maritime Administration]] strongly supported the U.S.-Flag Ship Pilot Project.  The project enjoyed great political support from Mississippi’s [[U.S. Senator]]s, [[Thad Cochran]] and [[Trent Lott]], as well as U.S. Senator [[Daniel Inouye]] of Hawaii.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080705050347/http://marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIII/MMIIIJan18a.html Project America rides again]

[[Category:Cruise ship classes]]
[[Category:Cancelled ships]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001]]