This cruise ship is being cut in half to make room for a 49-foot-long extension

It will take more than 500 workers a combined 450,000 hours to complete what Silversea Cruises says is a first-of-its-kind project: The lengthening of a luxury cruise ship.

The 642-foot-long Silver Spirit, which first set sail in 2009, was cut in half earlier this month while in a dry dock in Palermo, Sicily. A new 49-foot segment is being built for the ship's midsection, which will include a large pool area, restaurants, spa, and more cabins. It will take 846 tons of steel, 360,892 feet of cabling, and 26,247 feet of piping to complete the addition, which increases the Silver Spirit's passenger capacity by about 12 percent to 608, USA Today reports.

This massive undertaking is expected to be completed in early May, and the longer ship will make its debut as it sails out of Civitavecchia, Italy. Catherine Garcia

The Week

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