V.Ships Leisure, part of V.Group , has been awarded a ship management contract by Marella Cruises, TUI UK&I’s ocean cruise line.

The five-year agreement will cover the full technical, crewing, digital and ESG management of all of Marella’s five cruise ships, with operations commencing towards the end of 2025. The first two vessels will come into management by the end of the year, with the other three joining in the first half of 2026.

As part of the new partnership, V.Ships Leisure will build upon its already strong UK presence by establishing a dedicated Marella Cruises fleet cell in the UK, operating from its Southampton office and supported by the wider V. network. The decision reflects V.’s commitment to providing Marella Cruises with local expertise backed by global scale, reach and experience.

V. will leverage its ShipSure platform to enable data-driven decision-making across fleet maintenance and operations, supporting more efficient and proactive management and giving Marella Cruises enhanced transparency to the operations.

Marella Cruises will benefit both from V.’s end-to-end management services and from V.ERDE, our dedicated decarbonisation and environmental compliance programme.

Adrian Hibbert, Cruise Operations Director at Marella Cruises, commented: “Throughout the tender process, we were hugely impressed by the calibre of the team at V.Ships Leisure and the depth of their industry expertise. We look forward to working together to deliver safe, reliable and sustainable operations across our fleet.”

Per Bjørnsen, CEO of V.Ships Leisure, said: “This contract is a clear endorsement of our talented team, commitment to ESG and our digital first approach. Above all, it’s testament to our track record and further reinforces our leadership in the cruise sector. We are extremely proud to be working with Marella Cruises and are looking forward to collaborating to achieve operational excellence.”