Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri says a surge of cruiseship and naval orders this month has sent its backlog of work to 109 vessels.

The tally has spiralled from 99 vessels at the halfway stage of the year, June 30, after owners and operators including TUI Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Cunard piled in with firm contracts.

Princess Cruises also came to the table with a memorandum of agreement for two new generation vessels of 175,000 gt each, the largest ever built in Italy.