HELSINKI: A new German owner and the burgeoning German cruise market have propelled Turku Shipyard from the brink of bankruptcy to prosperity.
The shipyard announced on Wednesday that it will build two cruise ships, Mein Schiff 7 and Mein Schiff 8, for the German cruise line TUI Cruises. The order further improves job security at the shipyard, which slid to the brink of oblivion no more than a few months ago under its previous South Korean ownership. The shipyard is now back on course after being taken over by Meyer Werft. The German shipbuilding company has restored the confidence of banks and customers in the shipyard and thus enabled it to genuinely compete for orders. At present, the order books of Meyer Turku are at a healthy level up until 2020.
“The shipyard was stuck in a negative spiral before we took control of it. We’re now in a positive spiral and customers expect us to do a good job,” tells Jan Meyer, the managing director at Meyer Werft.TUI Cruises is the joint venture of the German travel agency TUI and the American cruise line Royal Caribbean. Its Mein Schiff fleet has been targeted at German cruise passengers and tailor-made to cater specifically to their needs. Although only little light was shed on the features of the two cruise ships on Wednesday, the Mein Schiff cruise ships already in operation feature, for example, a concert hall for classical music and short-course swimming pools.
Mein Schiff 4 was floated out from Meyer Turku in May, while her sister ships, Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 6, are to be completed in 2016 and 2017. The two cruise ships ordered on Wednesday, in turn, are scheduled for delivery in 2018—2019.
