HELSINKI: The largest cruise ships in the world today, M/S Oasis of the Seas and M/S Allure of the Seas, were built in Turku. The largest cruise ships in the world today, M/S Oasis of the Seas and M/S Allure of the Seas, were built in Turku.
The keels of the largest cruise ships in the world by passenger capacity will be laid at Meyer Turku. The German owner of the shipyard, Meyer Werft, announced on Monday that it has signed a multi-billion dollar contract to deliver a total of four cruise ships to Carnival Corporation between 2019 and 2020.
Meyer Werft has indicated that the contract is worth several billions of euros but refrained from disclosing its exact value. Information obtained by Helsingin Sanomat suggests that the unit price of the cruise ships is approximately €800 to €900 million. Two of the cruise ships ordered by Carnival Corporation will be built at Meyer Turku and two at Meyer Papenburg in Germany.
News of the substantial cruise ship deal came as a relief to the 1,350 employees at Meyer Turku. “A shipwright isn’t quite capable of screaming out in joy. I can say that it’s a weight off my chest. This promises to create jobs until 2020,” enthused Jari Aalto, the chief shop steward at the shipyard.
The cruise ships will have a passenger capacity of 6,600, roughly 250 greater than that of the largest cruise ships in the world today: M/S Oasis of the Seas and M/S Allure of the Seas. Both of the cruise ships were also built in Turku.
