A historic year comes to an end - North West German Shipbuilders enter the European stage
Papenburg/Rostock, 29. December 2014 – For MEYER WERFT and NEPTUN WERFT 2014 was a historic year full of challenges. Early in the year talks started regarding a merger with STX Finland, which were concluded in late summer by establishing MEYER TURKU Oy. In 2014 the deliveries of five river cruise ships, two sea-going cruise ships and the research vessel Sonne in Papenburg, and the delivery of ten river cruise ships in Rostock/Warnemünde provided sufficient work.
The Quantum of the Seas was the biggest ship to date the yard had to build and to deliver. Next to the research vessel Sonne the design and the construction of this cruise ship in merely 20 months posed another challenge. It took a lot of commitment to hand over this ship in time and in good condition. "It is this kind of commitment and motivation that we need for the years to come," said managing partner Bernard Meyer.
What was special in 2014 was the implementation of the new building strategy in Papenburg. The only way to build two large ships per year in building dock II is to divide each new ship in two large floating parts. This new building strategy is also a benefit for NEPTUN WERFT because in the future the yard will be able to deliver complete engine room modules. This ensures a balanced workload in Papenburg and Warnemünde; hence the prioritised strategic goal of securing the economic future of both yards is reached.
In the next few years NEPTUN WERFT and MEYER WERFT will plan, design and build a total of eight cruise ships and 17 river cruise vessels.These order books as well as the consistent implementation of the corporate strategy offer both yards a good chance to stand their ground in the highly competitive shipbuilding market.
In 2014 MEYER TURKU delivered Mein Schiff 3 to TUI Cruises, which will be followed by Mein Schiff 4 in 2015. Another two ships for TUI Cruises will be delivered in 2016 and 2017. These orders as well as a new pre-contract for a highly economic ferry for the Estonian shipping company AS Tallink pave the way for a positive trend of the Finnish yard.
Deliveries in 2014
In January the 146,000-gt Norwegian Getaway, the second ship of this class, was delivered to the US cruise company Norwegian Cruise Line. In late October the 168,666-gt Quantum of the Seas was handed over to Royal Caribbean International, hitherto the largest cruise ship built in Germany, which was completed at record speed in merely 20 months.
NEPTUN WERFT delivered ten river cruise ships and the research vessel Sonne. The river cruise ships were the Viking Hermod, Viking Buri, Viking Heimdal (all delivered in January), Viking Delling, Viking Gullveig (both delivered in February), Viking Kvasir, Viking Idi (both delivered in April), Viking Kara, Viking Hlin (both delivered in June), Viking Mani (delivered August). All ships are operated by the Basel-based cruise company Viking River Cruises.
Ships under construction or on order
MEYER WERFT currently has the Anthem of the Seas under construction, which is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2015. Construction work on the second ship, the Norwegian Escape, has started as well with the production of two floating parts in the yard's building dock II. This ship will be delivered to Norwegian Cruise Line in the autumn of 2015. All told, the yard's order book comprising eight ships will last into 2019.
The order book of NEPTUN WERFT in Rostock comprises an additional 17 river cruise vessels for Viking River Cruises AG. In the future NEPTUN WERFT will also build blocks and fully completed engine room modules for MEYER WERFT. Hence the workload for the yard in Warnemünde is secured until well into 2016.
