LNG Tanker with dual fuel engine handed over to Anthony Veder

Today NEPTUN WERFT handed over its second LNG tanker, Coral Energice, to the Dutch owner Anthony Veder (Rotterdam). For NEPTUN WERFT, this is already the second gas tanker to be equipped with an environmentally friendly dual fuel engine. Furthermore it is the first time for Neptun Werft that the auxiliary engines are pure gas engines. The extremely low exhaust gas values achieved in operation with liquid gas make this ship one of the most environmentally friendly of its kind and keep it well below the limit values for the Baltic.

MEYER WERFT and NEPTUN WERFT have specialised in building gas tankers al-ready for decades. The delivered LNG gas tanker for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) measures 163.86 m in length and 24.50 m in width with cargo capacity of abt. 18,000 m³. This is the 57th gas tanker completed by the shipbuilders. When fully loaded with LNG which is cooled to a temperature of -164°C for transport, the ship has a draught of 7.60 m.

The ship proved its seaworthiness during the sea trials when all machines and systems were put to the test. MEYER WERFT has pursued intensive further development of this particular propulsion system; in future, LNG technology will also be used on passenger ships.

The Anthony Veder Group is a shipping company that has successfully specialised in transporting gas by ship. It currently has a fleet of 21 ships. Since the mid 1970s, MEYER WERFT and the Anthony Veder Group have cooperated several times on new-builds and also on conversion projects.

New ground was broken with many technical innovations in building the Coral Energice with vessel number S.575. The shipyard received support and assistance in the form of innovation grants from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the state of Mecklen-burg-Western Pomerania.

Jobs into the next decade

The situation in shipping industry and in world shipbuilding has deteriorated significantly. Nevertheless, orders for new cruise ships received by MEYER WERFT in 2016 have reached a good level. Jobs at the MEYER WERFT are safe in the long term. We have thus nearly fulfilled our Site Continuation Agreement with the State of Lower Saxony and the IG Metall trade union.

MEYER WERFT was able to assert new technological standards in the branch. In cooperation with its customers and in the context of new projects, MEYER WERFT has established LNG as the future fuel for cruise liners and also made fuel cell technology suitable for use on passenger ships. The shipyard's customer base includes nearly all major cruise shipping companies in the world.

In 2016, NEPTUN WERFT in Rostock-Warnemünde completed six river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises. In the spring, MEYER WERFT in Papenburg handed over the Ovation of the Seas to Royal Caribbean International, followed in the autumn by Genting Dream to Dream Cruises.

"We have set our course for the future with considerable investment in our sites in Papenburg and Rostock, creating new jobs and forging ahead with many innovative re-search projects", says CEO Bernard Meyer. "It is a real challenge to design and complete these huge, complex ships on time. Our commitment, paired with our new Technology and Development Centre and the excellent long-term cooperation with our partners help us to hand these ships over punctually and in perfect technical condition", Tim Meyer adds.

Photo: Engine room modules and river cruise ships at Neptun Werft.

Rostock, 6 October 2016 – In the course of its celebratory event in the Kurhaus Warnemünde, NEPTUN WERFT honoured its best suppliers for the second time. Three companies that distinguished themselves with outstanding service last year received the award of "Partner des Jahres 2015". More than 140 invited guests took part in the award ceremony.

The three partners receiving the honour won through against 740 companies, of which 191 firms come from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The basis for the award of Partner of the Year is formed within the scope of the supplier assessment regularly conducted by the shipyard as part of supplier management.

The following partners received an award:

• MNR Montagebau Neptun Rostock GmbH
• Ostsesstaal GmbH & Co.KG, Stralsund
• PLANEX Projektierungs GmbH, Aurach

The Managing Directors of NEPTUN WERFT, Bernard Meyer and Raimon Strunck, and employees from the Purchasing department presented the awards to the winners. In their acceptance speeches the winners particularly highlighted the good and cooperative collaboration of the shipyard with its suppliers. Raimon Strunck emphasised: “This honour underlines the importance of the close partnership between us and our suppliers. In the last few years we have built over 65 ships together.”

In the course of the ceremony the management and employees of the Purchasing department also found out about current issues in the shipyard, the issue of supplier management and about the shipbuilding market. The construction of cruise and river cruise ships is a very important branch of the industry. The ships built at NEPTUN WERFT, MEYER WERFT and the shipyard MEYER TURKU in Finland alone provide employment to over 40,000 people directly and indirectly.

Picture from left: Bernard Meyer, Raimon Strunck (both Managing Directors NEPTUN WERFT), Frank Knuth (Purchasing NEPTUN WERFT), Simone Nehls (Ostseestaal), Michael Schultze (Ostseestaal), Gunnar Pallutz, Martina Bolduan (both Purchasing NEPTUN WERFT), Hans-Jürgen Rost (PLANEX), Klaus Lübbers (Purchasing MEYER WERFT), Frank Godewols (MNR) and Tom Neumann (Purchasing NEPTUN WERFT)

Jobs and Growth to 2020 and beyond

2015 was very successful for MEYER WERFT and NEPTUN WERFT with many ships being handed over to their new owners and numerous new orders coming in for the years ahead. The order books for the shipyards in Papenburg, Rostock and Turku feature altogether 28 ships, including among others contracts for building large cruise ships and ferries. The Group's shipyards are therefore the international market leaders for building cruise ships and also lead the national market for civil shipbuilding.

Comprehensive employment was provided in 2015 by the building and completion of six river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises in Rostock, two cruise ships – Anthem of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Escape for Norwegian Cruise Line – in Papenburg together with the cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 for TUI Cruises in Finland.

It was also important for the shipyard that the Master Plan Ems was successfully adopted. "These successful achievements, all our investment and the level of job security that we offer mean that we have more than fulfilled our Site Continuation Agreement with the State of Lower Saxony and the IG Metall trade union", says CEO Bernard Meyer.

The NEPTUN WERFT in Rostock has acquired two further orders for river cruise ships. Furthermore, Neptun has taken a great step into the future with the gas tanker for Anthony Veder, a new ferry for W.D.R. and the decision to be the future production site for engine room modules and blocks for Papenburg and Turku. This production strategy ensures constant utilisation levels and sustainable site continuation.

In 2015, MEYER TURKU handed over Mein Schiff 4 to TUI Cruises, with Mein Schiff 5 following in 2016. Two more ships for TUI Cruises will also be built in 2016 and 2017. Furthermore, two new cruise ships have been ordered in Turku for Costa Crociere. These orders together with the order for a particularly environmentally friendly LNG ferry for the Estonian shipping company AS Tallink offer good prospects for growth and employment. Recently the remaining 30% ownership shares were taken over from the Finnish state.

Successful achievements for the MEYER WERFT included handing over the Anthem of the Seas (168,666 GRT) and the Norwegian Escape (164,400 GRT). AIDA Cruises has been regained as key account customer and has ordered two completely new kinds of ships with LNG propulsion for 2018 and 2020. Other new orders include two sister ships in the Quantum class and two ships for Saga Cruises.

With the Anthem of the Seas and the Norwegian Escape, the shipyard has built and delivered two very large cruise ships each well in excess of 160,000 GRT. "It has once again been a real challenge for the workforce to design these ships and build them in only just about 20 months. Thanks to the commitment and motivation of the employees, we have managed to hand over both ships on time and in technically perfect condition. We will need to keep this motivation going in future too to cope successful with all our major projects over the next few years," says Lambert Kruse, Managing Director of MEYER WERFT.

Eleven cruise ships, eight river cruise ships, a gas tanker and a ferry will be planned, designed and built over the next few years by NEPTUN WERFT and MEYER WERFT, while six cruise ships and a ferry will be built in Turku. These well-filled order books, paired with the consistent implementation of the corporate strategy, give the shipyards very good chances of holding their ground in the fiercely contested international shipbuilding market.

Photo:

Meyer Werft: The new cruise ship Ovation of the Seas in the building dock