Floating the Mein Schiff 4
The Turku shipyard, located in Finland, celebrated a great event on October 10. Only three weeks after the takeover of the Finnish shipyard in Turku by the German Meyer Werft, the hull of the cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 was laid. Jan Meyer, managing director of Meyer Turku Oy, and Wybcke Meier, managing director of TUI Cruises, opened the gates to flood the dry dock. This was the first time the ship was allowed to take water as the hull installation allows it to be watertight and float.
In May 2013, Turku Shipyard had celebrated the keel laying of Mein Schiff 3 and had started the construction of Mein Schiff 4, its sistership. The latter will be delivered in spring 2015 and will sail in the Baltic Sea and in Northern Europe, around Norway. In winter, 7-day cruises around the Canary Islands, Morocco and Madeira will be offered. Production of Mein Schiff 5 will begin in November 2014 and Mein Schiff 6 a year later.
Jan Meyer explained " This day is special in many ways. We have the chance to witness the laying of the hull of the first unit built by Meyer Turku. I am very pleased that the construction of Mein Schiff 4 is on schedule. We are on track to continue and will move on to outfitting and commissioning." Wybcke Meier, managing director of TUI Cruises, added, " Launching a cruise ship is a fantastic start and incidentally my first official act in this position at TUI Cruises."
Cruise ships with innovative technologies
These 99,700-ton cruise ships offer innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. They are approximately 295 meters long and 35.8 meters wide and can accommodate 2,506 people in 1,253 cabins. The crew on board is 1,000 people. Particular attention has been paid to the user-friendliness of the ships as well as to their energy efficiency. Each ship provides a year's work for 5,000 employees at Meyer Turku Shipyard, as well as a significant amount of work for the Finnish shipping industry network.
Meyer Turku Oy Shipyard
Meyer Turku Oy is one of Europe's leading shipbuilding companies, owned 70% by Meyer Werft, a German shipyard, and 30% by the Finnish state. The Turku shipyard employs 1,350 people and specializes in the construction of cruise ships, ferries and special vessels. It was bought from STX this summer but the sale was completed at the end of November. TUI Cruises is a cruise company attached to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and was founded in 2008 in Hamburg to offer German-speaking cruises.
