Meyer Shipyard Invests in Future as it Prepares for Jubilee Delivery

 

Germany’s Meyer Group, which operates the Papenburg and Neptune shipyards in Germany and the yard in Turku, Finland, continues to look toward new opportunities as it prepares to deliver more cruise ships that were ordered before the pandemic. With two large cruise ships just weeks away from delivery, Meyer has invested in C-Job Naval Architects, which can help to expand the business as well as provide a competitive advantage for a future recovery in the cruise sector.

Speaking to the Finnish media before the Icon of the Seas departed on sea trials, Tim Meyer CEO of Meyer Turku said they were confident with the rebound in the cruise industry that there would be future cruise ship orders. However, the company has only booked one order, NYK’s new cruise ship which recently began construction, since 2020 and the onset of the pandemic. After the Icon of the Seas, which is likely to be delivered this month and the Mein Schiff 7 which is well underway, Turku will remain busy for the next few years with the second and third cruise ship in the Icon class.

In Germany, the Papenburg yard completed the conveyance of the Carnival Jubilee, (180,000 gross tons) at the beginning of the week. The ship is completing outfitting in Eemshaven, the Netherlands, and will sail sea trials in the coming days. She enters service in December in Texas for Carnival Cruise Line, while the shipyard is building the NYK cruise ship and another smaller vessel, Silver Ray for Royal Caribbean. They also have two large Disney Cruise Line ships with work underway on the first, the Disney Treasure. Neptune builds blocks for the other yards and Meyer established a satellite operation in Wismar, Germany at the former MV Werften yard to complete construction of the former Global Dream into the Disney Adventure (208,000 gross tons).

 

 

The Carnival Jubilee arrived in the Netherlands on Tuesday, October 31, after a nearly 24-hour trip along the Ems River. She is the third LNG-fueled cruise ship the group has built for Carnival Cruise Line and the last on order of the class Carnival Corporation began introducing in 2018 for Aida, Costa, P&O, and Carnival. The ship underwent technical and nautical tests arriving in Eemshaven with the sea trials to follow.

C-Job reports the new strategic partnership with Meyer Group includes the shipyard company acquiring a 50 percent stake in C-Job as part of a move to solidify Meyer’s focus on sustainable solutions and allow it to diversify its portfolio. 

“As strategic partners, we will be able to push the boundaries for sustainable solutions in the maritime industry,” said Malte Poelmann, CTO at Meyer Group. 

They cite the emerging opportunities for both new builds and renovations as the pressure builds to reduce emissions and meet new regulations. The companies point to C-Job’s work already with alternative fuels, including they were selected by Amogy as the ship design partner for the project to retrofit a tug with ammonia-to-power technology.

Meyer was the first to build LNG-fueled large cruise ships. They noted that strategic alliance will allow Meyer Group to utilize C-Job’s knowledge of and experience in applying renewable fuels to their portfolio, focusing on cruise vessels in particular.

C-Job also has broader sector expertise having worked with dredging vessels and several segments related to offshore wind. They also have worked with ferries as well as cruise ships and yachts.