Mein Schiff 7 | Wetravel2u's Weblog

The new Mein Schiff 7 was officially delivered to TUI Cruises today at the Meyer Turku Shipyard in Finland, according to a press release.

The 2,894-guest vessel is the first built by the shipyard with methanol capability, Meyer Turku said in a prepared statement.

At the official signing ceremony, the shipyard was represented by CEO Tim Meyer and Head of Projects Tom Degerman, while TUI Cruises was represented by CEO Wybcke Meier and CFO Frank Kuhlmann.

The Mein Schiff 7 is the seventh ship of the Mein Schiff series built by the shipyard, Meyer Turku highlighted.

“Mein Schiff 7’s symbolic start of production, the steel cutting ceremony, took place at our shipyard on June 14, 2022,” said Tim Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.

“We are very proud to have delivered the Mein Schiff 7 to TUI Cruises today, less than two years later. This was made possible by our long-standing and close cooperation.”

The Mein Schiff 7 is also the first ship in the Mein Schiff fleet to run exclusively on low-emission marine diesel (with a maximum sulfur content of 0.1%).

The 111,500-ton ship has a shore power connection and is equipped with catalytic converters, the shipyard said.

In addition, the Mein Schiff 7 is built so that it can also run on methanol, which with the green methanol of the future, will make the ship’s propulsion power almost CO2-neutral.

“Receiving this ship is a special moment for us. Ten years ago, we acquired our first Blu Motion class ship here in Turku, and by 2019 we had built a total of six vessels,” said Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises.

“We would like to thank the Meyer Turku shipyard for the excellent cooperation and the development of our well-being fleet. We are now sailing on the Mein Schiff 7 to Kiel, where we will welcome the first guests on board on June 12,” she added.

Meyer Turku Shipyard

The Finnish state and Meyer Werft have finalised the purchase of the whole share capital of STX Finland Oy from STX Europe Ltd. The company’s new name is Meyer Turku Oy. In addition, Meyer Turku and TUI Cruises have agreed on two new options, for Mein Schiff 7 and 8, for delivery in 2018 and 2019.

The acquisition agreement was announced in early August, subject to German antitrust authority approval. This has now been granted and financing with the commercial banks has also been obtained.

Meyer Turku is constructing Mein Schiff 4, scheduled to be delivered in May 2015, plus a further two more vessels ordered over the summer and due in 2016 and 2017.

Meyer Werft holds 70% of the shares whilst the Finland took a 30% stake through the Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, a fully government-owned investment company. The investors have injected fresh equity into the company.

‘We now have a great chance to make the Turku yard strong again,’ said Jan Meyer, ceo of Meyer Turku. ‘It will not be easy; the competition in our market remains intense.

‘Yet we found a strong and committed team in Turku,’ he continued. ‘In addition there is a lot of potential to learn from each other for the benefit of all our yards in Papenburg, Warnemünde and Turku. We just have to work hard on it and constantly improve our productivity. This is the only way to ensure that we can continue the great legacy of Turku yard for many years to come.’

Jan Vapaavuori, minister of economic affairs, expressed his satisfaction after the purchase. ‘The Finnish shipyards’ know-how is very important for the whole maritime industry in Europe. It is a high-tech industry. We have great expectations from our important investment in the Turku shipyard,’ he noted.

The Turku facility employs 1,350 people and concentrates in building cruise ships, car-passenger ferries and other specialized vessels.