New ship for Dream Cruises

The Meyer Werft in Papenburg has now also officially laid the keel for the cruise ship Genting Dream with yard number S.711 in the covered building dock II. Tan Sri Lim, Chairman of Genting Bhd, joined Bernard Meyer in placing the lucky coin on the bracings before the 800 ton crane lowered the first block of the second building phase for the new ship. The first building phase already left the dock during the previous weekend. The official start for the construction of S.711 had been postponed to this date because of conflicting time constraints. "We are glad to see that our first newbuild for our new brand Dream Cruises is now starting to take shape. The ship will offer many special features for the Chinese market", says Tan Sri Lim.

This block is one of altogether 92 blocks for the new luxury liner and weighs altogether 740 tons. The keel laying ceremony also marks the official start of construction for the Genting Dream, which will be the largest cruise ship for the Dream Cruises shipping company, with a gross tonnage of 151,300 GRT.

The first big steel parts for the Genting Dream were cut to size in the MEYER WERFT Laser Center already back in February 2015. The ship will be handed over to the shipping company in autumn 2016, followed by another ship in 2017.

In future, the new Dream Cruises ships will offer capacity for about 3,300 passengers. The ships are 335 meters long, 39.7 meters wide and can reach a speed of more than 23 knots. The new cruise ships have been designed especially for the rapidly developing Asian cruise market.

The management and project teams from Dream Cruises and the Meyer Werft attended the short ceremony held to mark the laying of the keel in building dock II. "It is our great pleasure to build these new ships for the new shipping company and to continue our long-standing business relationship with Genting Bhd, which began nearly 20 years ago with the construction of the SuperStar Leo", says CEO Bernard Meyer.

Photo : Laying the keel for "Genting Dream"

Two trainees lay the cornerstone for the Meyer Werft

Today the cornerstone was laid in Papenburg for the new Technology and Development Center at the Meyer Werft. Kendra Schulte (19), sandwich-course student on a degree programme for shipbuilding and marine technology, and Björn Abeln (22), mechatronics technician in the third year of his apprenticeship, laid the cornerstone for the new center. "We are honoured to be asked to perform this task of laying the cornerstone", says Kendra Schulte.

Bernd-Carsten Hiebing, german politician, and Jan-Peter Bechtluft, Mayor of Papenburg, praised today's cornerstone laying ceremony and the major investment this represents in further enhancing Papenburg as a place for business. Constant further development at the highly innovative MEYER WERFT, which today is one of the world market leaders for building cruise ships, has had a hugely positive impact on the job situation in the town, region and whole state.

The constant growth in the workforce and the excellent orders situation at the shipyard, which resulted from its involvement with MEYER TURKU in Finland, led to the decision to build a new Technology and Development Center. Most of the design and development work for the shipyard's complex newbuilds will be pooled in the new building complex. In future, altogether around 400 designers and engineers will be working on the many different subjects and topics involved in building cruise ships. The new building will offer a surface area of around 6,750 m² on five levels. "In terms of technology, we must stay well ahead of the competition while still offering a high standard of cost-optimized quality. This balancing act will only succeed with highly qualified designers and development engineers working in ideal surroundings that give them plenty of space to think creatively", says Managing Director Lambert Kruse.

The total investment volume for the new Development Center, which includes an entrance and conference area in a completely new design with so-called meet-and-greet areas, amounts to around 10 million Euro. This includes state-of-the-art building control systems and energy-saving measures, such as exploiting geothermal heat and cooling. The new five-storey building is being built in accordance with the passive house standards.

The construction work should be completed by mid 2016. "I have always given absolute priority to the successful on-going development of the Papenburg site. As agreed in the Site Continuation Contract, we will fulfil our share of the agreement", says Bernard Meyer.

Besides the Technology and Development Centre, the shipyard will also be upgrading and modernizing its canteen facilities and social amenities for its own workforce and also for external personnel in order to meet the growing requirements.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft in Germany to order a fifth Quantum-class ship for delivery in the Fall of 2020.

“It is such a pleasure to announce the order of another Quantum-class ship as we are welcoming Anthem of the Seas to North America,” said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “These ships have been received with excitement, and performed exceptionally well, across the globe. We fully expect that momentum to continue as we add to this innovative class of ships.”

“At Royal Caribbean we are focused on continuously improving efficiency and sustainability, and the fifth Quantum class vessel will be clear evidence of this,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Of equal importance is our ability to consistently surpass guest expectations, and we are harnessing the power of the latest technology to do so on this ship.”

Norwegian Escape arrived safely in the Dutch port of Eemshaven on Saturday morning at about 8.30 am. The River Ems conveyance of the new cruise ship works very well and without any problems.

The Ship will leave Eemshaven next Thursday (September, 24)