Papenburg, 28.09.2006 - The AIDAdiva, the first of four new ships for the German cruise operator AIDA Cruises (Rostock), is growing rapidly at MEYER WERFT in Papenburg. Today the ship will be floated up in the building dock for the first time.

The four new and innovative 68,500-gt ships will have a length overall of 252 m and will be 32.2 m wide. The AIDAdiva will be delivered to the owner in April 2007. The new club ships will present the third generation of ships built and operated according to the AIDA concept. 2,050 passengers will be accommodated in 1,025 cabins. The ships will feature plenty of interior design novelties such as the Theatrium. The well-known brand design regarding the outer appearance of the AIDA ships will be maintained. Hence, in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, MEYER WERFT will deliver one club ship each to AIDA, Germany's leader in the cruise market.

Cruise industry creates jobs

The positive effect of the cruise industry on the job market in Germany and Europe is based on b networking both among cruise operators and shipyards.

As far as ship operation is concerned, AIDA Cruises is clearly Germany's market leader, with a market share of 35%. In 2005 AIDA welcomed 233,000 passengers on board, which is tantamount to an annual turnover of € 375 m for that year. Thanks to AIDA's great success also the number of jobs on board and ashore has substantially increased: from a total of 460 in 1996 to 2,400 in 2006. A number of 5,000 jobs is forecast for 2010. The operation of the AIDA fleet as well as passengers' shore excursions create jobs not only directly with the cruise operators and the yards but also indirectly with other parties. In Germany the annual turnover in this field amounts to approx. € 15 bn.

Moreover, newbuildings, conversions and repairs for the AIDA fleet worth € 1.7 bn will certainly help safeguard thousands of jobs in the German maritime industry.

There is not only a network among cruise operators, but also among the shipbuilding industry. At present MEYER WERFT, counting among the market leaders in the construction of passenger ships, employs 2,300 people and ensures employment of another estimated 8,000 jobs with suppliers. All told, some 800 suppliers are involved in the construction of a ship like AIDAdiva. The construction of cruise ships is technically extremely challenging and calls for ever increasing new developments; as a consequence a lot of jobs and apprenticeships are created. The shipyard employs 200 apprentices per year.

Given an order book worth approx. € 4 bn plus an outsourcing share of 75 %, products and services amounting to some 3 bn are purchased. 70 % of all partner companies are from Germany. MEYER WERFT suppliers, for instance, build two large theatres on board every year that can accommodate more than 1,000 persons and are worth some € 10 bn.

The bly growing cruise industry in Germany has provided a total of more than 40,000 jobs, creating an annual value of € 4 bn in the process. At the same time this branch is one of the few that are still growing. Over the last few years the annual growth was almost always two-digit.

Last year ocean cruising in the German market produced a passenger number of 639,000 and a turnover of € 1.22 bn (in 2004: 580,000 passengers, and a turnover of abt. € 1.15 bn). River cruising accounted for 326,000 passengers, which corresponds to a turnover of € 370 m.

At present the total international fleet comprises 282 cruise ships. 29 ships with more than 85,000 lower berths and totalling a value of € 14 bn are on order. In the worldwide river cruise market today 737 ships (EU: 177 ships) are in service.

At MEYER WERFT in Papenburg the keel was laid today of the first gas tanker out of a series of four for the Norwegian shipping line Solvang ASA. Magne Morken from Solvang put the traditional lucky penny under the first of a total of 18 blocks of Clipper Hebe, the first ship of this series. The newbuilding is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2007.

The LEG/LPG tankers will have a length overall of 154.9 m, a breadth of 22.70 m and a cargo capacity of 17,000 m3. They will be able to operate at a speed of 17 knots. Fully loaded with ethylene cooled down to minus 104°C, the ships will have a draught of 8.10 m. In addition to ethylene, the tankers will also be able to carry vinyl chloride monomer, ammonia and propylene oxide, cooled down to minus 48° C.

These special-purpose ships will be delivered to the owner in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2007 and 2008. MEYER WERFT's affiliated company NEPTUN WERFT in Rostock will be involved mainly in the tank construction. Another 4 gas tankers for a German shipping line, to be delivered to the owner in 2009 and 2010, has increased the series of gas tankers on order to a total of 8. Photo: from left: - Magne Morken, Inge Steensland - Solvang ASA, Bernard Meyer - MEYER WERFT

Hamburg shipping company orders four ships Papenburg, 07.07.2006 - The Hamburg shipping company "Harpain Reederei GmbH & Co. KG", a joint venture comprising Harpain Shipping GmbH and Hansa Hamburg Shipping GmbH & Co. KG, has ordered four ethylene/LPG carriers from MEYER WERFT. Following the LPG tanker "Queen Zenobia," this set of four ships is the second joint project of the shipping company and the investment bankers with which the two partners get involved in the growing LPG market. The four ships represent a series of a total of eight ships now under contract with MEYER WERFT, four of which are already under construction. The tankers will have a length overall of 154.9 m, a breadth of 22.70 m, and a cargo capacity of 17,000 m3. They will be able to operate at a speed of 17 knots. Fully loaded with ethylene cooled down to minus 104°C, the ships will have a draught of 8.10 m. In addition to ethylene, the tankers will also be able to carry vinyl chloride monomer, ammonia and propylene oxide, cooled down to minus 48° C. The ships are scheduled for delivery in 2009 and 2010. They are supposed to be operated in the GasChem pool. These new orders will increase the number of gas tankers built by MEYER WERFT to 55. The shipyard also has long-standing experience in the construction of special tanks. 280 gas tanks made from various materials featuring special alloys were built in Papenburg, 74 of which were delivered to other shipyards.

Successful cooperation between MEYER WERFT and the maritime continent Papenburg, 30.06.2006 - The MEYER WERFT shipyard of Papenburg (Germany) has received from the Republic of Indonesia the order for one more passenger vessel thus continuing a series of 23 ships the last of which was delivered in 2004. Vessel no. 24 will be taken over by the owner in summer 2008. The ship is a further development of the previously built "Labobar". In addition it can carry in total 98 containers. The new vessel will have a length overall of 146.50 metres, a breadth of 23.40 metres and a draught of 5.90 metre and will be built in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Indonesian classification society BKI and the applicable international regulations and thus also comply with the latest safety standards. This newbuilding is designed for carrying 1583 passengers and 141 crew members. This probably largest series of passenger vessels worldwide is a great success. Meanwhile the ships have become symbols of the Indonesian-German cooperation and have contributed to the further development of Indonesia´s traffic infrastructure and the entire economy of the maritime continent. The new order enables the MEYER WERFT to continue the excellent cooperation with Indonesia which also includes assisting the P.T. PAL shipyard in Surabaya in building smaller ships with a capacity of 500 passengers some years ago.

New Freestyle Cruising Ship for Norwegian Cruise Line Papenburg, 17.06.2006 - In the covered building dock of MEYER WERFT in Papenburg, one of a total of 67 steel blocks of the new 93,500-gt cruise vessel S.670 was put into place on the keel blocks on Saturday. Following an old shipbuilding tradition Mr. Loui Keong Hui, son of Tan Sri Lim, Chairman of Norwegian Cruise Line, laid the traditional "lucky penny", before the block was put down by the yard´s 800-ton crane. The first block weighs more than 350 tons, is 20 m long, 27 m wide and about 9 m high. Norwegian Gem is the seventh ship which is built by MEYER WERFT for the cruise company Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). It is supposed to be delivered in autumn 2007. This new vessel is one of the world's biggest panmax-cruise ship that has ever been built. The ships length overall will be 294.13 m, the breadth is 32.2 m. The ship will be able to reach a speed of more than 25 knots. 2,384 passengers will be accommodated in 1,188 cabins and will be taken care of by a crew of over 1,000.