Cruise Ship Builder News

Germany's second-largest defense group Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) wants to play a leading role in consolidating the German and European shipyard industry, its new Chief Executive Officer told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag."If the road to a European giant is still too difficult, a German champion could be formed first," Oliver Burkhard was quoted by the newspaper as saying.Burkhard said a merger, for example, could be formed with smaller German rivals Luerssen and German…

The Meyer Group announced Wednesday it will rotate leadership at its shipyards in Papenburg, Germany and Turku, Finland as the cruise ship builder grapples with market turmoil created by the coronavirus pandemic.Effective after the summer, Jan Meyer, the CEO of Meyer Turku since 2014, will become Managing Director of Meyer Werft, while Tim Meyer, managing director of Meyer Werft since 2016, will take over as CEO at Meyer Turku.The COVID-19 crisis has hit the cruise industry, and consequently shipyards…

The technology group Wärtsilä has received orders to supply more than sixty of its transverse thrusters for twelve new cruise ships being built in four shipyards on behalf of six different owners during the past year.This represents the dominant share of newbuild vessels within the cruise sector during this period. The efficiency and performance of Wärtsilä’s transverse thrusters is particularly important for large cruise ships, since manoeuvring and mooring in often crowded harbours is mission critical.The Wärtsilä series of transverse thrusters represents the latest generation in thruster technology, combining a compact design with high thrust performance and low levels of noise and vibration.Following a quality audit held at Wärtsilä’s production facilities in Wuxi…

The cruise ship builder Meyer Turku started the production of a 5,286-lower berth cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line.According to German shipbuilder, the ship will be the first North American-based cruise ship to run on iquefied natural gas (LNG) and will also be the largest Carnival cruise ship ever built with 180,000 gross tonnage (GT).With the first steel cutting the physical form of the ship will start to takeshape. The new Carnival ship will offer a variety never-before-seen innovations and will be part of Carnival Corporation’s “green cruising” design platform.“This new ship promises to be truly special, from its ground-breaking…

Coming off of three straight profitable years, Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku said it is using its profits to finance a 200 million euro ($237 million) investment program at its Turku shipyard.The cruise ship builder reported its 2017 revenue was 807.7 million euros ($959 million) compared to 2016’s 787.5 million euros ($935 million). Net profit for the financial year rose from 26.2 million euros ($31.1 million) (3.3 percent of revenue) to 32.2 million euros ($38 million) (4 percent of revenue).Meyer Turku delivered two ships in 2017, the first time in decades.

The 2016 Polar Code has its first luxury-adventure cruise adherents for the long, new ice-free seasons in the high latitudes. Likewise, many designs winning over owners and explorers target exotic Asia-Pacific destinations. Competition is fierce among “designer-shipyards” seeking to build their designs, but their creations could face fewer hurdles to construction than the designs of independents without a yard. Concepts bound for the slipway have something else in common: new davits for large numbers of water craft.

After an uneven couple of years punctuated by struggling economic factors worldwide, maturing markets and some highly publicized accidents and illnesses, the cruise industry is hoping to find a little “double happiness” from the rapidly growing Chinese market – enhanced profits and renewed market growth for both operators and builders. For its part, the Chinese government is betting on a triple payout:  it hopes to serve a growing middle class (estimated at a potential 300 million market) and its desire for cruising vacations…

The Marseilles Fos port authority said it is targeting mid-2015 to complete the €28 million renovation of its giant drydock 10 to provide a strategically located base for cruise ship repair and maintenance. At 465 meters long and 85 metrs wide - the third biggest in the world after Lisbon and Dubai – the drydock will offer a unique facility for the latest-generation fleet in the Mediterranean, where 65% of the world’s largest cruise vessels operate. These include ships of up to 360 meters that currently call at Marseilles.

German cruise ship builder strengthens its yards. MEYER WERFT joins forces with the STX Finland shipyard in Turku. Following weeks of negotiations the Finnish Government and MEYER WERFT signed a share purchase agreement with the current owner STX Europe. With its 70% stake MEYER WERFT takes the industrial leadership of the new company. At present some 1,300 employees and a specialized supplier network are involved in the construction of the cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 for the German cruise operator TUI Cruises from Hamburg.

Rolls-Royce signs extensive equipment orders with Italian cruise ship builder Fincantieri for Viking Cruises' 2 newbuildings. Viking Cruises recently ordered two cruise ships from Fincantieri and have chosen the highly-efficient Rolls-Royce integrated rudder and propulsion system, called Promas, for their vessels. This is the first time that a Promas propulsion system is being installed on a new-build cruise vessel. During extensive tank tests, the Promas system demonstrated…

Costa Cruises set to return to Trieste in 2012 with 28 calls and an estimated 65,000 passenger movements. Trieste – April 8, 2011 – Trieste will be hosting the naming ceremony on July 2 for the Costa Favolosa, the new flagship of Costa Cruises, which is the largest Italian travel group, Europe’s no.1 cruise company and also the only cruise operator whose fleet flies the Italian flag. The Costa Favolosa, weighing in at 114,500 gross tonnage and with accommodation for up to 3,800 total Guests…

Leading Polish shipyard Gdynia has not given up hope of buying a stake in Finnish shipbuilder Masa-Yards, even though Kvaerner has put off the sale. Gdynia Chief Executive Janusz Szlanta said that Gdynia wanted to boost cooperation with Masa-Yards while waiting for Kvaerner to resume the sell-off. "I have accepted Kvaerner's decision. But at the same time I confirm our interest in taking part in the sale of the Finnish shipyards," Szlanta said. Kvaerner said it is putting off a planned sale of Masa-Yards after failing to find the right buyer. It had been in talks with U.S. cruise groups Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean, as well as a Finnish bidder. The company said, however, that it maintained its long-term strategic aim of exiting shipbuilding.

Kvaerner ASA has postponed a planned sale of its Masa-Yards Finnish shipbuilding unit in a new setback to its goal of exiting shipbuilding. Kvaerner said it had failed to find a right buyer for Masa-Yards, which specializes in building cruise ships and has an order reserve of $2.6 billion, and would instead concentrate on raising the unit's profitability. "Talks (about a sale of Masa) have not led to a satisfactory agreement," the company said in a statement. "As a consequence, Kvaerner will now concentrate on carrying out the improvement program set in place to obtain satisfactory results." Kvaerner said the decision would not affect its goal of cutting huge debts.

Italian prowess in the field of passenger vessel design, outfitting and technology is near legendary status in the international marine community. Even as the grip on these high-value, niche vessels loosens — largely due to cost-cutting competition from the Far East — a quick peak a the world orderbook and recent deliveries of cruise ships quickly tells who currently reigns supreme in the cruise shipping market. Evidence of Italian influence in the passenger vessel segment is undeniable, and over the years the country's shipbuilders have catered to some of the world's most discerning and quality demanding customers, such as U.S.-based Disney Cruise Line.

The Tillberg name is synonymous with luxurious cruise ship design, often serving as the masterminds in the creation of images and themes that will capture the essence of the each vessel's itinerary and passenger base. MR/EN spoke with two generations of the Tillbergs — founder Robert — and son Tomas — to discuss their philosophies, ideas and creations for a business that is expediently working to meet the cruise industry's newbuild boom. From the time he was a young man attending college in Sweden, Tomas Tillberg longed for the day that he could join his father, Robert Tillberg, at work designing and dreaming up new ideas for the cruise ship industry.

Costa Crociere -- a member of the Carnival Corporation & plc group -- has doubled its order with Fincantieri, reaching an agreement to build the Costa Concordia’s new sistership, a 112,000-ton, 475 million euro ship. The new order will also help offset the sale of the Costa Tropicale to P&O Cruises Australia. The will be built in the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Ponente (Genoa). It is scheduled to be delivered in the spring of 2007. The new Concordia class ship ordered by Costa Crociere, which has yet to be named, will allow Costa Crociere to maintain its leadership in Europe in terms of capacity and to set a company record as Europe’s most modern fleet.

Italian shipbuilding powerhouse Fincantieri has formed a new company, Fincantieri Marine Systems North America, Inc. FDGM, Inc., the U.S.-based subsidiary of Fincantieri, will be absorbed by this new company. The establishment of this new company is part of the vision of the Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono to enlarge its presence in the global maritime market. Drawing on the vast resources of the parent company and forming strategic partnerships with other U.S. companies, Fincantieri Marine Systems North America, Inc. is uniquely qualified to provide fully engineered and integrated propulsion systems and machinery plant solutions to the U.S. shipbuilding industry for naval and commercial vessels. Service to the U.S.