Jarmo Laakso News

Maritime industry veteran Peter Fetten will take over as President & CEO of German shipbuilder MV WERFTEN as of May 1, 2018. Jarmo Laakso will remain as Managing Director and step into the position of COO to focus on cruise shipbuilding.Fetten was previously the Senior Vice President of Corporate Ship Refits at Carnival Corporation & PLC for the past nine years. He was also Vice President Newbuilding and Fleet Design of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. for eight years and held several executive positions during his 16 years at Blohm+Voss Shipyard.

Shipbuilder MV Werften said it has begun building Crystal’s new luxury expedition yacht, Crystal Endeavor, with first steel cut on January 15 at its shipyard in Stralsun, Germany. Set to debut in 2020, Crystal Endeavor will be Crystal’s largest and most spacious purpose-built Polar Class ship featuring all-suite, butler-serviced accommodations, and adventure in polar regions and other remote destinations. Employees and guests watched as the flame cutter was launched by Genting Hong Kong Chairman and CEO…

Just a few weeks after delivery of the Crystal Bach, shipbuilder MV WERFTEN has handed over the Crystal Mahler, the second of four Rhine Class ships for client Crystal River Cruises. After the ceremonial change of flags, the ship was christened at the outfitting quay of MV WERFTEN in Wismar. Like its sister vessel, the 135-metre long and 11.4-metre wide river cruise ship was specifically designed for exploring Europe’s rivers. It complies with the highest safety and navigation standards…

In an official ceremony held in Wismar, MV WERFTEN welcomed 102 new recruits to the maritime industry. 90 apprentices in five different professions and 12 students taking sandwich degree courses were given a warm welcome by the company management, works councils and training supervisors, set against the impressive backdrop of the company’s shipbuilding hall. “Today is a very special day for us – we are taking on over 100 new recruits in one fell swoop and are setting course together for a successful career path over the coming years,” said Holger Tepper, COO of MV WERFTEN.

Shipbuilder MV WERFTEN has completed its first newbuild project, having today delivered Crystal Bach, the first of four new Rhine Class luxury river cruise vessels for Crystal River Cruises. Designed specifically for river cruising in Europe, the 135-meter-long and 11.4-meter-wide Crystal Bach will sail along the Rhine, Danube and Main Rivers through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, carrying up to 106 passengers in 55 large suites, all designed to be above the water line with horizontal sliding windows.

Janne Luukkonen has taken over the position of Director of Project Management at MV WERFTEN as of August 1, 2017. He is a member of the senior management, responsible for all shipbuilding projects, and reports to CEO Jarmo Laakso. Luukkonen was previously a member of the Meyer Werft management team in Turku, Finland. Now as director, he is responsible for the project management of MV WERFTEN’s newbuilding program. “Tomorrow we will deliver the first vessel under the flag of MV WERFTEN: Crystal Bach, the world’s most luxurious river ship. Crystal Mahler is to follow next month.

ABB will supply the complete power, propulsion and automation package for a series of new cruise vessels being built by MV WERFTEN for Genting Hong Kong brands Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises. The three Crystal Cruises’ luxury “Endeavor Class” mega-yachts will feature a Polar Class 6 and enable cruising in the Arctic; then follow the route of migrating whales along the coast of the Americas and Europe to Antarctica during winter. The Star Cruises “Global Class” vessels will be two of the largest on the market with 204,000 tons registered tonnage each.

German shipyard MV WERFTEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong, said it will install the Evac Complete Cleantech Solution on board two new Global Class ships for Asia-Pacific cruise line Star Cruises. The contract also covers two optional cruise vessels of the same class in the future. Star Cruises’ Global Class vessels are specifically designed for the growing Asian market. Delivery of the two 201,000 GT vessels is scheduled for 2020 and 2021. At over 340 meters long, the new vessels will be the largest ever built at the shipyards of MV WERFTEN.

MAN Diesel & Turbo and MV Werften have concluded a contract to equip two Global Class cruise ships for Star Cruises. With a registered tonnage (RT) of 200,000 tons each, the ships will be some of the largest on the market and will each be equipped with six type 48/60CR engines with a combined output of 96,000 kW. The ships are scheduled for delivery in 2020 and 2021. The customer and recipient of these ocean-going giants, which will operate in China and all over Asia, is the Star Cruises brand of Genting Hong Kong.

Genting Cruises has confirmed its build program for the MV WERFTEN shipyard group following the launch of the first Asian luxury cruise ship, Genting Dream, in Singapore, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China. Executive Chairman, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, stated during the three events that Genting is committed to the long-term development of the cruise industry in Asia. With the rapid growth of the cruise industry in Asia but only a limited number of yards capable of building large cruise ships…

The founding of a new cabin factory is part of the MV WERFTEN Group’s extensive investment program at its Wismar site. MV WERFTEN Fertigmodule GmbH, part of the MV WERFTEN Group, officially took over its own cabin factory in Wismar. The facilities with a total area of 22,000 square meters will be used for manufacturing ship cabins for the cruise ships with delivery from 2020. Besides a modern production area of 8,700 square meters, the acquired premises have over 4,000 square meters of storage area.

Announcing further investments into its shipyards, MV WERFTEN has today signed three contracts for the investment program for its Rostock yard, including a purchasing contract for a new thin-plate laser panel line with welding and production automation specialist Pemamek, the construction of a new hall with engineering company Inros Lackner and design services with service engineer Warnow Design. “This investment clearly indicates our long-term commitment to our yards and our plans to make MV WERFTEN one of the world’s most modern and efficient cruise shipbuilders…

MV WERFTEN signed a letter of intent with the engineering company Foreship in Stralsund today. The agreement includes parts of the basic design as well as design, purchasing and production assistance of the “Endeavor” class luxury expedition yachts. The 20,000 GT cruise vessels will be built at MV WERFTEN Stralsund, with production starting late 2017 and deliveries from spring 2019. “We are excited to build a series of the world's first purpose-built expedition yachts, with PC6 polar-class designation,” stated Jarmo Laakso, Managing Director of MV WERFTEN. “Our own staff at all sites and other subcontractors have already been fully involved in this project.

The first two of four Rhine class river cruise ships are simultaneously under construction at MV WERFTEN in Wismar. Delivery of the 7-star vessels Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler to Crystal River Cruises will be in 2017. Shipbuilder MV WERFTEN held a keel-laying ceremony for two Rhine class river cruise ships in Wismar today. The Crystal Bach (yard number 120) and Crystal Mahler (yard number 123) are the first two of four new luxury river cruise vessels to be built in the completely covered dock shop.

Elomatic Ltd and Deltamarin Ltd have signed a tri-party engineering contract with shipbuilder MV Werften for the design of Star Cruises’ new Global Class “mega passenger ship,” which, once completed, will be the largest passenger vessel ever built in Germany. The new cruise liner will measure over 340 meters long, 45 meters wide and have a gross register tonnage of 200,001. The general arrangement plans for the Global Class cruise ships were completed with Foreship Oy (Foreship) in June following Genting Hong Kong’s purchase of the MV Werften shipyards in April.

Genting Hong Kong Ltd will invest 100 million euros in its German shipyard, MV Werften to focus on building new large ships. The three shipyards in the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern bought this April would be named MV Werften, be managed in Wismar. The company  will focus on eventually building three large cruise ships a year. Lloyd Werft, located in Bremerhaven and bought last September, will focus on its prior business of repairs, conversion and building of megayachts. MV Werften has covered docks, fabrication halls and painting shops, but will be upgraded in the near future. The yard will deliver four luxury Crystal River ships in 2017…

Genting Hong Kong announced that the three shipyards in the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern bought this April will be named as MV WERFTEN*, be managed in Wismar and will focus on building large new cruise ships. Lloyd Werft located in Bremerhaven and bought last September will focus on its prior business of repairs, conversion and building of megayachts. “To make MV WERFTEN one of the world’s most modern and efficient cruise shipyards, we will invest 100 million euros in a thin plate laser welding line…

Celebrity Cruises has taken its first step toward physically launching Celebrity Solstice in Fall 2008. The line's President Dan Hanrahan ceremoniously pressed the start button for the plasma cutter at shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, creating the ship's first steel plate. Accompanying Hanrahan were Celebrity's Executive Vice President Maritime & Newbuilding Harri Kulovaara, Celebrity Solstice Project Manager Jarmo Laakso, and Meyer Werft's Managing Director Bernard Meyer, Lambert Kruse and Project Manager Uwe Wulf.