Much has been written about the pressure that large cruiseships are putting on some destinations, such as Venice and Barcelona, because of the sheer number of passengers disembarking.
But Meyer Werft corporate communications boss Peter Hackmann says the company’s orderbook confirms that demand remains strong for these leviathans.
The group’s largest ships have always been built at state-of-the-art Papenburg and, despite past issues concerning draught limitations on the Ems river, the current orderbook includes a pair of 180,000-gt newbuildings for AIDA Cruises.
Ships of at least that size, depending on design, can transit the river to the sea, although 200,000 gt is too large — a problem overcome by the takeover of what is now Meyer Turku in 2014.
However, Hackmann says size was not the main reason for acquiring the Turku yard. It was a "good opportunity" given its long experience building cruiseships, including its current construction of two vessels of 115,000 gt vessels for TUI Cruises.
It was recently said that investment in Meyer Turku would rise to €185m ($220m) from the previously announced €75m, increasing steel production, to cope with its orderbook up until 2024.
