The year 2020 got off to a promising start: on 28 January MEYER WERFT was able to look back on its 225th anniversary. The order book is well filled and orders from 2024 onwards are in the pipeline. Then the Corona crisis came up, which continues to hit the cruise industry particularly hard. The company responded to the crisis early on: A wide range of Corona prevention measures safeguard the health of all people working at the shipyard and the ships.

At the same time, numerous measures had to be taken to maintain the economic stability of the shipyard. An investment freeze, a comprehensive savings package, the reduction of temporary employees and the instrument of “short-time work” as well as significantly fewer employees from suppliers initially create a little planning security until the end of June 2021. At the same time, intensive negotiations were held with the shipping companies to stretch the time of existing orders. This has so far prevented the cancellation of orders and redundancies.

Despite all the adverse circumstances, MEYER WERFT succeeded in delivering two ships this year. In September and October 2020, the two newbuildings “Iona” for P&O Cruises and the “Spirit of Adventure” for Saga Cruises were delivered. Further innovative large-scale projects will be implemented in the coming years.

“Our stretched order book allows us to position ourselves for the future. We need to take advantage of this opportunity. This year our entire team, together with our many partners, has again shown the motivation with which we realise our projects despite all the challenges,” says Thomas Weigend, Managing Director of MEYER WERFT. Despite the austerity package, MEYER WERFT is setting the course for the future for the time after the Corona pandemic. With the new logistics centre, material transports will be even better coordinated and costs for other storage areas will be reduced.

The shipyard is also working on new solutions to further expand its technological leadership in cruise ships: Intensive research is being carried out on fuel cell technology and other technical innovations on passenger ships to pave the way for emission-free cruise ships. MEYER WERFT will also deliver two cruise ships in 2021; the Odyssey of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International is already berthed at the fitting-out pier.