From the shipyard for scrapping
Record cruise ship is scrapped
6/21/2022, 2:32 p.m
The “Global Dream” and her sister ship “Global Dream 2” from the MV shipyards should set new standards in the cruise industry. At least one of them will probably be taken directly from the shipyard to be scrapped. Instead of giant cruise ships, warships are soon to be built at the site.
With space for 9,500 people, the “Global Dream 2” – together with its sister ship “Global Dream” – should be the largest cruise ship in the world in terms of passenger numbers. Among other attractions, it was to house the largest floating cinema halls and the largest roller coasters at sea. In the shipyard in Warnemünde on the Baltic Sea, the mega cruiser should secure hundreds of jobs for at least five years and billions in sales for the company MV Werften.
But now, a year and a half after the laying of the keel, one thing is certain: not a single passenger will ever travel on the “Global Dream 2”, which has not yet been officially christened with this name. The work has already stopped. The insolvency administrator of the bankrupt MV Werften has decided: The ship, whose hull has already been completed, should be sold. And as scrap to scrap. This is reported by the industry magazine “On Board”.
The MV Werften, which at that time belonged to the Hong Kong tourism group Genting with locations in Wismar, Rostock-Warnemünde and Stralsund, got into a crisis in the course of the corona pandemic and had to file for bankruptcy at the beginning of this year. While there are buyers or prospective buyers for the shipyards from the armaments sector, among other things, things look different for the two cruise giants that are still there. MV insolvency administrator Christoph Morgen is not yet giving up hope for the “Global Dream”, the construction of which, according to the shipyard, which began in 2018 is more than 80 percent complete. However, the only bidder with whom negotiations were last held has just dropped out, as reported by NDR.
The scrap value increases with raw material prices
The two “Global Dream” sister ships are specially tailored to the needs of the original shipyard owner and customer Genting for the Asian cruise market. They would have to be extensively redesigned to meet the wishes and habits of European or American customers. Thats expensive. Too expensive for cruise companies, which are still recovering financially from the Corona crisis, while a possible global recession is already clouding business prospects again. At the same time, the scrap value of the ships has risen significantly due to high raw material prices.
In addition, the holiday giants have to make room. In the future, completely different ships will probably be built or serviced at the MV shipyards. While the cruise industry faces uncertain times, the new armaments boom in the wake of the Ukraine war has fundamentally improved the prospects for naval shipyards. The shipyard in Wismar, where the “Global Dream” is currently in dry dock, has already been sold to Thyssenkrupp. Submarines are to be built there in the future. The facility in Warnemünde could be taken over by the German Navy in order to maintain ships there on its own. In both cases, the insolvency administrator must hand over the shipyards empty tomorrow.