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Meyer Turku floats out Mein Schiff 5

Written by Nick Blenkey
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Ferdinand Strohmeier, Vice President TUI Cruises, (left) and Dr. Jan Meyer, CEO Meyer Turku Oy, open the valves to start the float out

JANUARY 17, 2016 — Finland’s Meyer Turku Oy has floated out Mein Schiff 5, the first ship to be contracted and totally built totally by the shipyard since coming under the ownership of the Meyer family.

Under construction for TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean International, the 2,350 passenger Mein Schiff 5 is a sister ship to Mein Schiff 4, which was handed over to the owner last spring.

The float out took place six months to the day before the cruise ship’s scheduled christening and Meyer Werft reports that building has advanced as planned and on schedule.

The float-out and transfer of the vessel from the building dock to the outfitting pier marks a shift from the hull construction phase of the shipbuilding to the outfitting phase. A total of 1,500 people are currently involved in the construction of the vessel and 72 percent of the work is complete.

Ferdinand Strohmeyer, Vice President Operations of TUI Cruises and Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku, opened the building dock valves to start the float out process

“Step by step the good work of our team is coming together and the ship is starting to look like a ship,” said Mr. Meyer. Noting that Mein Schiff 4 had been well received by guests, he said that the yard would be “implementing multiple improvements, big and small, on Mein Schiff 5 to further improve the guest experience” and added that he was confident that, “once again, we will be able to deliver TUI Cruises a wonderful new cruise ship on time.

“Although this is TUI Cruises’ third newbuild, it is still a long way from becoming routine,” said Mr. Strohmeier. “It’s always a great feeling the first time we see the ship afloat.”

The 99,500 gt cruise ship will fly the Maltese flag and will have 1,267 cabins, 82 percent of them outside units with balconies. It will have a crew complement of approximately 1,000.

The 15-deck vessel has a length of 295 m, a breadth of 36 m and a draft of 8 m. Facilities will include 13 restaurants & bistros and 14 bars and lounges.

She is scheduled to make her maiden voyage from July 16 to 24, 2016, sailing from Kiel across the Baltic Sea, calling at Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm before returning to Kiel. During the 2016 summer season, Mein Schiff 5 will travel on a variety of routes in the Baltic to the Baltic States and in northern Europe around Norway, as well as in western Europe. In the winter, the ship in the fleet will cruise in the Caribbean.

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