Meyer Werft: Shipyard fire won’t delay Getaway delivery

MARCH 7, 2013 — German shipbuilder Meyer Werft said yesterday that a fire that broke out March 5 on a cruise ship newbuilding in the shipyard’s building dock II had caused less than EUR 500,000 in damage.

According to the shipbuilder, the fire occurred in a machinery room on deck 15 of the 324 m Norwegian Getaway and was accompanied by heavy smoke.

Videos uploaded to You Tube show smoke apparently filling the building hall

The fire department of the yard and the local fire brigades were deployed and had the situation under control quickly. Police and rescue workers were also present. No one was hurt.

“In general we install large-size safety and detection systems on our ships as early as in the construction period. Hence we could react very quickly,” explained the yard’s safety manager, Markus Wähler.

The fire damage is limited to a pool plant room with a size of 40 sq.m. The building dock  was not damaged and Meyer Werft says the new building will be completed on time as planned for delivery in early 2014 to Norwegian Cruise Line.

Meyer Werft was expecting work in the building hall to return to normal by early in yesterday’s evening shift.

The shipyard has not yet released any information on the cause of the fire.