Holding company Genting Hong Kong Ltd has renamed the three shipyards in the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which were bought in April , to MV Werften, which will focus on building large new cruise ships.
Lloyd Werft, located in Bremerhaven and bought last September , will focus on its prior business of repairs, conversion and building of megayachts.
“To make MV Werften one of the world’s most modern and efficient cruise shipyards, we will invest EUR 100 million (USD 110.8 million) in a thin plate laser welding line, a cabin module factory, a new covered section block building hall, the modernization of manufacturing control systems and new executive and employee offices and facilities,” Tan Sri KT Lim, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Genting Group, said.
MV Werften is scheduled to deliver the first four luxury Crystal River ships in 2017, the first of a series of 20,000 gross tonnage Crystal Endeavor Class polar expedition yachts in 2018 and the first of a series of 201,000 gross tonnage Star Cruises Global Class cruise ships by 2020.
The planned annual output of MV Werften will be increased in future years to build two Neo-Panamax cruise ships of over 200,000 gross tonnage each and one Panamax cruise vessel a year.
In September 2015, the company entered into an agreement to invest EUR 17.5 million for a 70% stake in German shipbuilder Lloyd Werft and a 50% ownership in the shipyard’s land in Bremerhaven. At the beginning of 2016, Genting bought the remaining 30% in Lloyd Werft.
The company concluded the EUR 230.6 million acquisition of Nordic Yards’ three shipyards in Wismar, Warnemunde and Stralsund, Germany, in April, in an effort to build a cruise fleet for its three brands – Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruises and Star Cruises.