Mein Schiff 7, a methanol-ready cruise ship ordered by Hamburg-based cruise company TUI Cruises, has been launched in Finland.
On December 1, 2023, the float out of the newbuilding began at the Meyer Turku shipyard when the dry dock water valves were opened and the flooding of the dry dock started.
According to the shipyard, Mein Schiff 7 was expected to float out to the outfitting pier during the weekend. It takes 8 hours to completely flood the 16-meter deep dry dock.
“Meyer Turku and TUI Cruises have a long history together, and the Mein Schiff series of ships is one of the success stories of the cruise world. Mein Schiff 7 is the last sister ship in the series, but that doesn’t mean we’ve compromised on ambition, on the contrary: with Mein Schiff 7, we’re building a ship with built-in methanol capability. It is the first of its kind at the Meyer Turku shipyard and marks a huge leap forward in our pursuit of industry leadership in the green transition,” Tim Meyer , CEO of Meyer Turku, commented.
“We are delighted that the seventh ship of the Mein Schiff fleet has now water under its keel. The sister ship of Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 not only offers many wonderful innovations to our guests but also uses new low-emission fuels,” Wybcke Meier , CEO of TUI Cruises, said.
The 111,500 GT vessel is over 300 meters long and has 15 decks. The ship’s 1,461 cabins can accommodate a total of 2,894 passengers and a crew of about a thousand people.
The construction of the giant cruise ship was launched in June 2022 and reached the hull assembly stage in March 2023. The cruise ship will be classed by classification society DNV and is scheduled for completion in 2024.
Mein Schiff 7 is said to be an important milestone in TUI Cruises’ efforts to provide the first climate-neutral cruises by 2030.