“Mein Schiff 5” Floats

The ship “Mein Schiff 5” (99,500 GT) floated for the first time last Friday, January 15, in the dry dock of the large shipyard in Turku (Finland). It is the third in the series, although it is the first built after the German company Meyer acquired the shipyard, which has since had interesting prospects for workload and new projects.

Compared to its predecessor “Mein Schiff 4” – which we had the opportunity to visit in February 2015, when it was in its final outfitting and the cutting of steel for “Mein Schiff 5” was beginning – it incorporates some improvements and suggestions from customers. It floated with 72% of the work completed and employs about 1,500 people, including the shipyard's own staff and subcontractors from Meyer Turku.

The official naming ceremony is scheduled for July 15, 2016, in the port of Lübeck, and the following day it will begin its maiden voyage. Like its predecessors, it will be registered in Malta and has a capacity for 2,534 passengers and a thousand crew members. The ship will be operated by Tui Cruises, a German brand owned by Tui A.G. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Photo: Meyer Turku