The US entertainment giant announced this in a blog entry. The in-house shipping company Disney Cruise Line wants to have the building completed at the MV Werften site in Wismar under their direction by experts from Meyer Werft. A purchase price was not mentioned on Wednesday (local time).
The cruise giant, also known as “Global One”, was originally intended to accommodate around 9,500 people. It should be the world’s largest ship in terms of passenger numbers. Disney is now planning with a capacity of around 6,000 passengers with around 2,300 crew members, who should find space on the 342 meter long and 46 meter wide ship with its 20 decks. The MV shipyards had given the gross tonnage of the once-planned global fleet as 208,000.
A press conference with the insolvency administrator of the MV Werften Group, Christoph Morgen, is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Wismar on Thursday. Further details on the sale and completion could be announced here. Representatives from the federal, state and trade unions should also be present.
The ship, which is 75 percent complete, was originally intended for the Asian market by the former MV shipyard owner – the Chinese cruise group Genting Hong Kong. During the pandemic, however, the MV shipyards and later the parent company went bankrupt. This is how the sale started.
In addition to Disney, other companies also got a chance: The submarine builder thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) acquired the shipyard in Wismar, the naval arsenal of the armed forces, the site in Rostock and the city of Stralsund the properties in Western Pomerania. Other parts of the group went to the Lower Saxony shipyards Meyer and Fassmer, who together secured the shipbuilding engineering office Neptun Ship Design in Rostock. The medical technician Eppendorf took over the location of the MV-Werfen ready-made modules in Wismar.
With today’s success report, the insolvency administrator has handed over the big chunks to new owners. However, there are still smaller remnants such as parts that have already been manufactured for the planned successor to the “Global Dream”. According to his spokesman, all outstanding claims must now be checked and, if possible, settled. This requires a lot of staying power, it could take years until the process is completed.
Leaving the MV shipyards was not the end of a tale of woe, rather the company smashed into a wall at full speed. The group was doing splendidly until the start of the corona pandemic and the subsequent slump in the cruise business. At the beginning of December 2019, MV Werften Managing Director Peter Fetten assured that full order books until 2024 would ensure full employment. The owner of the shipyard group – the Chinese cruise company Genting Hong Kong – even announced new orders.
Then came the crisis. According to the international cruise association CLIA, the number of guests worldwide fell by 81 percent between 2019 and 2020. After the interim hope for help from the federal government and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the MV shipyards had to give up in January, and shortly thereafter Genting also filed for creditor protection.
From then on, 1,900 shipyard workers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania feared for their future. 900 who were accommodated in a transfer company until the end of November did so until the end. The purchase and intended completion of the “Global One”, which is also known under the name “Global Dream”, now promises a medium-term perspective.
According to earlier statements, the insolvency administrator of the MV shipyards has leased back the shipyard premises in Wismar from TKMS until the end of 2023, so the halls can be used for further construction. Morgen has also agreed with the company that the “Global One” can be temporarily parked at the outfitting quay in the following year.
For the affected employees and the shipbuilding location in the north-east, a mild end to the major bankruptcy could be in store, which had posed an existential question for the maritime industry in the country. Numerous jobs in the supplier companies were also at stake.
Reason for Disney to take the step could be the recovery in the cruise market. As the cruise association CLIA announced at the end of September based on a market analysis, demand has again exceeded the level of 2019. Back in April, CLIA President Kelly Craighead predicted that guest numbers would surpass pre-crisis levels by the end of 2023.
Transfer company of the MV shipyards is to be extended
The state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to extend the transfer company of the MV shipyards by two months. “Specifically, this means that the transfer company should run until the end of January 2023. The talks have been held. The final details are still being worked on,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Reinhard Meyer (SPD) on Thursday. It had previously become known that the Disney Group was taking over the cruise ship “Global Dream” from the insolvency estate of the MV shipyards. 900 employees were still in the transfer company, which should expire at the end of November.
Daniel Friedrich, district manager of the IG Metall coast, sees the further construction as an important part of a bridge to the future: “Everyone is relieved that the ship will set sail with a new design and climate-friendly propulsion and will not have to be scrapped.” He hopes to keep as many jobs in Wismar as possible.
The ship, which is 75 percent complete – also known as “Global One” – is to be completed in Wismar under the aegis of the Papenburg Meyer shipyard. Originally designed for around 9,500 guests, Disney is now planning around 6,000 passengers with around 2,300 crew members, according to the company, who should be able to find space on the 342 meter long and 46 meter wide ship with its 20 decks.
Insolvency administrator: Disney purchase secures shipyard in Wismar in the medium term
The insolvency administrator of MV Werften sees the continued existence of the shipbuilding location in Wismar as secure. “The Global One is being completed here in Wismar for Disney Cruises,” said Christoph Morgen on Thursday at the shipyard. The sale of the 75 percent completed cruise ship from the insolvency estate of MV Werften had previously failed several times. The finished construction of the cruise liner, also known under the name “Global Dream”, is to be operationally managed by the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg.
According to Morgens, the deal completed on Tuesday with the Disney Group (Walt Disney) is the bridge to the start of submarine production by the new owner of the site in Wismar, thyssenkrupp-Marine-Systems (TKMS). He hopes for a seamless transition.
According to the information, completion is targeted by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Among other things, Disney wants to have the propulsion system converted from heavy oil to methanol and adapt the equipment to the concept of a family ship.
It is not yet clear how many former employees of MV shipyards will be taken on for this purpose. “Several hundred,” it said. According to the managing director of the Meyer shipyard, Bernard Meyer, this depends on the exact conversion plans, the same applies to the start of further construction. 900 employees are in the transfer company, which the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to extend until the end of January 2023.
Disney shares temporarily fell 2.57 percent to $91.52 in NYSE trading.
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