Meyer Werft

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (January 2009)
Meyer Werft GmbH
Type Private
Industry Shipbuilding
Founded 1795
Headquarters Papenburg, Germany
Key people Bernard Meyer, CEO
Products cruise ships
tankers
livestock carriers
ferries
Employees ~2,500 (2013)
Parent Meyer Neptun Group
Website www.meyerwerft.com

The Meyer Werft GmbH is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is one of world´s leading builders of luxury passenger ships. Altogether about 700 ships of different types have been built at the yard.

Meyer Werft has been owned and managed by the Meyer family for six generations. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Neptun Werft in Rostock, East Germany.

Contents

History [edit]

The shipyard was founded at the beginning of 1795 by Willm Rolf Meyer as a wharf for the construction of small wooden vessels. Josef Lambert Meyer started the construction of iron ships in 1874.[1] Until 1920 there were more than 20 dockyards in the Papenburg area. Today, Meyer Werft is the only remaining shipyard in Papenburg. For more than six generations, it has been a privately held and family-owned company.

Company [edit]

It gained international recognition through the construction of roll on/roll off ferries, passenger ferries, gasoline tankers, container ships, livestock ferries and most recently luxury cruise ships.

Meyer is one of the largest and most modern shipyards in the world with 2500 employees, and home to the by far largest roofed dry docks in the world. The first covered dock was inaugurated in 1987 and was 370 meters long, 101,5 meters wide and 60 meters high. In 1990/91 the dock was extended by an additional 100 meters. In 2000, a second covered dock was built, which is announced to be extended to a full length of 504 meters, a width of 125 meters and height of 75 meters in order to compete with Asian shipyards. Meyer Werft will as a result of this be able to build three cruise ships a year.[2]

Current cruise liner projects include the last ship from the Solstice Class: Celebrity Reflection. Meyer Werft will also build the Norwegian Breakaway and the Norwegian Getaway for Norwegian Cruise Line and the two ships of Project Sunshine for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

Due to its upstream location on the river Ems, the giant ships to be delivered have to make a 36 km voyage to the Dollart bay and which each time attracts thousands of spectators. Up until the completion of the Ems river barrier ("Emssperrwerk") in 2002, the journey was only possible at high tides. In February 2011, Meyer Werft signed a contract with Royal Caribbean International to build a new class of ship, code named "Project Sunshine".The first ship is expected to enter service in 2014, with an option of a second ship to be delivered in 2015.

Ships built at Meyer Werft GmbH (selection) [edit]

References [edit]

Hans Jürgen Witthöft, Meyer Werft- Innovative shipbuilding from Papenburg, Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg

  1. ^ Meyer Werft Website, "Triton"
  2. ^ "Meyer Werft baut größte Dockhalle der Welt". Spiegelonline. 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 

List of shipyards [edit]

External links [edit]


This article incorporates information from the revision as of November 5, 2006 of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

Coordinates: 53°05′55″N 7°21′59″E / 53.09861°N 7.36639°E / 53.09861; 7.36639

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meyer_Werft&oldid=552122304"