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Meyer Werft

Coordinates: 53°05′55″N 7°21′59″E / 53.09861°N 7.36639°E / 53.09861; 7.36639
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Meyer Werft GmbH & Co. KG
Company typePrivate
IndustryShipbuilding
Founded1795
HeadquartersPapenburg, Germany
Key people
Bernard Meyer, CEO

Thomas Weigend Dr. Jan Meyer Tim Meyer[1]

Bernd Eikens[2]
ProductsCruise ships
Tankers
Livestock carriers
Ferries
Research vessels
Revenue
  • Increase€51 million (2018)
  • Increase€17 million (2019)
  • Decrease€70 million (2020)
[3]
Number of employees
7,000 (2024),[4] 3100 (2030)[5]
ParentMeyer Neptun S.à.r.l.
Websitemeyerwerft.com
Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft

Meyer Werft (pronounced [ˈmaɪ̯ɐ ˌvɛːʁft] ⓘ; English: Meyer shipyard) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems, founded in 1795, building small wooden vessels. It has been owned and managed by the Meyer family for seven generations. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group, together with Neptun Werft in Rostock. In 2014, the company added the Turku shipyard in Finland to the group. Since then, it has also been a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types had been built at the yard. The Dock 2 Hall is the third largest shipbuilding hall and the fifth-largest usable volume in the world as of 2022. The shipyard is an anchor on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.[6]

History

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The shipyard was founded at the beginning of 1795 by Willm Rolf Meyer as a yard specializing in small wooden vessels. Josef Lambert Meyer began building iron vessels in 1874.[7] During the Second World War, Meyer Werft mainly repaired ships, including ships from the Kriegsmarine. There were once more than 20 shipyards in the Papenburg area, but today Meyer Werft is the only one remaining. For seven generations it has been a privately held and family-owned company until 2024, when the german government announced its readiness in August 2024 to take a stake in the company.[8]

Company

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Meyer Werft 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 about 3300 employees, and home to the 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 2004, 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.[9] Because the yard at Papenburg is upstream on the river Ems, the giant ships to be delivered have to make a 36 km voyage to the Dollart bay. These voyages attract thousands of spectators. Up until the completion of the Ems river barrier in 2002, the journey was only possible at high tides.

In September 2014 Meyer Werft acquired 70% ownership of STX Finland and the Turku shipyard STX Finland Oy from STX Europe with the state-owned Finnish Industry Investment owning the remaining 30%. The shipyard was renamed Meyer Turku Oy.[10][11][12] Meyer Werft acquired the remaining 30% in 2015.

In context of the COVID-19 pandemic the Meyer Werft got in financial trouble. The company had taken orders for new ships but apperantly did not adequately account for the rise in energy- and material cost in the associated contracts. In 2024 €2,8 billion were needed to complete ordered ships and banks were not willing to grant additional loans.[13]

The German state and the States of Germany were asked to support the struggling shipyard and chancellor Olaf Scholz proclaimed the systemic relevance of Meyer Werft in mid August 2024 and signaled the readiness to help out, pending approval by the Bundestag and the European Commission.[13] On 13 September the German parliaments budgetary committee voted for the governments rescue plan.[14] Research by the Handelsblatt showed that the Federal Ministry of Finance had addressed the committee in a secret dossier and stressed the potential importance of the shipyard for military projects if global tensions should rise. With ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Lürssen already available, a military use for the Meyer Werft was disputed by observers. Max Johns, Professor for Maritime Management with the HSBA called the claim a "retroactive search for reasons" after politicians had already promised to help.[15] The contracts were signed on 16 September 2024, with the German government acquiring 80 % of the company for €400 million.[16] A week after the signing, systemic malpractices in Management accounting were also documented, with the management apparently beeing unaware of the actual state of Meyer Werft projects and never having produced monthly financial statements.[17]

Ships built at Meyer Werft

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Main article: List of ships built at Meyer Werft

A large variety of ships have been built at Meyer Werft, including car carriers, cargo ships, container ships, cruise ships, ferries, fishing vessels, gas carriers, lightvessels, paddlesteamers, passenger ships and Seebäderschiffs. During the last years, the shipyard was only building cruise ships.[18][19][20][21] Since 2024, the company is building parts of Converter Platform. The decision was made during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.[22][23][24][25]

Contracts

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Planned Signed Projects decided between shipbuilder and ship owners.

Delivery Name Weight Owner Dock Hall Notes
2024 Disney Treasure 135.000  United States Disney Cruise Line 2 Cruises, 1250 Cabins, LNG
2024–2027 – – Dragados Offshore Offshore Steel Platforms DolWin4 (dolwin delta, S.727[26][27][28][29]), BorWin4, BalWin1 & BalWin2
2025 Asuka III 51.950  Japan Nippon Yusen 1 Cruises, 744 Pax, LNG
2025 Disney Destiny 135.000  United States Disney Cruise Line 2 Cruises, 1250 Cabins, LNG
2026 Njord 84.800 Ocean Residences Development Residences, 1000 Pax, Methane
2026 Meteor IV 10.000  Germany German Government 1 Research
2027 N.N. (Excel-Class) 180.000  United States Carnival Cruise Line 2 Cruises
2028 N.N. (Excel-Class) 180.000  United States Carnival Cruise Line 2 Cruises
2028[30] Disney Project 135.000  Japan Oriental Land 2 Cruises, 1250 Cabins, LNG

List of shipyards

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References

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

  1. ^ "MEYER WERFT | Imprint". MEYER WERFT.
  2. ^ "Meyer Group restructures, brings in new CEO".
  3. ^ "Substanz der deutschen Werften "bröckelt"" (in German). 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  4. ^ "MEYER Group". Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Meyer Werft Workers Demiss". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ "ERIH Entry: Meyer Shipyard". European Route of Industrial Heritage. 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  7. ^ MEYER WERFT GmbH. "Triton".
  8. ^ NDR. "Olaf Scholz: Bund trägt Teil zur Lösung bei - Meyer Werft vor Rettung". www.ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  9. ^ "Meyer Werft baut größte Dockhalle der Welt". Spiegel Online. 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  10. ^ MEYER WERFT GmbH. "Press Release".
  11. ^ "Valtio ja Meyer Werft ostavat Turun telakan - kauppahinta ei julkinen". Turun Sanomat. 4 August 2014.
  12. ^ MEYER WERFT GmbH. "Press Release".
  13. ^ a b "Bund will angeschlagene Meyer Werft retten" Die Zeit, 22 August 2024, retrieved 23 August 2024
  14. ^ "Meyer Werft: Bund und Land geben grünes Licht für staatliche Hilfen" NDR, 13 September 2024
  15. ^ Victoria Robertz: "Meyer Werft militärisch wichtig? Experte zweifelt an Begründung" capital.de, 16 September 2024
  16. ^ "Handelsblatt". www.handelsblatt.com. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  17. ^ Carsten Knop: "Mut für große Ideen und ein einstiges Vorzeigeunternehmen" FAZ, published 21. September 2024, retrieved 22. September 2024
  18. ^ "Meyer Werft beginnt mit Stahlarbeiten für Offshore-Plattform".
  19. ^ "Fertigungsstart für Konverterplattform DolWin delta in der Meyer Werft". 5 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Meyer Werft startet Bau von Offshore-Konverterplattform". 5 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Trotz Krise: Meyer Werft startet Bau von Plattform für Windkraft | NOZ". July 2024.
  22. ^ Schade, Gerd (2024-07-04). "Energiewende: "Historischer Tag" auf der Meyer Werft in Papenburg | NOZ". noz.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  23. ^ "Neues Geschäft für Papenburger Meyer Werft: Bau von Konverterstationen - buten un binnen". www.butenunbinnen.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  24. ^ "Start of Production for Converter Platform". MEYER WERFT. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  25. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogkKcMl_rqo
  26. ^ https://scontent-ham3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/449838616_879184167581605_7469586077591452405_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=ligV551sIxgQ7kNvgE6h6cA&_nc_ht=scontent-ham3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AH1j5pKba6yhJHmfZX07h8e&oh=00_AYCZt2fgZdGovA1mg3aBXKRZgX8S_nd9w1fJwmgkyaoEVQ&oe=66ECD654
  27. ^ https://scontent-ham3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/450216682_879184154248273_588003284636462877_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=cjNuDRZWtOYQ7kNvgFscDxU&_nc_ht=scontent-ham3-1.xx&oh=00_AYAJYMwV8nRPb4POBIHGvsewzEFxDdePMaLCORbmRLT_oQ&oe=66ECDA59
  28. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/haukejuergensen_energytransition-hvdc-offshoregridconnections-activity-7214934318903640064-JrIh
  29. ^ https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4D22AQHMmKoR_T4H0w/feedshare-shrink_800/feedshare-shrink_800/0/1720174387233?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=xApPV2v97G6YVFM0KNCnrmvEjS-XqGRjGV3zGHkmOIk
  30. ^ Assies, Christoph (2024-07-09). "Neuer Auftrag für die Meyer Werft". Crucero - Das Kreuzfahrtmagazin (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
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53°05′55″N 7°21′59″E / 53.09861°N 7.36639°E / 53.09861; 7.36639

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