Construction starts on TUI Cruises’ methanol-ready cruise ship

Finnish shipbuilding company Meyer Turku has held a steel-cutting ceremony for Mein Schiff 7, the latest cruise ship to be built for German TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI and Royal Caribbean Group. 

The ceremony of the last ship in the Mein Schiff series was held at the firm’s shipyard on 14 June. The vessel will be built so that it can run on methanol in the future.

“After two years of pandemics, we have returned to our course and will continue to grow as planned. Mein Schiff 7 will take us forward in our work for more environmentally friendly cruise tourism. The ship will be built so that it can be used with methanol,” Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises stated.

Similar to the structurally identical Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 delivered in 2018 and 2019, respectively, the new vessel will have a length of 315 meters and a width of 36 meters. It will be able to accommodate around 2,849 passengers.

In addition to this, the ship’s operations in the port will be almost emission-free.

Meier added that Mein Schiff 7 is an important milestone in the company’s efforts to provide the first climate-neutral cruises by 2030. TUI plans to grow the Mein Schiff fleet to nine ships by 2026.

To remind, the company has also signed a contract with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ships.

The new units will be built at the Monfalcone shipyard and delivered in 2024 and in 2026, respectively.