MV Werften Begins Building Crystal’s New Cruise Ships
From left to right: Jarmo Laakso, Managing Director MV WERFTEN; Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Chairman Genting Group; Edie Rodriguez, CEO Crystal Cruises; Walter Schölzig, Project Manager MV WERFTEN; and Erwin Sellering, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Photo: MV WERFTEN)
Both sections of NB 123 (Crystal Mahler, left) and NB 120 (Crystal Bach, right) were simultaneously lowered on keel blocks. (Photo: MV WERFTEN)
Prime Minister Erwin Sellering welding a steel plate on the first section of Crystal Mahler (Photo: MV WERFTEN)
The first two of four Rhine class river cruise ships are simultaneously under construction at MV WERFTEN in Wismar. Delivery of the 7-star vessels Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler to Crystal River Cruises will be in 2017.
Shipbuilder MV WERFTEN held a keel-laying ceremony for two Rhine class river cruise ships in Wismar today. The Crystal Bach (yard number 120) and Crystal Mahler (yard number 123) are the first two of four new luxury river cruise vessels to be built in the completely covered dock shop.
In the presence of Tan Sri Lim, Chairman of the Genting Group; Edie Rodriguez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Cruises; Erwin Sellering, Prime Minister of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; and the Malaysian Ambassador to Germany, Dato’ Zulkifli Adnan; as well as numerous guests, the first sections of the 7-star ships were ceremoniously lowered into position on keel blocks.
“This keel laying marks an important milestone for us. We are excited to build these high-end vessels for our brand Crystal River Cruises in our very own yard,” Tan Sri Lim said.
The ships of about 135 meters length and 11 meters breadth will operate on the European rivers Rhine, Main, Moselle and Danube after their delivery in 2017. Up to 110 passengers will travel in 55 cabins – all suites – with a size of up to 70.5 square meters and of the most luxury furnishing. Furthermore, 39 crew cabins will be accommodated in the 3,100 GT ships.
“These are not only impressive vessels, but today is also a special day because it is the first keel laying under a new flag,” said Sellering.
“This phase of the expansion of Crystal River Cruises is in the hands with the expert shipbuilders and designers at MV WERFTEN,” Rodriguez said. “We are thrilled to take this step toward offering our travel-savvy guests another option in which to explore the world in the utmost luxury.”
The order book of MV WERFTEN includes a total of 10 vessels in the next five years, among them the Wismar-Max class, the world’s biggest cruise liner regarding passenger capacity. The 201,000 GT cruise ships of the Global Class series will be more than 340 meters long and 45 meters wide. The production will start end of 2017 and the delivery to the shipping company Star Cruises is planned for 2020.
“We are happy and proud to start now. It is our great pleasure to build these ships and push ahead our building program. We have grand plans, are heading into the right direction and will strengthen our staff and skills further in the fields of planning, design, procurement and project management,” Jarmo Laakso, the Managing Director of MV WERFTEN said.
