Disney buys half-built Global Dream, plans to complete ship in Wismar
Illustration of the Global Dream, which will now be completed by the newly established subsidiary Meyer Wismar
(Source: Disney)
The Walt Disney Company subsidiary, Disney Cruise Line, has bought the unfinished 208,000-gt cruise ship, Global Dream, from the insolvency administrator of the MV Werften Group, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The vessel, also known as Global One is a sister to the Global Dream II, which was sold for scrap recently before sailing a single voyage.
Meyer Werft personnel will support about 100 MV Werften staff and workers from the recently established Marine Engineering GmbH on completing construction work. The vessel, with capacity for about 6,000 passengers and 2,300 crew, is now expected to be commissioned in 2025. MV Werften’s Wismar shipyard will be leased to Meyer Werft during the project.
Dr Christoph Morgen, the insolvency administrator, said: “Today is a very good day for the shipbuilders in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and for the maritime supply industry in northern Germany. Several hundred current and previous employees of MV Werften, colleagues from Meyer Group, and numerous suppliers will complete the impressive shipbuilding project in Wismar over the next two years so that it can set sail for Disney Cruise Line as a sustainable family cruise vessel in the future.”
Sustainability is a key issue for the ship’s new owner and one key aspect of design changes will be the installation of a methanol propulsion system.
No details of the value of the transaction were revealed.
