CURSED CRUISER
How ‘world’s largest’ cruise ship worth £900million built for 9,000 passengers is set to be SCRAPPED before first voyage
THE “world’s largest” cruise ship which would have been able to carry 9,000 passengers is now set to be scrapped before its maiden voyage.
Global Dream II, thought to be worth a cool £900million, is a 20-deck vessel which includes an outdoor waterpark and posh cinema.
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German-Hong Kong shipbuilding firm MV Werften had nearly completed building the ship when the company filed for bankruptcy at the start of this year.
The ship has so far cost around £1.2billion to build, which is £200million short of its budget.
As yet, no buyer for the huge ship has been found - and it's now set to be scrapped.
The engines and parts are now set to be sold off, according to German cruise industry magazine An Bord, while the lower hull will be sold for scrap.
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Its sister liner, the first Global Dream ship, is currently also on the market but is not due to be axed.
Both vessels are currently being stored at a German shipyard but time is running out to find a buyer for the pair.
The administrator for MV Werften, Christoph Morgen, told a press conference the company’s shipyard in Wismar had been sold to Thyssenkrupp’s naval unit, which will use it to build military vessels.
That means both Global Dream and Global Dream II will have to be removed by the end of 2023.
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He told German newspaper Die Welt that, while it is structurally complete, it still needs some equipment and passenger facilities completing.
One stumbling block to finding a buyer of the ships is that they were designed for the Asian market, according to An Bord, so the “cabin, deck and propulsion system” would allegedly need major changes before the vessels would be suitable for use in either North America or Europe.
There is some hope a buyer can be found with cruise ship experts TradeWinds saying Stena is looking to buy the ship in the hopes that it will give its Chinese cruise business a boost.
TradeWinds said: “The Global Dream would have no problems finding a buyer in a strong cruise market.
“Faced with the tight deadline to get the Global Dream out of its building dock by the end of 2023, recycling the ship in Turkey is a last resort that Morgen hopes to avoid.”
In terms of passenger capacity, both vessels would have been the largest cruise ship in the world.
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The Royal Caribbean liner Wonder of the Seas is the current title holder with the capacity to hold 6,988 passengers.
Coming in at a weight of 208,000 tons each, the ships would have been the joint sixth largest by size, behind the Royal Caribbean's five Oasis-class ships.
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