This follows months of uncertainty about the project. Completion is expected in 2025, or possibly 2026 at the latest.
MV Werften administrator Christoph Morgen handed a symbolic key to the yard to Meyer Managing Director Bernard Meyer a week ago, paving the way for the continuation of work on the vessel.
MV Werften administrator Christoph Morgen handed a symbolic key to the Wismar shipyard to Bernard Meyer
Capacity is to be reduced, and the use of green methanol facilitated. Disney plans to operate the renamed ship from Singapore.
For many months after Disney confirmed it got Global Dream, little happened, and the vessel was merely maintained at MV Werften with some preparations to resume work.
In June local trade union representatives and some regional politicians expressed concern about the shipyard situation. It was unclear whether a contract between Meyer and Disney had actually been signed. A member of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern federal state parliament told journalists in mid-June that she didn't know of a contract.
400 workers available
In mid-July, Morgen announced work would soon resume. Meyer Wismar already employed about 280 of its own staff, along with another 100 still engaged through the administrator who were due to transfer to Meyer Wismar. This makes about 400 now available to work on Global Dream.
Wismar's shipyard compound was acquired by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems in June 2022, but leased back by MV Werften's administrator to allow Global One's completion. With Meyer Wismar at last ready to start, the administrator sublet the yard to Meyer.
Rumors of 2026 completion
In March Disney announced the ship would begin operating from Singapore in 2025 but recent rumors suggest it could take until 2026 to complete the work on the floating vessel. By then, though, Global Dream will have left the covered building dock.
In July the dock gate was opened for a while, and the ship was visible, its hull sporting the dark livery in line with a rendering released by Disney last November. A Meyer Wismar flag on the bow heralded the project's continuation.
Naval vessel construction in future
This will be Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's last cruise newbuild.
Once it's been completed, TKMS intends to develop the Wismar yard to manufacture naval vessels, mainly submarines and frigates. The owner hopes for orders from Germany, which has a €100b program to upgrade its armed forces, especially in light of the tense European geopolitical situation sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine.
Exactly how the transformation from merchant shipping into military craft will be carried out remains to be seen. TKMS is expected to take over most of the staff now working on Global Dream. So the cruise project helps to preserve shipbuilding knowledge and competence in the Wismar area, preventing a 'brain drain' that a temporary closure of the shipyard would have caused.
Depending on Global Dream's progress, it is possible the transformation to naval shipbuilding overlaps, with some of the workforce completing the Disney ship while others switch to TKMS projects.
Specifics will be decided later, and the exact procedure also depends on TKMS's order situation by 2025/26.
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