Genting Hong Kong revealed that the three shipyards in the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern bought this April will be named as MV Werften (MV = Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Werften is plural for werft or shipyard). They include Wismar, Stralsund and Warnemunde.
They will be managed in Wismar and will focus on building large new cruise ships.

Lloyd Werft --located in Bremerhaven and bought last September-- will focus on its prior business of repairs, conversion and building of megayachts, says Genting.

Genting had initially bought the Lloyd shipyard and later the former Nordic Yards shipyards in Stralsund, Warnemünde and Wismar and shaped the Lloyd Group from the four companies. The group won a 3.5-billion contract, from which Bremerhaven also would get a large part.

Now most shipbuilding goes to the yards in the MV Werften group, even the four river ships for Crystal Cruises.

“To make MV Werften one of the world’s most modern and efficient cruise shipyards, we will invest 100 million euros in a thin plate laser welding line, a cabin module factory, a new covered section block building hall, the modernization of manufacturing control systems and new executive and employee offices and facilities,” says Tan Sri KT Lim, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Genting Group.

Mr Jarmo Laakso will be the Managing Director of MV Werften. He has more than 35 years’ experience in building passenger ships, including the latest generation of mega cruise ships, such as the QUANTUM OF THE SEAS.

"The infrastructure of MV Werften is better, because all three sites have docks and covered building halls," says Jarmo Laakso.

MV Werften will deliver the following ships:
2017: 4 Crystal River ships
2018: the first of a series of 20,000GT CRYSTAL ENDEAVOR class polar expedition yachts
2020: the first of a series of 201,000GT Star Cruises Global Class cruise ships.

The planned annual output of MV Werften will be stepped up in future years to eventually build two Neo-Panamax cruise ships of over 200,000 gross tonnage each and one Panamax cruise vessel a year. 

“We will build on the strength of the 1,400 employees of MV Werften,” says Laakso. “We have hired and are still hiring more people with cruise shipbuilding experience who, with the current workforce, will make MV Werften one of the most efficient and innovative cruise shipbuilders in Europe.”

Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven will continue to be led by Managing Director Rüdiger Pallentin, Dirk Petersjohann and Carsten Haake and focus on its previous business repair and conversion and will, with its recently established “Lloyd Werft Design Center”, strengthen its ability to build megayachts.

"We are in freefall. The question is, how hard is the impact?" summarizes the immeasurably disappointed council chairman Daniel Müller, to the Nordsee-Zeitung. On Friday morning the staff in Bremerhaven will be informed.

Even the hope for the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven, to at least make the final finishing of the newbuildings in Bremerhaven is gone. Thus, instead of the amazing future it was promised, the yard will continue to take have business as usual, which is ship repair and rebuilding. And megayachts.

The Mayor of Bremerhaven, Melf Grantz is appalled and speaks even of a breach of trust and calls for a meeting with the top Genting boss.