A cruise with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse? Walt Disney made this a reality long ago. Apparently, the US group is now expanding its fleet and buying an unfinished ship from the insolvent MV shipyards in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
According to an insider, the US entertainment giant Walt Disney is taking over the almost finished cruise ship “Global One” from the bankrupt MV shipyards in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. “Disney bought the ship and wants to finish building it in Wismar,” said a person familiar with the proceedings.
The MV shipyards with around 2000 employees at the locations in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of January. No solution for further financing had previously been found in negotiations with the Chinese owner Genting. The Hong Kong-based group specializing in cruises got into trouble during the corona pandemic. In the meantime, the situation has eased and cruises are experiencing a boom.
The Meyer shipyard in Papenburg, which has already built three ships for the Disney Cruise Line cruise division, should be involved in the project, the insider said. The insolvency administrator did not comment on the information. In the past few months, he had sold several MV shipyard locations to investors, opening up employment opportunities for former employees.
Most recently, the federal government took over the shipyard site in Rostock-Warnemünde. The Navy wants to expand its capacities for the maintenance and repair of warships there. The remaining 100 employees of the former MV shipyards could find work in the Disney project, it said.
