The German cruise line TUI Cruises has accepted delivery of its new cruise ship Mein Schiff 7 during a ceremony at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

The new 2,894-guest ship, with a gross tonnage of 111,500, is the seventh and largest in the TUI fleet, and the first vessel built by Meyer Turku with methanol capability.

At the delivery ceremony, the shipyard was represented by CEO Tim Meyer and Head of Projects Tom Degerman, while TUI Cruises was represented by CEO Wybcke Meier and CFO Frank Kuhlmann.

“Mein Schiff 7’s symbolic start of production, the steel cutting ceremony, took place at our shipyard on June 14th, 2022,” said Tim Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.

“We are very proud to have delivered the Mein Schiff 7 to TUI Cruises today, less than two years later. This was made possible by our long-standing and close cooperation.”

In addition to methanol capability, Mein Schiff 7 is also the first ship in the Mein Schiff fleet to run exclusively on low-emission marine diesel (with maximum sulfur content of 0.1%). The vessel also has  a shore power connection and is equipped with catalytic converters.

TUI Cruises stated at the time the ship was ordered that with the green methanol of the future, the ship’s propulsion power will in the near future be almost CO2-neutral.

“Receiving this ship is a special moment for us. Ten years ago, we acquired our first Blu Motion class ship here in Turku, and by 2019 we had built a total of six vessels,” said Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises.

“We would like to thank the Meyer Turku shipyard for the excellent cooperation and the development of our well-being fleet. We are now sailing on the Mein Schiff 7 to Kiel, where we will welcome the first guests on board on June 12,” she added.

Mein Schiff 7 is the latest in a series of cruise vessels delivered to TUI in recent year as a part of a fleet modernisation and ‘greening’ strategy. The oldest vessel in the fleet is now the 2014-built Mein Schiff 3.

Ships currently on order for the cruise line include Mein Schiff Relax, the largest ship ever ordered by TUI at more than 160,000 gross tons, due for delivery in late 2024, and an unnamed sister ship due to be delivered in 2026. Both ships are being built by the Italian shipyard Fincantieri.