Solarglide visit the mighty ‘Meyer Turku’ shipyard in Finland.

Solarglide visit Meyer Turku icon of the seas

Solarglide visit Meyer Turku icon of the seas

Shipbuilding Is Entrenched In The Local Community

Solarglide’s Managing Director Paul Pringle had the privilege of visiting the mighty Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland over the summer. The Meyer Turku Shipyard has a yard area of 144 hectares and it is equipped with a 365 metre long dry dock and two bridge cranes with capacities of 600 and 1,200 tonnes. The company was founded in November 1989 under name Masa-Yards and is now owned by German shipbuilding giants Meyer Werft GmbH . The history of the site, however, goes back to 1737 when industrial shipbuilding was first started in the region of Turku. Shipbuilding is entrenched in the local community.

Solarglide visit Meyer Turka

Solarglide visit Meyer Turku Shipyard, watching Mein Schiff 7

Icon Of The Seas

During Paul’s visit to the yard, he got to witness the build of two future cruise ships: ‘Mein Schiff 7’ and ‘Icon of the Seas’. Icon of the Seas (A Royal Caribbean ship) is nearing completion and will soon become the world’s largest Cruise liner by gross tonnage. It is due to set sail in early 2024 and has recently completed successful sea trails.

Icon of the Seas will have a crew of 2,350, and a capacity of 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity. It has twenty decks, seven swimming pools and six water slides. Furthermore, the ship has the tallest waterfall, the tallest water slide, the largest waterpark, and the first suspended infinity pool of any ship.

Mein Schiff 7 (A TUI Ship) is a much smaller cruise ship in comparison to IOTS and will accommodate 2,900 guests onboard. Like Icon of the seas, it will begin operations in 2024 and will be the perfect choice for those who prefer less people onboard.

Solarglide visit Icon Of The seas

Solarglide visit Icon Of The Seas and Mein Schiff 7

 

“Scandinavia is one of my favourite places on the planet, and getting to see these two iconic ships being built in Turku was a dream come true. It was great to see the shipyard thriving, and it was awesome to see the construction up close and personal. I cannot wait to be a passenger onboard  the ‘Icon of the Seas’ when she comes into operation next year”

“Finland is such a beautiful and peaceful country. During my visit, I was able to experience traditional fishing on the Kukkolankoski rapids as well as experience freshly prepared grilled salmon before I embarked on a cycling journey along the Umea River. I would highly recommend visiting Finland”

Paul Pringle – MD

 

If you would like to watch both Mein Schiff 7 and The Icon Of The Seas being built, then please follow this link on our Instagram page –

Mein Schiff 7 and Icon Of The Seas being built in Meyer Turku Shipyard Finland