Dock industry|The recent ship order cut off the wings of the rumors circulating at the Turku shipyard.
Turku on Monday afternoon, the employees of the shipyard received an invitation to the press conference organized the following morning.
“We had already been waiting for news, and when Timpa announced the opportunity with very little notice, everyone seemed to have a smell of what was to come”, Miika Kiiskilä tells. Kiiskilä works as the second deputy representative of the occupational safety and health representative at the shipyard.
Timppa is Tim Meyer, CEO of Turku Shipyard.
The press conference started on Tuesday morning at 9:30. Up to a thousand shipyard employees and white-collar workers gathered in the shipyard’s equipment hall.
Tim Meyer announced that the shipyard has signed an agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises for the fourth Icon class cruise ship.
“There was quite a sea of applause in the hall after that,” Kiiskilä describes.
The shipyard firmly believed in the construction of the fourth Icon ship. After all, there was already an option to build it.
“It’s not certain until it’s certain. After all, we’ve been waiting for this all summer”, the chief shop steward Martti Ervasti says.
Chief steward Martti Ervasti believes that the shipyard will build another fifth and sixth Icon class ship.
The new contract also includes options for the construction of the fifth and sixth Icon ships.
“Now it doesn’t depend on anything other than putting the ships in the package on schedule and doing the work with honor”, emphasizes Ervasti.
The execution of the options does not depend on the popularity of the ship, as Icon of the Seas has proven to be extremely popular.
“The shipping company needs customers, and the sales volumes of cruises bode well for future ships,” Ervasti points out.
Icon of the Seas broke the single-day cruise booking record in Royal Caribbean’s more than 50-year history.
The shipyard the difficult financial situation of the German parent company Meyer Werft started to raise questions in Turku in the summer.
“There were all kinds of rumors going around here. Are we still in operation as a family business or are we being prepared for sale”, says Ervasti.
According to the latest information, the German federal government and the state of Lower Saxony intend to ensure the shipyard’s solvency by temporarily acquiring 80 percent of the shipyard’s shares.
Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku are legally separate companies.
Regional director Kari Häkämies Varsinais-Suomen’s union is happy about the agreement.
“After all, this is a hugely important matter for Turku, the province and the whole of Finland, because subcontractors for the shipyard were found all over Finland. The contract announced now is like winning the lottery. Shipyard lottery win,” says Häkämies.
The employment effect of the now confirmed order is calculated to be 13,000 person-years.
The regional director has not been too worried about the financial difficulties of the German shipyard. The Turku shipyard has been significantly more profitable than the operations in Germany.
Mayor of Turku Minna Arve says the order speaks of the shipping companies’ faith in Finnish and Turku shipbuilding know-how. Arve emphasizes the importance of the shipyard’s climate goals.
“Telakka has worked ambitiously towards the climate goals. It is hugely ahead of other operators,” says Arve.
The goal of the shipyard is to be carbon neutral by 2030. A carbon-neutral cruise ship concept has also been built at the shipyard.
Fresh the contract ensures the continuation of work at the shipyard for several years.
“The industry has been very sensitive to economic cycles over the years. My longest layoff lasted two years,” says Miika Kiiskilä.
Kiiskila came to work at the shipyard already in the 1990s.
Meyer bought the shipyard ten years ago. Kiiskilä recalls that since then there has probably been only one short layoff at the shipyard.
He has strong faith in the continuity of the shipyard under Meyer’s ownership.
“Meyer is the only owner who has invested here for a long time. Hundreds of millions of euros have been put into the plot,” says Kiiskilä.
The fourth Icon class ship will be handed over to the shipping company in 2027.
Provincial director Häkämies is retiring in the fall. Have you booked a cruise on Icon of The Seas?
“Not ordered yet. Others in the family circle are still working,” Häkämies laughs.
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