Finns know how to build ships, and Lautex knows how to make metal suspended ceilings. The latest proof of this is the magnificent Mein Schiff 7 cruise ship, which has just been completed at the Meyer Turku shipyard. The ship was handed over to the customer, TUI Cruises, at the beginning of June.
Six Mein Schiff ships have already been built before, so it can be said to be a ‘series ship’. The vessel is designed for German tourists, as indicated by the names of the ship’s areas, such as Große Freiheit (Great Freedom) and Kammerspiele (Theatre).
Lautex has supplied metal suspended ceilings to all seven Mein Schiff cruise ships. The ceilings of the new ship are mostly Lautex’s “standard” products, with new challenges in colors and coatings along the way. But the end result is nothing short of brilliant. The ships were built in Turku, and numbers 1, 2, and 7 are similar to each other and larger than the others. The order of completion of the ships is peculiar, being 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, and 7. The project went well and clearly for Lautex, as the customer’s design was brought to an excellent level and there were hardly any additional orders.
The new Mein Schiff 7 cruise ship is impressively large: 315.7 meters long, with 15 decks and 1461 cabins for passengers. The vessel can accommodate nearly 2900 passengers and a crew of one thousand. The ship’s large size is evident when you consider that, for example, the familiar Silja Serenade is a hundred meters shorter. On Mein Schiff 7, you won’t be bored; besides relaxing, you can train on the nearly 440-meter-long running track, climbing wall, gym, or in the 25-meter outdoor swimming pool.
Mein Schiff 7 uses low-emission marine diesel oil and can operate on methanol, and in the future, on green methanol, making its operation almost carbon neutral.
For the time being, the cruise ship is expected to be the last in its series, but since cruises are popular now and always, the end customer, TUI, has indicated a general need for more ships. And that suits Lautex perfectly.
Lautex’s Sales Director Kari Välimaa is pleased with the project: ‘It was great to be involved as Lautex in the entire ship series. We had the opportunity to work from the beginning with the shipyard and international operators to develop various product solutions. We also delivered different types of ceilings, which, however, varied between the ships.’
Photos: Kari Palsila Photography
