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Status: 02/28/2021 5:27 pm
Meyer Werft in Papenburg transferred the first cruise ship to sea this year. The “Odyssey of the Seas” crossed the river Ems with two tugs.
Due to weather and wind conditions, the maneuver had to be spread over three tides, according to Meyer Werft. After initial tests in the North Sea, the luxury liner reached its first call on Sunday morning, in the port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands on the North Sea coast. From there, according to Meyer Werft, the ship heads to Bremerhaven, where the final team of the “Odyssey of the Seas” takes place. The ship also performs technical and nautical tests from there. According to the shipyard, delivery to the shipping company is scheduled for a few weeks.
Typically thousands of viewers
This time only a few spectators watched the show.
The ship had left the Papenburg shipyard around 4am on Saturday morning. According to Meyer Werft, the “Odyssey of the Seas” is 347 meters long and 18 decks. It is the fifth ship in a series of the Royal Caribbean shipping company. There is room for around 4,200 passengers on the cruise.
The Ems flyover of the huge ships usually attracts thousands of spectators. During the coronavirus pandemic, such crowds must be avoided, which is why the shipyard only announced the trip of the “Odyssey” at short notice the day before. Fewer than 50 boating enthusiasts arrived at the shipyard early Saturday morning. Police had closed several streets to be safe.
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Meyer wants to eliminate hundreds of jobs due to the pandemic
It was the first of two transfers this year for Meyer Werft. Due to the pandemic-related stagnation in the cruise industry, the shipyard has to reduce its pace of construction. Hundreds of jobs are in danger of being lost.
Meyer recently employed about 4,500 people at the Papenburg site. According to the works council, the shipyard wants to eliminate 650 jobs. She demands 200 hours of unpaid work a year from other employees, otherwise another 300 employees would have to leave. The works council wants to fight for permanent employees and asks for less temporary work at the shipyard.
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