The ship that would have become the world’s largest cruise liner has been scrapped before it ever had the chance to take its maiden voyage.
If wasting wild amounts of resources and money is your type of thing, this is the story for you.
Global Dream II was slated to carry 9,000 passengers and was built by German-Hong Kong shipbuilding firm MV Werften to the tune of nearly $US1.4 ($2) billion, according to the Daily Mail. It was nearly finished when the company went bankrupt at the start of this year.
Since that happened, no buyer has stepped up to buy the 20-deck, 341.99 m-long monstrosity. That means it’s now destined for the scrap heap. The Mail says that Global Dream II also features an outdoor waterpark and a movie theatre. Man, I really don’t get cruises.
The capacity of this ship blows the second largest ship, the Oasis-class Wonder of the Sea which is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean, out of the water (I love a good pun). The Wonder of the Seas has a passenger capacity of only 6,988. Pathetic.
Despite the $US1.4 ($2) billion put out to build this behemoth, the ship still needs about $US230,000,000 ($319,286,000) worth of work. Apparently, it is structurally complete, but equipment and passenger facilities still need to be finished.
Eagle-eyed readers will have noted the “II” in the ship’s name. Yes, there is a twin Global Dream, but it hasn’t been given the ax… yet.
The Mail reports that right now the two ships are being stored in a German shipyard in Wismar. However, that yard will soon be used to build military vessels. That means the Global Dreams have to be out of there by the end of next year.
There still remains a glimmer of hope that a buyer can be found, with Stena potentially hoping to buy it for the Chinese cruise market.
Industry experts TradeWinds said: ‘The Global Dream would have no problems finding a buyer in a strong cruise market.
‘Faced with the tight deadline to get the Global Dream out of its building dock by the end of 2023, recycling the ship in Turkey is a last resort that Morgen hopes to avoid.’
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The pandemic has hit the global travel industry, including cruise operators and led to production stops at shipyards that build cruise ships.
For me, it’s tough to say if it would be environmentally better if these two ships never set sail. The answer is probably yes. In the meantime, we can look at the fact the guy painted on the bow of the ships looks a lot like the decal on the side of The Fast and the Furious Toyota Supra.