Meyer Werft to build 280m+ megayacht M/Y Njord

German builder Meyer Werft has been contracted to build a residential megayacht named M/Y Njord measuring 289.3m. The 117 apartment, 84,000 GT vessel order, still subject to financing, is due to be completed by 2025 for firm, Ocean Residences Development (ORD).

Thomas Weigend, MD, Meyer Werft, says: “This is another very important step for securing the location in Papenburg [Lower Saxony]. With the new order, we are expanding our portfolio of ship types and can thus also improve the previously difficult prospects, especially for the years 2024/2025. This order is urgently needed to ensure that the decline in capacity utilisation will not be even greater than 40% in these years. Many different measures and new orders are absolutely necessary for the company’s programme for the future.”

The ship will have a width of 33.50 meters and can accommodate approximately 1,000 people (crew and passengers) say the designers. M/Y Njord will be powered by LNG engines (a dual fuel engine that uses natural gas and bunker fuel to convert chemical energy in to mechanical energy) together with a hybrid battery system to provide a top speed of 21 knots.

To future-proof the vessel, the engines and fuel tanks will be prepared for easy conversion to future fuels. Unlike the classic cruise ships, prospective buyers on M/Y Njord will buy the suites or apartments onboard. ORD says it is experiencing high demand for reservations.

Kristian Stensby, chairman and CEO, ORD, says: “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with Meyer Werft, a company that has kept its shipbuilding company on course for 226 years – that’s seven generations – and who is a world leader in building innovative and complex passenger vessels with a stellar reputation for exceptional quality, precision and on-time deliveries.”