TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 2 departed from Kiel on 23 January for inaugural sailings.
The vessel is the cruise company’s sixth newbuild in as many years. With the delivery of the new Mein Schiff 2, TUI Cruises claims to have the ‘youngest and most environmentally friendly cruise ship fleet worldwide’.
The vessel left the Meyer Turku Werft shipyard in early January to berth at the port of Kiel on the Baltic Sea due to her delivery ahead of schedule and the Finnish winter - the final silicone painting of the hull’s underwater part of Mein Schiff 2 is not designed to withstand icy water.
‘Through the use of cutting-edge technology, we are setting standards in terms of environmental protection,’ commented Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises.
According to Tui Cruises, its latest newbuild has also been designed to optimise energy efficiency and use cutting-edge emissions technologies to achieve a substantial reduction in CO2 and pollutant emissions.
Like Mein Schiff 1, the Mein Schiff 2 also features catalysts for her main and auxiliary engines. This helps to further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions worldwide, in particular in coastal and port regions. TUI Cruises also claims the vessel consumes ‘up to 40% less fuel’ than ships of comparable size.
Mein Schiff 2 is scheduled to set sail from Bremerhaven on 3 February for a twelve-day christening itinerary. Following port calls in in La Coruña and Leixoes, the vessel will call at Lisbon for three days for the naming ceremony before continuing her itinerary to Las Palmas via Cadiz and Arrecife.
