Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2014)

10 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2014 NEWS Meyer Werft Takes Over STX Finland German cruise shipbuilder Meyer Werft joined forces with the STX Finland shipyard in Turku when the Finnish Government and Meyer Werft signed a share purchase agreement with the current owner STX Europe. With its 70% stake Meyer Werft takes the industrial leadership of the new company. Today 1,300 employees and a specialized supplier network are involved in the con- struction of the cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 for the German cruise operator TUI Cruises from Hamburg. TUI Cruises recently announced an order for two additional ships of this class in Turku. ?This acquisition will strengthen the yards in Papenburg, Turku and Rostock,? said Dr. Jan Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft. ?(By) joining forces with Turku we can offer more ß exibility to our customers. The acquisition is still subject to clearance by the antitrust authorities and banks. The plan is to rename the com- pany STX Finland Oy to Meyer Turku Shipyard Oy. Gondan to Build Spanish Patrol Boats Gondan Shipyard signed a contract with the Guardia Civil, Spain?s Civil Guard, for the building of two patrol boats. The aluminum and Þ ber (PRFV ) vessels will measure 20.5 x 5m and will be built at Gondan Shipyard?s facilities in Veg- adeo. Delivery is sched- uled for Summer 2015. According to Gondan, the patrol boats are conceived for long range sailing and de- signed and equipped for surveillance missions, the Þ ght against drug traf Þ cking and irregular immigration as well as protection of the marine environment, in the Þ eld of the tasks of the Guardia Civil. UPDATES VesselValue.com launched a series high-lighting the world?s most expensive ac-tive vessels, and this week focuses on the costliest of all: QMAX liqueÞ ed natural gas (LNG) carrier Zarga, which prices in at a whopping $221.8 million. According to VesselValue, Zarga?s sticker price is equal to 1.5 of Real Madrid footballer Ga-reth Bale?s $145 million transfer fee, 13 12-carat Pink Diamonds at a value of $17 million each, or 49 Lamborghini Veneno Roadsters which cost $4.5 million apiece.We did our own math to calculate the quantity of other items that could be purchased for the price of The Zarga. ? Olympic size swimming pool ($1 million): 221? 64GB iPhone 5s ($399): 555,889 ? German Shepherd puppy ($1,100): 201,636 ? Lego Maersk Line Triple-E toy ship ($149): 1,488,590? Name a star on the International Star Registry ($54): 4,107,407The Zarga, built in 2010 by Samsung and owned by Qatar Gas Transport Company, has a capacity of 266,433 CBM and is over 340 meters long, making it one of the largest LNG carriers in the world. Selling the World?s Priciest Ship COST IS RELATIVE WHEN YOU ARE For $221.8 million Joe Keefe (right), editor of sister publications MarineNews and Mari-timeProfessional, would be able to Þ ll his ofÞ ce with 1,488,407 Lego Maersk Line Triple E model ships. Courtesy of VesselValue.com Courtesy Joe Keefe Image: GondanMR #8 (10-17).indd 10MR #8 (10-17).indd 108/11/2014 3:31:47 PM8/11/2014 3:31:47 PM