Unfinished ‘Global Dream’ turns into a nightmare for German port town

Unfinished ‘Global Dream’ turns into a nightmare for German port town

BERLIN: The unfinished “Global Dream” rests quietly in a dock as the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the cruise ship into a nightmare for the shipyard in Wismar along Germany’s windswept Baltic coast. Destined to have become one of the world’s largest liners, the “Global Dream” will be lucky to ever set sail after the Asian-owned MV Werften shipyard filed for bankruptcy last month.

With no buyer having stepped forward, thousands of jobs at the shipyard are at risk and the local economy stands to take a huge hit. “We are the classic victims of coronavirus,” said Carsten Haake, MV Werften’s chief executive. The bankruptcy filing meant that construction work on the vessel, which would have become one of the first ships capable of hosting up to 10,000 passengers and crew, was halted.

MV Werften’s fate was decided thousands of kilometers away in Asia, in the offices of Genting HK, the owner of the shipyard and the Dream Cruises operator. Specialized in tourism and casinos, the company collapsed from the disruption to travel caused by the pandemic and the decision made by its Malaysian parent company Genting to abandon it.

Without sufficient financial guarantees, the German state, which had agreed to support the shipyard,