The super luxury passenger vessel MV Mein Schif 3 of TUI Cruises, with 2,430 passengers and 995 crew members on board, made her maiden call at the Port of Colombo, on Monday. The vessel was welcomed at the East Container Terminal of the Sri Lank Ports Authority (SLPA).
In order to mark the maiden call of the vessel at the Port of Colombo, plaque exchanges were held between the vessel master, SLPA and the vessel’s local agent Shipping Agency Services (Pvt.) Ltd.
On behalf of the SLPA, SLPA Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake exchanged plaques with Mein Schiff 3 Master Captain Alevropoulos George. Expressing views at the occasion, Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake said that the Port of Colombo is honoured by the presence of Mein Shiff 3 in Colombo.
“The Port of Colombo has become an extremely busy port and this year the port also became the fastest growing port in the world, in terms of handling containers. The next area we are focusing on is passenger vessels and we have plans to construct a state-of-the-art passenger terminal at the Port of Colombo,” he said.
TUI Cruises is a Germany-based, joint venture cruise line of German tourist firm TUI AG and American cruise line operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The company commenced operations in 2009 targeting the German clientele, as an alternative to AIDA Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
The concept is for German-speaking customers, who opt for a premium cruise experience. The onboard products are custom tailored for German tastes and encompass food, entertainment and amenities. German is the main language used on board its ships.
Mein Schiff 3 is approximately 295 meters long and 36 meters (118 ft) wide. The ship has 1250 staterooms, most of which have balconies, with a capacity of 2,500 passengers and a crew of 1,000. The ship includes several restaurants, a theatre, spa and nightclub.
TUI Group has announced that as part of its modernization strategy, Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 would be transferred to Thomson Cruises over the next few years. As a result, two replacement ships – Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 – were ordered.
On January 15, 2018, Mein Schiff 5 was launched and subsequently, on April 28, 2018, Mein Schiff 6 was laid down.
Mein Schiff 3 has commenced its voyage from Europe during the month of May. She has touched many ports in Europe over the last couple of months and thereafter cruises towards South Asia through the Suez Canal, touching some ports in the UAE.
The vessel that cruises under the flag of Malta called Colombo from Mumbai, India and Phuket, Thailand is her next port of call.
The officials of the higher management of the SLPA, including Managing Director Captain Athula Hewawitharana and Additional Managing Director Upali De Zoya, local agent Shipping Agency Services (Pvt.) Ltd officials, including Managing Director Gihan Nanayakkara, Deputy General Manager Dakshan Jayasinghe and Operations Executive Niroshan Davidson, were also present at the occasion.
