Germany’s Meyer Group, best known as the builder of cruise ships, is moving to strengthen its position in the offshore converter business as it sees growing opportunities in energy transition. The company had taken steps through its Neptun Shipyard in Rostock and will now consolidate its efforts into a separate company.
Neptun Offshore will be launched as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meyer Group. It will also hold the 50 percent stake in the previously launched joint venture Neptun Smulders Offshore Renewables. It will continue to be based in Rostock and will draw on the resources of the shipyard while providing dedicated management and focus for the offshore business.
The group highlights that converter construction involves different technical and regulatory requirements than shipbuilding. These differences relate, for example, to the required materials, lead times, testing systems, and IT systems, as well as the financing structure.
“By founding a separate company, we will achieve clear structures and lines of responsibility and avoid inefficient processes and higher costs. This will also allow Neptun Werft to continue focusing fully on its core business—the construction of river cruise ships and floating mechanical engineering modules—in the future,” said André Walter, CEO of Meyer Werft.
It points to the opportunities in Germany’s energy transition as well as the emerging market in Europe and the United States. It is positioning itself for the rapid expansion of next-generation HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) projects.
Meyer had sought out the business as a new avenue for growth as the cruise ship construction sector slowed and the company faced growing financial pressures. Neptun Werft, where the offshore business is based, currently has an orderbook for a total of eight vessels for Viking firmly scheduled for delivery in 2027 and 2028. The Papenburg shipyard is currently busy with two more cruise ships for Carnival Cruise Line, two more Wish class ships for Disney Cruise Line and the new Japanese cruise operation, and an order for three cruise ships of a new class for Disney, which will keep the yard active until 2031. However, the planned order with MSC Cruises is reportedly stalled in complex financial negotiations. MSC proposed possibly buying the German government’s stake in Meyer as part of the deal.
Neptun Werft recently completed the formation of its joint venture with the Belgian company Smulders Group for the business to design and manufacture high-voltage direct current offshore converter platforms. The group won an assignment in June 2026 for the construction of the 2 GW LanWin 6 offshore HVDC converter station for 50Hertz Transmission, the transmission system operator in the north and east of Germany. It also won a second contract in September for a second platform for LanWin 3. The joint venture’s share amounts to a value of approximately €2.5 billion, with work starting by 2028.
The joint venture also has port premises in the Rostock-Warnemunde area for the construction of the converter platforms.