Wait, Is MSC Really About to Buy the Shipyard Building Disney and Carnival’s Next Ships?

Well, this could get awkward. If recent reports are true, the company that owns the fastest-growing cruise line in the world is now looking to control one of the biggest shipbuilding companies in the world.

And it’s the same shipyard that builds ships for their biggest competitors.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, MSC Group (which owns MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys) is in preliminary talks to acquire the controlling 80% stake in Germany’s well-known Meyer Werft shipyard.

Yes, this is the same Meyer Werft currently building the next wave of ships for Disney Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line.

How We Got Here

The 2020 pandemic shutdowns wreaked havoc on the cruise industry. With a dried-up pipeline and delayed orders, shipyards struggled to stay afloat.

So, in 2024, the German federal government and the state of Lower Saxony stepped in with a huge rescue package to save the 230-year-old yard at Meyer Werft. It was €400 million in equity plus €2.6 billion in loan guarantees.

They now hold that controlling stake and want at least their €400 million back. They also want employment guarantees for the workers in Papenburg and Rostock.

An Interesting Possibility

If MSC successfully buys out the government’s stake, a single cruise corporation would own and control one of the few shipyards in the world capable of building mega-ships.

This is the same shipyard that built Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships, Disney’s Wish-class ships, and NCL’s Breakaway-class ships, in addition to many other well-known vessels currently sailing around the world.

While this is still just a gloried rumor at this point and we don’t know exactly what the ramifications of an 80% stake would entail for MSC, it’s still a very interesting possibility that I didn’t see coming.

A major cruise line potentially owning the shipyard that builds ships for its biggest direct competitors. I don’t even know what those meetings about future ship builds would look like.

A quick but important clarification: this deal would only cover the German yards (Papenburg and Rostock). It does not include Meyer Turku in Finland, where Royal Caribbean is building its Icon-class vessels.

What’s Currently on the Order Book for Meyer Werft

Meyer Werft is stacked right now. Here are the major cruise projects that are under construction or scheduled:

• Disney Cruise Line: Currently building Disney Believe (140,000 GT), plus four more next-gen Disney ships ordered through 2031. The yard just did a major gigablock float out for Believe last week.
• Carnival Cruise Line: Two 180,000 GT LNG Excel-class ships: Carnival Festivale (2027) and Carnival Tropicale (2028).
• MSC Cruises: Their own massive “New Frontier” class includes four 180,000 GT ships ordered with options for two more, deliveries planned 2030–2035.
• Viking: River cruise vessels under construction at the Rostock site.

So yes… MSC would theoretically be overseeing construction of Disney and Carnival’s next ships while building their own. That is, if this actually happens.

Whether MSC ultimately is able and willing to make this acquisition still remains to be seen.

These are still early, preliminary talks. But the fact that they’re even happening has to be starting some interesting conversations in cruise industry circles.

With four ships already on order with Meyer Werft, you would think the cruise company would find ways to prioritize its own ship building needs. And at the pace MSC Cruises is growing, that could turn into a massive strategy going forward.

Interestingly, MSC Cruises has never had a ship built by the shipyard just yet. The New Frontier class will be the first.