Why the Meyer Werft shipyard builds its cruise liners on land - By Hannes Koch

From far inland, a huge cruise ship is squeezing its way down a small river toward the sea. Despite having to navigate such a small passage way, the family-owned Meyer Werft shipyards in northern Germany are quite successful. 

High above, a gigantic horn hangs from the mast of the ship. It sends forth a sound like a hundred pipes from an old church organ. On cue, the men on the pier loosen the ropes and towboats slowly pull the floating colossus out of the harbor basin in the direction of the river. 

The Aidablu, the newest vessel from the Meyer Werft shipyards in the northwestern German town of Papenburg, is easing through its first lock. There is not a whole lot of space on the sides of the ship, a few meters at most. What the captains of the huge cruise ship are doing here is precision work. Finally, the ship glides out into the small Ems River, which will carry it all the way to the sea. Viewed from a distance, it almost looks as if the ship is maneuvering through the meadows - in the foreground there are bushes and greenhouses and behind, a high facade with countless balconies, numerous life rafts and a commanding smokestack on top.

The Meyer Werft shipyards are located almost 50 kilometers inland from the deep waters of the North Sea. When it was founded in 1795 it had nothing to do with the cruise industry, but today the company builds some of the largest cruise ships in the world. The dimensions of this cruise ship are almost absurd when compared to the small river through which the towboats must carefully guide it toward the sea: It towers 48 meters above the waterline - about the size of a 12-story apartment building. 

Later, 2,200 passengers will travel around the Mediterranean or the Caribbean on the 1,100 two-person-cabin ship. The interior of the floating hotel is dominated by colors reminiscent of the Flower Power era of the 1960s: orange, brown, red and grassy green. Everything that affluent travelers from Europe and North America could wish for is available on board: saunas that look as if they have been imported from Finland; Japanese-style spas; gyms; swimming pools; a brewery and a theater with several hundred seats. 

It is in this theater the guests on the ship's maiden voyage participate in their first activity: the security briefing. Bernhard Meyer, the 61-year-old, gray-haired owner of the shipyard, opens the briefing with a joke. "The bottom of the Ems is only 50 centimeters below the ship's keel," he quips. "We cannot sink. But we're still going to show you how the life vests work." 

In order for the ship to travel to the sea, everything has to be just right: Floodwaters have to be pushing up the river from the North Sea and supporting wind must be blowing from the right direction. Half of the first rail bridge that the Aidablu passes has been dismantled so that its path is clear. At the next bridge, a retractable construction, there are demonstrators on the riverbank. Their banners read: "Stop the insanity!" 

But there are only a few people protesting today. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, during the heyday of the green movement, there was more trouble with environmental activists. They accused Meyer of sacrificing the river to economic interests. Since 1986, the Meyer Werft shipyards have specialized in the construction of cruise liners - the bigger the ships became, the more the Ems River had to be dredged. At more than eight meters, the river is now more than twice as deep as it once was. 

Meyer often gets asked why his shipyard is still located inland and not by the open sea. The reason he gives is that the investments needed for the move are not feasible for the company. He is the sixth Meyer to lead the family company. The estimated annual revenue of around ?1 billion and the return on investment of 2 to 3 percent - Meyer does not give exact numbers - indicate that the hundreds of millions of euros that the relocation of the company would cost would indeed exceed its financial capabilities. 

But Meyer has a second reason to stay in his hometown: his employees. Only here, he claims, does he have the 2,400 highly skilled employees that he needs. If he were to move to one of the coastal towns, he would have to compete with the industrial companies there for a small number of highly skilled laborers. And Meyer is aware of the support his company receives from many people in this region, near the Dutch border, where jobs are not exactly abundant. In spite of the bitter cold, many of them stand on the levees this afternoon to bid the new ship farewell. 

During Aidablu's  sea transport, Meyer tests the first dinner that the new crew offers up in the ship's restaurant. The chefs are German and some of the waiters come from as far as India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

After the end of the meal, Meyer leans back satisfied and crosses his arms behind his head. Compared to situations at other shipyards, his is comfortable. His worldwide market share in the construction of new cruise ships amounts to around one third. The company will be working to full capacity until 2012. Meyer is searching for follow-up contracts for the years to come, however. But because of the economic crisis, shipping companies are currently holding back on orders. 

Nonetheless, the entrepreneur hopes that he is betting on the right market. The generally accepted assessment is that the cruise segment will grow particularly well within the growing tourism market. And more passengers mean more ships. 

In the meantime, the Aidablu has almost reached the end of its first voyage. Before she moors in Emden harbor, not far from the sea, she still has to pass the Ems flood barrier. Drifting ice floes get caught on the steel bolt that dams the river. When the floodwaters coming from the North Sea reach the higher water level of the river, the barrier (barrage) opens up. 

The ?200 million barrage is yet another aid that allows Meyer to bring his floating giants to the sea. The company is well-connected in political circles. It is thanks to a decision by former Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder that the barrage was built and that the Meyer Werft shipyards will be able to produce even bigger ships than the Aidablu in the future.