Cruises in Germany: Deutschland is no longer German

Cruises in Germany: Deutschland is no longer German

Germany has lost the last big liner. However, the loss is not catastrophic. The famous ship MS Deutschland just has decided to change the flag. From now on the ship will operate under the flag of Malta.

In Germany the ship owners has already been criticized for this initiative. MS Deutschland is an iconic ship for thousands of German cruise fans. This liner is one of theя most famous cruise ships in Germany because it participated in the German analogue of the "Love Boat" television series. The Second unofficial name of MS Deutschland is Das Traumshiff – the dream ship.

Until recently MS Deutschland was the only ship travelling under the German flag. The decision to change the flag was made by the ship owner Peter Deilmann. According to the company representative, it is explained by the desire to save money, which Peter Deilmann plans to spend for the ship modernization.

However, this information didn’t calm the political community in Germany and wounded national pride of Germans. In particular, the Christian Democratic Party member Hartmut Hammerich said that the attempt to save money by changing the flag will reduce the number of Deutschland’s new clients, because "nobody wants to use the services of the ship, where the crew is low-paid and where save on safety".

According to the Lloyd List, Peter Deilmann plans to raise the Maltese flag on the ship in July, perhaps, before the start of the Olympic Games. It is known that the company is one of the sponsors of the German national Olympic team. MS Deutschland will act as a floating hotel for the representatives of the German Olympic team. For 20 days the ship will be moored at the wharf in London.

In addition to the German cruise industry professionals the flag change was criticized by the Verdi, the German national unions. In their view, it expresses the desire of the operator to save money on the crew salaries. In turn, representatives of Peter Deilmann reported that they have no intention to change the ship crew.

It is worth noting that not everyone in Germany is against Peter Deilmann’s decision. Some members of the country’s cruise community consider it as a necessary measure as during the recent years the German Government has significantly reduced the size of subsidies to the national cruise companies.

Ilya Kalachev

Date: 18/06/2012