Meyer Werft, the German shipbuilding company, says it will reactivate its Building Dock 1, the smaller of its two covered building docks, for newbuildings following an order yesterday from Saga Cruises for a 55,900 gross ton ship, with an option for a second ship.

"With this project Meyer Werft’s building dock 1, which is presently used for block construction, will be reactivated. Therefore in 2019 three new cruise ships will be delivered to clients instead of the currently planned two ships. This agreement for the delivery of one ship to Saga Cruises will also bring more employment to the region," the company said in a statement.

Meyer Werft built a long series for AIDA Cruises, the German unit in the Carnival Corporation & plc group, in the building dock 1 before it was dedicated to the construction of blocks. It had also been used for the construction of river cruise tonnage in the past.