One of world's biggest cruise ships must sell for £900m or be scrapped before first voyage

Things have turned into the mother of all nightmares for one of the world's biggest cruise ships.

With a capacity for around 9,000 guests, Global Dream is an absolute monster and was due to set the world alight.

However, the £900 million vessel's life could be short-lived after the company responsible for it, MV Werften, abandoned the project, leaving it incomplete.

For some time now it has been stuck at the dockyard in Wismar, Germany, alongside its sister, Global Dream II, which is also yet to be finished.

Earlier this summer, it was revealed that the impressive ship will most likely be scrapped if a buyer is not found to take on the mammoth project.

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The ship ran aground when MV Werften went under, filing for bankruptcy in January this year.

And since then, the firm's administrators have struggled to find someone willing to put their hands in their pockets to purchase the 208,000-ton ship and complete the work.

I mean, when you think about the state of the world at the moment, it's not really that surprising people - even the most wealthy - aren't jumping at the chance to fork out almost a billion quid on a boat, is it?

Administrator Christoph Morgen told the German newspaper Die Welt that, while the actual structure of the vessel is complete, extensive work is still required throughout to see it ready for guests.

dpa picture alliance/Alamy

So far, around £1.2bn has been spent on the ship - £200m short of its budget.

However, there could be a glimmer of light at the end of what has been a pretty dark tunnel, because it looks like there might be a potential buyer waiting in the wings to take on the doomed project.

According to reports, travel giant Stena is assessing the situation and looking into the possibility of buying the ship.

TradeWinds explained: "The Global Dream would have no problems finding a buyer in a strong cruise market.

"Faced with the tight deadline to get the Global Dream out of its building dock by the end of 2023, recycling the ship in Turkey is a last resort that Morgen hopes to avoid."

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This comes after Morgen said recently that Global Dream II would soon be moved out of the shipyard because shipbuilding company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems acquired the space following MV Werften's luqidation, according to the Maritime Executive.

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems bought the Wismar yard from MV Werften as part of their plan to expand operations for Germany’s defence industry, a decision influenced mainly by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Morgen said of the purchase: "I am delighted that with Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems we have found a new owner who will uphold shipbuilding in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania over the long term and even expand it wherever feasible."