Prospects good as late orders buck up in Germany

At the same time the country’s optimistic new Maritime Co-ordinator, Economics Ministry State Secretary Joachim Otto, has said the German maritime industry can expect further new orders and private investment soon and has predicted above-average growth within two to three years.

Elsewhere however, federal state and maritime sector leaders continue to urge Berlin to support the ailing maritime sector and point to financing help being given in Italy and France. One prominent official said German shipping and shipbuilding were having enormous difficulties raising finance.

In February Chancellor Angela Merkel was reported to have pledged Berlin help to those fighting recession in the shipping, shipbuilding and allied industries. She was said to have told the heads of the five German coastal states in a letter that they would get government support.

Since then however, Joachim Otto and others in government have said that additional Berlin funding for the industry is not planned. Otto said private cash investment in the maritime industry was the answer and declared that investors were now emerging again.

Firm orders

Newbuilding orders meanwhile include one from Scandlines for two 62,000 gt, 240m ro-ro ferries at East German yard Volkswerft. They are part of a €230 million investment and secure work until 2012

Volkswerft is part of the Hegemann Group which has now agreed to restructure and shed 250 jobs in return for millions of Euros in finance guarantees from banks, federal state authorities and Berlin.

Hegemann has got off lightly (600 redundancies had originally been feared) because its order book is healthier than most. As of February it still had 17 ships in hand worth €500 million after nine cancellations.

Elsewhere, it was reported that Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven, after completing its fourth heavy-lift dockship, might be in the running for two more. There was also speculation about new cruise ships for Meyer Werft after a magazine said Berlin had approved export guarantees for the yard.

Inland cruise

More certain is financing for a new inland cruise ship booked by Meyer subsidiary Neptun Werft in Rostock-Warnemuende. The 135m long A-ROSA Brava, Neptun’s ninth cruise ship, is for delivery April 2011.

Finally, there is even hope to report for the battered Nordic (ex Wadan, ex Aker) Shipyards in Wismar and Warnemuende. Russian yard owner Vitali Susufov booked a 170m long Type Nordic AT 19 ice-breaking tanker for delivery in September 2011 to Norilsk Nickel.

As The Motorship went to press, the word from the yard and local officials was that financing for the latest 15,000 gt tanker, which will boast ice-breaking Azipod propulsion and reportedly cost €100 million, was secured and that other orders could come soon.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV) authorities said they were giving Nordic another €20 million loan to help keep people on the payroll. “These days, shipbuilding anywhere in the world is only possible with state financing help”, said MV First Minister Erwin Sellering. “The question is, do we want to do this as well, or leave viable shipyards to stand alone in a crisis?”

Sellering’s government, and Berlin, provided much bigger credits to Nordic earlier to help it keep a contract to complete two Stena ferries. The first was scheduled for delivery in May and the second in October.

There have also been reports that heavy lift specialist Beluga Hochtief Offshore has spoken to Nordic about plans to build ships to erect wind farm turbines. Four are planned with the first in service the year after next. Reports have said they will cost about €260 million each.

Wind farm optimism

Many hopes, perhaps too many, are being pinned on offshore wind farms in Germany. Small ports want to host turbine production and handling. Shipowners like Beluga see lucrative maintenance and transport contracts while yards of course would be only too willing to build ships to erect, maintain and service wind farms.

CESA estimates that ships worth about €2.4 billion will be needed and has urged the EU to promote their construction. Already completed is Bard’s first wind turbine erection ship Wind Lift 1. Built in Lithuania, it was equipped at Nordseewerke in Emden, now a wind turbine production site.