German crisis holds despite specialisation

Tom Todd writes: Werner Lundt, MD of the Hamburg-based German shipbuilding association VSM, reported 28 new orders last year worth about €3 billion, taking total order value to €8.4 billion. That is enough work statistically for two years, but the situation differs greatly among yards, he noted.

Nearly 90% of orders are passenger ships, yachts and specialised vessels and more than 90% are from abroad, said Lundt, who is being succeeded next year by CESA’s German General Secretary Reinhard Lüken.

“German yards are still not out of the crisis”, Lundt stressed, but predicted that the situation would not worsen this year. He said that in 2011yards delivered 31 ships of 442,9000gt, compared to 49 of 975,000gt in 2010. Value more than halved to €2 billion.

Lundt predicted opportunities for repair yards as owners move to equip ships with new plant to meet IMO sulphur emission deadlines. Those jobs took one to three weeks and cost €1-5 million, he said.

Both Lundt and VSM Chairman Werner Lüken, who has now handed over to Fassmer Shipyard chief Harald Fassmer, urged help at EU level for efforts to combat “aggressive acquisition strategies” in Korea and China. They also noted reluctance by banks to finance specialised newbuildings like offshore windpark vessels and urged expanded export credit insurance and guarantees from federal states.

Those calls came as the state government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern urged the EU and Berlin to join it in putting up €200 million to bridge a financing gap at the local P&S Shipyards. That group has plenty of orders but lacks pre-finance and is also now threatened by penalty payments for two delayed ferries for Scandlines.