Volkswerft newbuilds sold at last

A spokesman for receiver Berthold Brinkmann told The Motorship on 10 February the 169.5m Berlin and Copenhagen were being sold to Danish-German ferry firm Scandlines because it “made the best offer”.

He did not report the price, which was contingent on approval by yard creditors. However reports put it at €31.6 million – just a fraction of the €184 million price-tag on the ships when they were ordered by Scandlines in 2010. They were cancelled, nearly complete, in late 2012 after Volkswerft and P&S Yards went bankrupt and because Scandlines said they were heavier than specified.

The other offer on the table for the ships was one from Nordic Yards, reportedly for €30.5 million.

Scandlines now wants to have the ships converted for lower draught at another shipyard, which could be in Germany, possibly Hamburg or Bremerhaven. It was hoped the first converted ferry would enter service between Rostock and Gedser before year’s end, doubling capacity on the route. .

When the ships were first specified they were described as of 4,200dwt at max 6m draught and for up to 1,500 passengers and 90 lorries or 460 cars on 1600 lane-metres. With vehicles on two decks, turnround was put at 15 minutes maximum despite increased capacity. Original plans also specified five MaK 9M32C engines with Cat Common Rail systems, each engine producing 4,500kW at600 rpm for22,500 kW of total power per vessel and a service speed of 20.5 knots.

With a home now found for Berlin and Copenhagen, attention can focus again on selling Volkswerft itself.

The yard’s main creditor, the state government, set a deadline of May for that after saying in January it wanted to see long-term viable concepts for Volkswerft. Mr Brinkmann is quoted as telling reporters however the chances of a sale by May are only 50:50.