German yards do better in 2014, study says

The German-language study, by the respected publication THB in Hamburg, reported continuing and “almost ruinous” shipyard price competition from Asia, mainly China, and predicted this would continue. Despite the trend, however, it said German yards held their own in 2014.

Fifteen yards, from giant cruise ship builder Meyer Werft to small yards like SET Tangermuende and the now defunct P+S Yards and SSB Oortkaten, were listed. The study said they handed-over 34 specialist big and small ships to owners at home and abroad. The ships ranged from multi-purpose naval ships and tugs, through offshore installation ships, RoRo ferries, versatile coastal patrol and official workboats to inland and ocean-going cruise ships.

The survey said figures for the first nine months of 2014 – the latest available – also showed that the tonnage and value of new orders placed with German shipyards in 2014 was already higher than in the previous six years. It quoted the German shipbuilding association VDS saying orders for 13 ships of more than 700,000cgt worth €3.8bn were placed up to September.

The latest orders brought orders in hand in German shipyards at the end of September to 50 ships of 1.9 million cgt worth €11.7bn. When orders for five offshore platforms worth €732m are added, total order value as of late September was put at about €12.4bn.

German shipowners rarely order big ships in home yards these days. They prefer cheaper facilities abroad – mainly in China, Japan and Korea. However the number of ships delivered to German owners by foreign yards last year, mainly container ships and bulkers, dropped dramatically to 59 from 115 in 2014, according to the THB survey. It attributed the drop to the ongoing shipping crisis.

NOTE: For more information on the German ship repair and conversion market look out for Tom Todd’s report in The Motorship’s February issue.