Four German yards to share Genting work

In exclusive comments to The Motorship, Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven (LWB) executive board spokesman Rüdiger Pallentin said future policy would “take into account an even spread of work at all four locations in Bremerhaven, Wismar, Warnemünde and Stralsund”.

The latter three locations are home to the modern facilities of Nordic Yards, which Genting signed for in March after earlier acquiring 100% of the shares in LWB. The Nordic deal still has to be closed – after which that concern will become part of a new Lloyd Werft Group.

Pallentin stressed that exact future plans would not be revealed until closure of the Nordic deal but said that “is not expected to take much longer”. Commenting however on future yard work loads he told The Motorship “LWB of course has two drydocks and a floating dock, which together with the newbuilding docks on the Baltic adds up to a lot of new possibilities. Fitting-out will take place on both the North Sea and the Baltic”, he added.

Pallentin also reaffirmed that LWB did not intend to restrict repair work in future and “will continue to carry out conversions as well as dockings and repairs on passenger ships and ferries”. He revealed that the 6,471gt National Geographic Explorer would call this month. It is a year since the 34 year old polar expedition ship last called for repairs and renewals.

Less than two weeks ago LWB said it would “continue to acquire orders independently on the international market”. It backed that up with the news that the 32,289gt Ro-Ro ferry Primula Seaways will dock at LWB for a month in July for lengthening. And it revealed that it also had options to lengthen two more ferries and that “further projects for European ship owners are in hand at Lloyd Werft”.

In another comment to The Motorship, Pallentin also said LWB still wants to co-operate with neighbouring German Dry Docks (GDD), its dock repair partner inside the Petram shipyard alliance until the Genting take-over. It had been thought that alliance might end.

“Last but not least”, he said “Even though we are no longer allied under corporate law, we want to continue our good co-operation with GDD whenever possible and mutually make available dock capacities available to each other”, said the LWB spokesman.