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German shipyards have invested much work to establish business in niche markets in 2014 again, and they are not dissatisfied. It was a year defined by special projects, »standard« vessels and takeovers.
The shipyard group combining Meyer Werft in Papenburg and Neptun Werft in Warnemünde attracted special attention[ds_preview] within the industry and beyond, and this for several reasons at a time: Firstly, large cruise ships were towed and delivered through the bottleneck Ems to the North Sea again. This is true for »Norwegian Getaway« featuring 146.000BRZ ordered by long-term customer Norwegian Cruise Line and »Quantum of the Seas« for Royal Caribbean. Meyer Werft has once again reached a record level: The 348m long and 41,4m wide »Quantum of the Seas« of 167,100 gt is the largest cruise liner manufactured in Germany so far, and lead ship of a class of which Papenburg still has other units in the order book.

At sister company Neptun Werft in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a total of ten river cruise ships were delivered in 2014, while for reasons of capacity another five were built at the Meyer Werft.

A second highlight for the group was the delivery of the new German research vessel »Sonne« – the most modern of its kind in the world. Initially the contract was awarded to Neptun. Because the yard was well utilized with river cruisers while the shipyard on the river Ems still had capacity available, it was finally agreed to build in Papenburg.

Furthermore, the acquisition of 70% of the Finnish shipyard STX Turku could be successfully completed. The remaining 30% are owned by the Finnish state. With the acquisition Meyer Werft wants to strengthen its market position against strong competition in Europe or by Asian shipyards. According to reports, the fact that orders may be obtained by German customers more easily now also played a decisive role. TUI Cruises is such a customer which is already buying in Turku. When a newbuilding is awarded to Finland, it is easier to take the export financing instruments of state bank KfW IPEX in contrast to a transaction between a German shipowner and a German shipyard.

Overall, the group lists eight cruise ships in Papenburg, three in Turku and another 17 river cruisers in the order book. For Turku there is also an option for two more TUI newbuildings as well as a letter of intent for the construction of a ferry for Tallink.

Special vessels

Shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) has seen a very turbulent year, too. No less than three ultra-modern special ships were delivered: Seismic ship »Amazon Warrior« (for WesternGeco), semisubmersible RoRo/LiLo newbuilding »Rolldock Storm« and ro-pax vessel »Loch Seaforth«. Other units still fill the order book. Among others there are two Well Intervention Vessels by Norwegian Siem Offshore Group. This customer will possibly continue to place further orders. In autumn, the take-over of the German shipyard by parent company Siem Industries took place which came as a surprise to some. Previously, there had been speculation over a liquidity bottleneck at FSG, which might have resulted in major problems.

The segment special offshore has again generated the delivery of a newbuilding for Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven after a few years. As part of a northern European cooperation with Crist shipyard in Gdansk and Huisman in the Netherlands, modern pipelayer »Ceona Amazon« has been delivered.

Yachts

Lürssen Group has delivered some yachts in 2014. The Schacht-Audorf yard, the former Kröger Werft, launched »Kismet« and »Ester III«. Lemwerder delivered »Quantum Blue«. The yacht industry is very secretive, but some more orders in the order book of the group are already known.

The shipyard Peters Werft is also still active in building yachts. The completion of recent newbuilding »IDynasty« is scheduled for spring 2015. In the beginning of 2014, Blohm + Voss completed the superyacht »Graceful« in Hamburg.

Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder is also committed to yachts. Thus, the 81,8m newbuilding »Kibo« was handed over to its owner last year. According to reports, the order book comprises three more yachts. However, the company is also known for the production of double hull SWATH ships. A respective series for the Latvian Coast Guard is currently under construction in cooperation with Riga Shipyard. After construction had started in Germany, the next units will come from Latvia.

Fr. Fassmer in Berne/Motzen handed over a total of four units in 2014. These are two 31,5m tugs named »Bugsier 7« and »Bugsier 8« built for service at shipowner Bugsier in Colombia, patrol boat »Arc 7 de Agosto« and 34,2m »Helgoland« designated for authority Wasserschutzpolizei Schleswig-Holstein. The order book includes a few units from niche markets like a rescue vessel type Seenotkreuzer for Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger, two offshore vessels and the much discussed, innovative Helgoland ferry with LNG propulsion.

At traditional shipping site Leer shipyard Ferus Smit, known for spectacular sideway launchings, benefited from being close to the Dutch market and Ferus Smit’s parent company from Westerbroek. With »Reggeborg« and »Roerborg« two 23,249t general cargo vessels were handed over to the shipping company Wagenborg. In addition, a new major contract arose: Six 10,500t vessels will be built for Symphony Shipping in the extreme north-west of Germany until the end of 2016.

Hamburg’s shipyard Pella Sietas apparently benefits from its new Russian owner who took the helm after the insolvency. From what we hear, orders await on the Russian market including contracts for the construction of a tug, a rescue ship and an icebreaker. Offshore jack-up vessel »Aeolus« was the latest newbuilding in the beginning of 2014.

In this market, Nordic Yards Group of shipyards is seeking a field of activity with locations in Wismar and Warnemünde, and since the acquisition of Volkswerft last year also in Stralsund. As part of this track record converter platform »Sylwin alpha« was delivered, while another unit of this kind is under construction. Jack-up vessel »Wind Server« has also been completed. Thanks to the Russian owner the order book contains rescue icebreakers for the Russian Ministry of Transport. Having taken over shipyard Volkswerft, the company plans to expand its competitive position.

Navy continues to be an important market

The navy has been an important market for German shipbuilding for al long time. The local companies still enjoy a very good reputation globally. Accordingly, some units have been completed in 2014.

Despite some attempts to hide the project from the public, military multipurpose transport vessels »Rmah« and »Alfaq« became generally known, for example. They were built by Nobiskrug shipyard, which is part of Abu Dhabi Mar (ADM), and are reported to be scheduled for delivery to Abu Dhabi. However Nobiskrug’s order book also lists civil units, for example in cooperation with ADM Kiel the sailing yacht »White Pearl« is planned and an accommodation platform for the offshore wind farm »Dan Tysk«.

The ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Group, which recently got rid of former shipbuilding site Emder Werft and Dockbetriebe (»Nordseewerke«), delivered two submarines in 2014 according to own reports: »U35« for the German Navy and »Tanin« for Israel, the largest submarine ever built in Germany.

Both clients should be provided with sister units. In addition, TKMS Kiel filled its order book with more submarines for Singapore and packages of materials for Italy, Korea and Turkey. Together with Nobiskrug TKMS is also building two frigates for Algeria.

The group is working on four Class F125 frigates for the German Navy in a joint venture (JV) with Lürssen. The TKMS-shipyard in Hamburg is responsible for this project. For Lürssen the navy business is a second important basis next to yachts. For this purpose Peene-Werft is used also, which was acquired after the insolvency of P + S Group. With political support a billion-dollar order fro m Saudi Arabia could be negotiated. It involves a large number of patrol boats, but no further details to these patrol boat projects have been officially confirmed, yet.


Michael Meyer