Masa-Yards May Cooperate With Gdynia

Masa-Yards, a unit that Kvaerner has put up for sale, could cooperate in building vessels with the Polish Gdynia shipyard, a group official said. Gdynia shipyard had planned to bid for Masa-Yards, but a consortium formed by Kvaerner won the support of the Finnish government to keep the group's two yards in Helsinki and Turku in Finnish hands. Kvaerner officials said that through cooperation and lower labor costs in Poland, Masa-Yards could gain a competitive edge on other Western shipbuilders. Masa-Yards will reportedly ask the government and parliament to back a "reasonable" subsidy for the Finnish shipbuilding industry.