European Shipyards News

As the geopolitical landscape continues to quickly transform with the Russia/Ukraine war, Europe's over-dependence on Russian energy has become painfully apparent. VSM – the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association that represents the political and commercial interests of the German maritime over a diversity of maritime market segments – issued the following statement and overview of the global shipbuilding market, highlighting how highly subsidized shipbuilding markets…

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore said Friday it had sold its AHTS Sea Panther vessel for recycling.The vessel was sold through Solstad Offshore's subsidiary Solstad Rederi, and the delivery to the buyer took place today August 20th, 2021."The sale of the vessel will result in an immaterial accounting effect for Q3 -2021," Solstad Offshore said, without sharing the sale price."Solstad Offshore ASA is considering several vessels for green recycling as a part of our efforts to be in the forefront of sustainable and [environmentally] optimal operations.

Canadian provider of polymer bearing solutions Thordon Bearings said that its ThorPlas-Blue has established itself as the bearing of choice for deck equipment, with European shipyards and owners frequently specifying the grease-free bearing system as standard for vessels’ winches, fairleads, davits, capstans and windlasses.According to a press note from Thordon Bearings, Sweden’s Falkvarv AB, Oresund Dry Docks, and the Oskarshamnsvarvet shipyard have been particularly strong proponents of the grease-free bearing, with these yards maintaining an inventory of ThorPlas-Blue stock with which to replace worn and costly bronze bearings and bushings when vessels drydock for repairs.

SunStone Ships oversaw the steel cutting of Ocean Explorer, the fourth Infinity-class vessel in the class, at China Merchants Heavy Industry yard in Haimen.With a goal of marrying European design and quality with Chinese ship-building efficiency, the Infinity class delivers cutting-edge design, innovations like X-bow technology, and significant operating efficiencies, said a press release form the largest tonnage provider in the expedition market.SunStone President and CEO, Niels-Erik Lund, said: “We are very pleased with the quality and building standards of China Merchants Heavy Industry, which are fully at the level of European Shipyards.

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured cruise access equipment orders from three European shipyards.The provider of engineering solutions and services to  offshore and marine industries said that the total order value is approximately EUR 22 million.The orders were booked into Cargotec's fourth quarter 2018 order intake and the delivery of the MacGregor equipment is planned to start during the fourth quarter 2019 and finalised during the first quarter of 2024."We are delighted that our customers rely on MacGregor expertise to provide safe and efficient equipment for these ships," says Magnus Sjöberg, Senior Vice President, Cargo Handling and RoRo…

European Shipowners and Maritime Technology Industry call for decisive actions against unfair trade practices and in favour of global playing field.The European Shipyards and Maritime Equipment Association SEA Europe and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) welcome the recent statement of EU Trade Commission Cecilia Malmström against unfair trade practices in the Far East.The trade associations representing respectively European shipbuilding and maritime equipment and European shipowners now call upon the European Commission and the EU Member States to take concrete and decisive actions against such practices and in favour of a true global level playing field for the European industry.Market-oriented conditions…

A&P Falmouth has completed the dry docking of ABC Maritime’s double hull oil and chemical tanker, Troy. Beating competition from European shipyards, A&P Falmouth carried out a comprehensive 17-day refit package during the vessel’s dry-docking last month. Work included the class intermediate survey, renewal of the main deck cargo heating pipework, extensive deck cargo washing and line replacement, the overhaul of the main engine including turbo charger, fuel gear and associated pumps, a bow thruster seal change and overhaul and a number of small steel repairs.Stuart Bartle, Chief Operating Officer of ABC Maritime said: “ABC Maritime has had a long relationship with A&P having docked the Troy in Falmouth in 2008.

Bob Kunkel needs no introduction to Marine News readers. Kunkel, President of Alternative Marine Technologies, previously served as the Federal Chairman of the Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program under the Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation from 2003 until 2008. A past Vice President of the Connecticut Maritime Association, he is a contributing writer for Maritime Logistics Professional magazine and of course, Marine News. A graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy…

When markets expand niches are created, goes the logic. For builders of tugs, that market is “floating gas” and the expanding use of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, as a fuel. In support of LNG, there’ll be more oceangoing tug duty — the new floating storage and regasification units, or FSRUs, mean busier LNG carriers, and LNG cargo owners have an interest in tug escorts that share their “carbon footprint”. Still, new emissions rules offer ways to keep using refinery products, and the work of master tug designers suggests the new breeds of tugs are about more than fuel.

If you are an American thinking Asia for converting a vessel, building a drydock or contracting a medium-sized newbuild, then Krzysztof Kozdron, Managing Director of Germany-based Schulte Marine Concept (SMC), is the man you need to speak to. Easy to talk to, the Shanghai-based naval architect and engineer knows shipbuilding from all sides. Parent company Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has owned and operated ships for 150 years, and he draws on that and his own 25 years of project experience.

A Shanghai district government plans to spend about 5 billion yuan ($739.97 million) to develop a cruise ship industrial park to house foreign firms that it hopes will help build China's first luxury passenger vessels, a local official said. China's government has earmarked cruise shipbuilding as a major objective in its "Made in China 2025" programme to upgrade its manufacturing and support jobs at its shipyards, as domestic demand for cruise trips increases 30 percent a year. Firms who set up shop in the new zone could expect financing support from banks and recently established government funds, Lei Shuguang, director on the administrative committee of Shanghai Baoshan Industrial Zone, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Rolls-Royce. The words have been used by many to signify excellence – though not with the company’s permission, of course. Rolls-Royce Marine is taking a leading position in developing and introducing the systems and technologies needed for the running of a successful business in the maritime industry of the 21st century. At a company presentation held in London earlier this year, Mikael Mäkinen, President of Rolls-Royce Marine, outlined the company’s vision for the future and its strategies to put these new systems based on new technologies into place.

STI Marine, a Division of Specified Technologies Inc., has added a new distribution center in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The central European location benefits local shipbuilders, providing an even more responsive service than before, improving availability and expediting delivery. “Its strategic proximity to major shipyards will ensure STI Marine products are readily available to meet the rigorous demands associated with cruise ship construction cycles,” said Ruben Wansink, STI Marine sales manager for Europe. The new warehouse location will help ensure faster response time for product delivery in local markets and improve efficiency with European shipyards.

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News visited Koichi Fujiwara, the newly installed Chairman and President of ClassNK, in his Tokyo headquarters for his insights on the global maritime market at large as well as the future direction and mandate of class. With the global maritime market in the grips of a collective slump, the likes of which have not been seen since the energy crisis and resulting economic malaise of the mid 1970s, Koichi Fujiwara takes the mantle of leadership at ClassNK, one of the world’s largest and most influential classification societies.

Singapore, 29 February 2016 – Vard Holdings Limited (“VARD”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of offshore and specialised vessels, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2015 (“4Q2015”), and full year ended 31 December 2015 (“FY2015”). With its core market for offshore oil and gas related vessels showing continued signs of weakness in the short term, VARD also announced highlights of its new diversification strategy, aimed at reducing its dependency on the offshore business during the industry downturn. Focusing on other engineering- and technology-intensive parts of the shipbuilding market…

Singapore-listed Vard Holding sank deeper into the red as third-quarter losses widened to S$80.2 million. The losses were attributed to the dual challenge of a severe cyclical downturn in its core market, and managing the turnaround of its Brazilian operations. Revenue for the three months to Sept 30 fell 19 per cent to S$375 million, due to reduced activity at some of the European shipyards amid a prolonged industry down-cycle, said Vard Holdings in a filing to the Singapore Exchange on Wednesday (Nov 11). "We will continue to pursue cost improvement initiatives and organisational changed to streamline our business, and make the company competitive to seize new business opportunities," said chief executive and executive director Roy Reite.

Kjeld Dittmann, the Managing Director of Lyngsø Marine A/S, is the new Chairman of the European Ships and Maritime Equipment Association (SEA Europe). He succeeds Govert Hamers, CEO of Vanderlande Industries in the Netherlands, who has completed his term as Chairman. The announcement was made at the SEA Europe Annual General Meeting in Istanbul on June 26 hosted by the Turkish Association of Ship Industrialists (full member of SEA Europe). “SEA Europe has established a strong voice in Brussels for both Europe’s shipyards and equipment suppliers…

Astilleros Zamakona S.A, belonging to our group Zamakona Yards has signed a contract with the owner ESVAGT A.S, a company belonging to the multinational Danish AP Møller-Mærsk. The vessel will be delivered in the 2nd quarter of 2017 and will have the design and engineering of Havyard Design & Solutions A.S in cooperation with the ship-owner himself and our shipyard. It aims to make the change of crews in emergency assistance to offshore oil platforms, support for the maintenance operations of wind offshore facilities, etc.

In the EU journal Parliament, Portuguese Member of European Parliament João Ferreira has proposed a five-point plan to stimulate growth in the EU shipbuilding industry. He said that after a decline in industrial activity since the 1970s, the region’s shipbuilding industry had become increasingly successful and dynamic in recent years. But he argued that the trend was “neither general nor uniform in all EU countries built upon a maritime tradition’” and that the importance of shipbuilding was often undervalued by the EU. Ferreira pointed out that shipbuilding activity had declined dramatically “by 83%” since the 1970s in Portugal. Industrial activity must resume and must be granted additional stimulus.

After an uneven couple of years punctuated by struggling economic factors worldwide, maturing markets and some highly publicized accidents and illnesses, the cruise industry is hoping to find a little “double happiness” from the rapidly growing Chinese market – enhanced profits and renewed market growth for both operators and builders. For its part, the Chinese government is betting on a triple payout:  it hopes to serve a growing middle class (estimated at a potential 300 million market) and its desire for cruising vacations…

Offshore shipbuilder Vard Holdings reported a net loss of $40mln in the first quarter, on back of unrealized foreign exchange losses from a 15-year USD-denominated yard construction loan in Brazil. Net foreign exchange losses in the quarter amounted to $37mln. The group did not secure any new orders in the quarter. Consequently, order book value at the end of the quarter amounted to $2.8bln, representing a 28% decrease compared to the same period last year. “We expect weak order flows to be a prevalent theme in 2015. To mitigate the effects of lower yard activity, we aim to streamline the cost structure of our business over the next few months,” said Roy Reite, ceo and executive director of Vard.

As part of the restructuring of STX Finland, current operations at the Rauma Shipyard will be ramped down and functions shifted to the Turku Shipyard. Like other European shipyards, the Finnish shipbuilding industry is suffering the effects of the recession in the global economy; an increase in surplus capacity and the financial crisis have all led to a cut in orders and stiffened competition. Consequently STX Finland say they have been been activelly seeking solutions in order to save the Finnish shipyard industry.

With PureBallast 3.0, Alfa Laval redefined its chemical-free ballast water treatment system, producing major advances in flexibility and energy efficiency. Now a 600 m3/h reactor has been added to the system portfolio, enabling new configurations with fewer components and considerable energy savings. In addition, the system has formally received IMO type approval from Det Norske Veritas. Since its launch in April 2013, Alfa Laval’s PureBallast 3.0 has enjoyed tremendous success.