Hellenic Shipyards News

Greece on Wednesday concluded a tender for the sale of Hellenic Shipyards SA, the country's biggest shipyard which has been under special administration, its finance minister said.The debt-laden shipyard, based in Skaramangas near Athens, offers maintenance services to the Greek navy and the sale has been part of Greek government drive to overhaul its loss-making Greek defense industry and boost the country's defense capabilities.

Greece launched a tender on Friday to sell Hellenic Shipyards SA, the country's biggest shipyard which has been under special administration, the Finance Ministry said.The conservative government has promised to overhaul the loss-making Greek defence industry while boosting the country's defence capabilities, amid rising tension between Greece and Turkey over offshore gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean.It has said its plans include overhauling the military division of Hellenic Shipyards, which is based in Skaramangas, near Athens.Greece has said U.S.

Greece is considered to be the world’s first ship-owning country in terms of tonnage. The Greeks are known to control 17.7% of world fleet and gaining share except in crude tankers. Even recession in the dry bulk market has not had much effect on the Greek-owned fleet with the fleet size touching 5,226 vessels last year with a total DWT of 334 million. For debt-laden Greece, shipping – a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times – is considered a knight in shining armor at this crucial juncture. Most Greek shipping companies are family owned businesses which have been in shipping for many decades, even over a hundred years.

Since ancient times, maritime trade has been a backbone of Greece’s economy with shipping playing the dominant role. Today, it is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism. It is the country’s geography with a coastline almost that of the U.S. (including Alaska) in length together with the mountainous nature of the landmass with 85% of Greek population living within 30 miles of the sea, that has been responsible in creating a strong influence on this industry. Although the country’s shipping experienced regression during the late Roman period, it grew in prominence during the last few centuries of Ottoman rule, when Greek traders dominated the grain trade between southeastern Europe and the West.

AdvanFort appointed Dimitrios Angelopoulos, a retired Hellenic Navy submarine commander, as its new business development manager. Before coming to AdvanFort, Mr. Angelopoulos worked for Hellenic Shipyards S.A. as the project manager for the 214-type submarine contract with the Hellenic Navy. A Hellenic Naval Academy graduate, he has an Executive MBA degree from the University of Piraeus and an MBA degree from the University of Louisville. As a career submarine officer, Mr. Angelopoulos served for 15 years in the submarine fleet…

It could be argued that running an efficient, safe and profitable ship repair yard is one of the most difficult of all maritime jobs. First and foremost, unpredictability – in terms of planned and actual workload, as well as the very nature of the job themselves – is a recurring theme. Maintaining experienced staff in times good and bad; keeping ahead of evolving regulations, as they pertain to the local environment and the global ship market; and weathering the inevitable influx of cut-rate competition from emerging nations are but a sampling of the issues ship repair managers face every day.

According to a report from Defence Professionals, the Greek Minister of National Defence, Prof. Dr. Evangelos Venizelos, announced that the German shipbuilding group Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) pulled out of a program to build two submarines at the Hellenic Shipyards near Athens.    (Source: Defence Professional)

The 22nd edition of Posidonia 2010, an international shipping trade event, opens its doors next week on the back of renewed confidence in the state of Greek maritime affairs as outlined in a recent Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) statement. According to UGS, Greece’s foreign exchange earnings from ocean going shipping services were substantial in 2009 amounting to $16.6b despite a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Continued new-building orders will ensure Greece maintains…

Hellenic Shipyards has secured a contract for the construction of a sea platform to accommodate offshore wind-parks for location in the Baltic and . The classification of the 70 metre platform Thor has been entrusted to Germanischer Lloyd. Mr. Ioannis Manolemis, Member of Hellenic Shipyards Board of Directors, and Dr. Hermann J. Klein, Member of the Executive Board Germanischer Lloyd signed the contract today at Posidonia. The platform is 70 metres long, 40 metres wide, has a draft of 6 metres and can be operated in water depths of up to 50 metres.

The ultra competitive Greek ferry market has not only proven to be a fertile breeding ground for advanced marine technology, it has served as a role model for the direction of shipping services in both the region and the world. The Greek market has provided the collective builders and suppliers of advanced fast and conventional ferries a rich environment for business over the past few months, a trend that seems likely to continue. Specifically, Greek owners and operators have been at the forefront of an international buying binge for large, fast passenger, vehicle and cargo carrying craft. Driven by the need for speed, many owners are turning to advances in marine electronic and propulsion systems to ensure that the multi-million dollar investments are kept running safe and efficient.

Greek engineering and metallurgy group Mytilineos is eyeing a majority stake in Hellenic Shipyards in an effort to penetrate further into Greece's defense industry, a company official said. "The group is interested in acquiring a 51 percent stake in Hellenic Shipyards at Skaramanga, however, this will depend on the terms to be set by the Greek government," Vangelis Mytilineos said. "The shipyard has liabilities of 100 billion drachmas and 2,200 employees. Last week, in an amendment to a draft bill presented to parliament, Greece allowed for ETBA Bank that owns 51 percent of the shipyard to reduce its stake, opening the way for its full privatization.

Greece's development ministry appointed Alpha Finance to advise it on the planned sale of Hellenic Shipyards. Alpha Finance will undertake all activities on finding an investor for Hellenic Shipyards at Skaramanga via an international tender, with an eye to selling up to 100 percent of the enterprise. The ministry said the tender is scheduled to be held in the next four months. Hellenic Shipyards is one of 10 privatizations the development ministry said it has planned for 2001.

Nine companies expressed interest in the privatization of Hellenic Shipyards at Skaramanga, part of the country's privatization agenda for 2001, the development ministry reported. The government's advisers on the project will shortlist bidders in the next 15 days and then ask for binding bids for the shipyard, whose major shareholders are ETBA Bank and workers. The ministry expects the project to be concluded by June. The companies that expressed interest are: Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie; General Electric Company; Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG-Ferrostaal AG; Louis Cruise Lines Ltd ; Mentor Technologies; Elefsina Industrial Companies SA; Pacific & Atlantic Corporation; Royal Schelde BV-Damen Shipyards Group BV; and Vosper Thornycroft Ltd.

German industry is doing much to advance the development and application of fuel cell technology, and is responsible for many of the initiatives launched so far in the marine sector. Although skeptics in the commercial shipping domain discount the chances of a substantial uptake of fuel cell power aboard mercantile traders in the foreseeable future, there is a growing realization of the long-term possibilities offered by the technology, albeit in specialized areas. Use in auxiliary plant may hold out certain opportunities in some types of vessel. Minimal environmental impact, due to an absence of the noxious emissions produced by internal combustion engines…

With the closing on January 5, 2005, the marriage between ThyssenKrupp Werften and HDW has been formally consummated. This date also marks the official inception of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the new group parent headquartered in Hamburg. Essentially, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems comprises the following subsidiaries: Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH, Kiel; HDW-Nobiskrug GmbH, Rendsburg; Blohm + Voss GmbH und Blohm + Voss Repair GmbH, Hamburg; Nordseewerke GmbH, Emden; as well as Kockums AB, Sweden, and Hellenic Shipyards S.A., Greece. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems represents a sales volume of around €2.2 billion and presently employs a workforce of 9,300. Dr. Klaus Borgschulte chairs the new company as CEO. Ulrich Ziolkowski is its CFO, while Reinhard Kuhlmann heads Human Resources.

Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) Group is now to equip a fourth Class 214 submarine with modern propulsion, control and monitoring technology for Greece. The project includes delivery of the Permasyn electric motor, the PEM fuel cell modules, and the "Nautos" automation system. The order volume is about EUR 21 million. Handover of the submarine to the Hellenic Navy is scheduled for 2009. In 2001, Siemens had already received an order to equip three vessels of the same type. Like the previous three vessels, the new submarine will have a Siemens Permasyn type electric propulsion drive. These DC-powered permanent-magnet excited synchronous motors are characterized by an extremely low signature…

Hellenic Industrial Bank (ETBA) was outperforming the Athens bourse on expectations it will soon sell its majority stake in Skaramanga shipyards, analysts said. ETBA, which owns 51 percent of Hellenic Shipyards Skaramanga, said it would start negotiations with German shipyard HDW Werft, which was the highest bidder in the privatization of the shipyard. ETBA shares were up 3.81 percent to 6.00 euros at 1102 GMT, outperforming the Athens bourse's benchmark general index, which was down 0.92 percent, and the banking sector index which was down 1.45 percent. "Procedures concerning Skaramanga are being sped up, and this could accelerate the privatization of ETBA Bank as well," said Costas Vergos, analyst at Magna Trust Securities.

Hellenic Industrial Bank was outperforming the Athens bourse on Wednesday on expectations it will soon sell its majority stake in Skaramanga shipyards, analysts said. ETBA, which owns 51 percent of Hellenic Shipyards Skaramanga, said late on Tuesday it would start negotiations with German shipyard HDW Werft, which was the highest bidder in the privatization of the shipyard. ETBA shares were up 3.81 percent to $5.27, outperforming the Athens bourse's benchmark general index, which was down 0.92 percent, and the banking sector index, which was down 1.45 percent. "Procedures concerning Skaramanga are being sped up, and this could accelerate the privatization of ETBA Bank as well," said Costas Vergos, analyst at Magna Trust Securities.