Luerssen News

Germany's second-largest defense group Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) wants to play a leading role in consolidating the German and European shipyard industry, its new Chief Executive Officer told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag."If the road to a European giant is still too difficult, a German champion could be formed first," Oliver Burkhard was quoted by the newspaper as saying.Burkhard said a merger, for example, could be formed with smaller German rivals Luerssen and German…

The Italian government ordered police on Friday to impound a luxury yacht worth some $700 million that has been linked in the media to Russian President Vladimir Putin.The sleek, six-deck Scheherazade had been undergoing repairs in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara since September, but recent activity at the dockside suggested that the crew might be preparing to put to sea.A source with direct knowledge of a weeks-long investigation into the vessel said police believed the owner was Eduard Khudainatov, the former chief of Russian energy giant Rosneft who is not currently a target of EU sanctions.In a statement announcing the seizure order…

A luxury yacht linked to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who faces EU sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is sitting in a shipyard in the German port of Hamburg and local authorities said there were no plans to deliver it to its owner.Hamburg authorities denied that they had seized the more-than-500-foot (150 meter) Dilbar superyacht, which boasts a 25-meter swimming pool and is worth nearly $600 million. Forbes had reported on Wednesday that it had been undergoing…

More tie-ups and mergers are needed in the warship industry, the German government said on Monday, adding it would play an active role in consolidation in what remains a fragmented sector shaped by political decisions.Cooperation must be intensified in the industry in northern Europe, Norbert Brackmann, the German government's coordinator for maritime economy issues, told a conference, adding further consolidation was necessary and expected."That's why we have proactively supported talks among the big shipyards that are active in marine shipbuilding…

Bulgaria has contracted German shipyard Luerssen to build two multi-role patrol ships for its navy for 984 million levs ($593 million), Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov said on Thursday.The Black Sea country is looking to replace its three aging Soviet-made patrol ships with the new vessels and improve its compliance with NATO standards.Luerssen won the deal in a tender over Italy's Fincantieri."With this project, we are making the right step towards modernizing our navy…

French tech company iXblue will deliver inertial navigation systems and gyrocompasses for new Royal Australian Navy’s SEA1180 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV). Based on Fiber-Optic Gyroscope technology, iXblue’s inertial navigation systems will provide the 12 new Arafura Class vessels with highly accurate and reliable navigation capabilities in all environments, including within GNSS-denied operational areas, iXblue said.David Cunningham, commercial director at iXblue: "We would…

Damen Shipyards Group and the German Bundesamt fur Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr on Friday signed the contract for the construction of four MKS-180 frigates for the German Navy. Damen is the main contractor for this complex project which it is undertaking, together with partners Blohm+Voss and Thales, in Germany.The combination of companies was previously declared the winner of a European tender; the largest in the history of the German Navy. On June 17, the necessary financial resources were released by the German Bundestag budget committee.

Thyssenkrupp and Germany's largest union IG Metall on Thursday called for further consolidation of the country's warship sector, saying a tie-up of rivals Luerssen and German Naval Yards (GNYK) did not go far enough.Late on Wednesday, Luerssen and GNYK announced they would combine their defense divisions to create a national champion, a move that has backing from the German government.Thyssenkrupp had also sought to participate in the consolidation and board member Oliver Burkhard…

Thyssenkrupp is exploring several strategic options for its warship unit, ranging from combining it with Italy’s Fincantieri to creating a national champion with German peers, a person familiar with the matter said.The talks are aimed at creating economies of scale for the division, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which builds submarines and surface ships and operates in a highly fragmented sector driven by political decisions, the source said.As part of the deliberations…

Thyssenkrupp is in informal talks about consolidation in the shipbuilding sector, its finance chief said on Tuesday, responding to speculation that the group might sell parts of its Marine Systems (TKMS) unit or merge it with rivals German Naval Yards and Luerssen.Klaus Keysberg told analysts that Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems was always open to talks, but declined to provide further information about the state of the discussions.(Reporting by Christoph Steitz Editing by Michelle Martin)

German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp is in talks about possibly merging its subsidiary ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) with a domestic rival to create a national champion.The Thyssenkrupp board member in charge of the marine systems unit, Oliver Burkhard, tweeted earlier that the company was in talks as an alliance could make sense in the current European market environment, with the creation of a national champion one possible outcome.The tweet followed a report by public sector…

Germany has awarded Dutch shipyard Damen a contract to construct at least four new multi-role warships worth nearly 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in an alliance with its Bremen-based partner Luerssen, the armed forces and budget lawmakers said on Tuesday.The ship tender is one of Germany's biggest arms projects, along with a contract for the MEADS missile defence system and the new Franco-German fighter jet (FCAS), underlining Berlin's efforts to increase its military capabilities.The first warship is expected to be delivered in 2027…

Italy's Fincantieri, German shipyard Luerssen and Bulgaria's MTG Dolphin have submitted bids in a 984 million levs ($570 million) tender to build two patrol ships for the Bulgarian navy, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.The Black Sea country is looking to replace its three ageing Soviet-made patrol ships with the new vessels and improve its compliance with NATO standards.The offers will be opened on April 22, the ministry said in a statement.

Italy's Fincantieri, German shipyard Luerssen and Bulgaria's MTG Dolphin are expected to file bids in a tender to build two patrol ships for the Bulgarian navy, a senior official said on Tuesday.The Black Sea country is looking to replace its three ageing Soviet-made patrol ships with the new vessels and has set April 16 as the deadline for bids.It raised the budget for the new ships by 20 percent to 984 million levs ($567 million) last year after a previous tender collapsed over financial terms.Rear Admiral Mitko Petev, commander of the Bulgarian Navy - which also has three Belgian frigates - said the patrol boats would be equipped with weaponry for air and underwater combat and helicopter landing platforms.He told public television BNT that Luerssen, Fincantieri and MTG-Dolphin had expre

German shipbuilder Luerssen has suspended production of coastguard vessels it was building for Saudi Arabia and placed large numbers of staff on short hours, blaming uncertainty over whether Berlin would grant future weapons export licences.After dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would authorise no further weapons exports until Riyadh had satisfactorily explained his death.Privately-owned Luerssen was commissioned to build the coastal patrol vessels five years ago…

Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK) have teamed up in the ongoing bidding process for a contract worth several billions of euros to build a new multipurpose warship for Germany, Thyssenkrupp said.The company, responding to a Reuters query, said that GNYK is participating as general contractor in the auction and that Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems would act as subcontractor if their bid is successful.RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), a group representing German newspapers, first reported that both shipbuilders had joined forces.The tender is for Germany's new MKS 180 warship, which is one of the German military's largest armament initiatives and designed to combat targets in the air…

One of the world’s leading shipbuilders, Luerssen, has teamed with Australian engineering and construction firm Civmec to create a new force in naval shipbuilding and exports. The joint venture, Australian Maritime Shipbuilding & Export Group (AMSEG), will partner Luerssen Australia, the prime contractor and designer for the Australian Government’s Offshore Patrol Vessel program, with West Australian-based Civmec, soon to list on the Australian Stock Exchange. It is intended that AMSEG will play a significant role in the build of ten OPVs in Henderson, Western Australia and in driving an export shipbuilding business that will target opportunities around the region.

Luerssen, ThyssenKrupp and German Naval Yards have agreed to bid jointly for a German navy warship contract after competition authorities struck down an earlier bid, an industry source said. The contract had originally been worth 1.5 billion euros($1.68 billion) but it is unclear how much the government will ultimately pay. The contract for five corvettes, which had been due to be awarded without tender to a consortium of ThyssenKrupp and Luerssen, was struck down by the German cartel office after German Naval Yards complained. Under the deal, which must still be approved by the cartel office, German Naval Yards would win work worth 15 percent of total revenues from the contract. The German parliament's budget committee will decide on the contract on June 21, the source said.

Germany's federal cartel office upheld on Thursday a complaint brought by German Naval Yards against an order from the defence ministry for five new military corvettes valued at over 1.5 billion euros, after the ministry skipped an open procurement.   The ministry had argued that the quickest way to meet the navy's urgent military needs in the Baltic and Mediterranean seas would be to buy more of the ships already produced by a consortium including Luerssen Werft and ThyseenKrupp.   However, the cartel office agreed with German Naval Yards that the need for competition took priority, confirming reports on Wednesday by two German newspapers.   An appeal may be lodged within two weeks. (Reporting by Anneli Palmen; Writing by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Thomas Escritt)

Germany's much-delayed new frigates, built by ThyssenKrupp and Luerssen for at least 650 million euros ($710 million) apiece, are overweight and float with a persistent list to starboard, according to a confidential report seen by Reuters. The ships, designed to need a crew of only 120, less than half their predecessors, are a crucial element in Germany's plans to beef up its military to face an increasingly uncertain European security landscape and a more assertive Russia. Designed to remain at sea for far longer than the German armed forces' existing fleet…

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Friday to press a consortium led by Luerssen Werft of Bremen for a "fair contract" for five new warships, saying the group's initial bid was too high. "My goal is to get the contract started in this legislative period, but we want a good contact, we want a fair contract and above all a realistic one," von der Leyen told reporters on Friday. Defence industry sources said last week the German government had rejected the initial bid from the consortium before it exceeded the budget target of 1.5 billion euros ($1.59 billion). The Handelsblatt newspaper reported this week that the bid came in at 2.9 billion euros, nearly twice the expected amount.

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has decided to buy six MKS-180 multi-role warships instead of putting off a decision on two of those ships until 2030, her spokesman said on Monday. The ministry decided last October to delay a tender for four warships, which was valued at 4 billion euros ($4.24 billion), to ensure that quality standards were met. A decision on two extra warships had initially been planned in 2030. "The need is there. Now the minister has decided to buy all six of the required MKS-180 ships," the spokesman said, without providing a new cost estimate for the programme. The new ships, to be delivered from 2023, will be used for attacking targets on land and underwater, as well as providing aerial protection to other vessels.

Germany's Defence Ministry has decided to buy a total of six MKS-180 multi-role warships instead of four, as initially planned, a ministry spokesman said Monday, without providing a new cost estimate for the program. The ministry decided last October to delay a tender for four warships that was valued at 4 billion euros ($4.24 billion), to ensure that quality standards were met. A decision on the two extra warships had not been planned until 2030. The new ships, to be delivered from 2023, will be used for attacking targets on land and underwater, as well as providing aerial protection to other vessels. The three remaining teams bidding to build the new warships are Bremen-based privately owned shipyard Luerssen and Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems…