Page 60: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2014)

60 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2014 have found growth for efÞ cient and envi- ronmentally friendly technologies.A spate of recent impressive contracts include seven vessels valued at about $1.4B. This line-up includes a cruise ship, a yacht, a pipe-laying ship, a coastal patrol boat as well as three rescue cruis-ers. In addition there is a further (and so far biggest) platform for the offshore wind industry. With this the total order income of all German shipyards includes a volume of more than $11.9B. Specialists NeededA good example of progressive com- panies making their way in a tight en-vironment are Meyer Werft in Papen- burg and its daughter company Neptun in Rostock-Warnemünde. In 2013 two cruise ships, one LNG-gas tanker out of Papenburg and 10 river cruise ships out of Rostock ensured employment. ?With the engagement of our employ- ees it was ensured that the ships could be on time and succesfully delivered. This particular motivation is what we will need also in the coming years,? said Ber- nard Meyer, General Manager. But dif- Þ culties still remain, and recently even the experts of Meyer Werft couldn?t se- cure an order for two AIDA newbuilds against Japan?s Mitsubishi. In total, seven cruise ships, 29 river cruise ships and one research vessel will be planned, designed and built from Meyer Werft. With these order books and the conse- quent implementation of the company?s efÞ ciency strategy (SSS = System Sch- lanker Schiffbau = system lean ship- building) Meyer sees opportunities for both yards: ?big chances in the hotly-contested global shipbuilding market to survive.?Also the focus of the Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft (FSG) is clear: ?Our future is clearly the special ship-building segment,? said FSG-Chief Peter Sierk. In 2013 the shipyard deliv-ered four RoRo-special ships to owners Ulusoy Sealines, UN Ro-Ro Isletmeleri S.A., Canadian Shipping Company Oceanex and RollDock B.V. in Holland, the ?Rolldock Star.? FSG made a name for itself over the past 15 years as a leader in the building of RoRo and RoPax ships, and entered the Offshore market with two orders for Dutch operator RollDock as well as two new orders for seismic vessels for West- ernGeco. For the Flensburg-based yard, this is another successful step in the ex-pansion of its production portfolio. ?We have been working in the Offshore sec- tor for some years now and this order of complex products proves that we have established our position in this high-tech market,? said Sierk.The two seismic vessels will be owned by Siem Offshore and chartered by the worldwide leading Offshore service pro- vider Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. Maritime Know-HowTKMS proÞ les as Europe?s leading system supplier for navy ships: in 2013 three corvettes have been delivered and the order books feature among others submarine boats for Singapore.Companies such as Bremen Lürssen Werft are equipped with unique know- how during construction of luxury yachts. Just recently the shipbuilder of Bremen signed a contract for ships for the Saudi Arabian Coast Guard. ?Pro- duction probably will take place on the Peene-Wefrt in Wolgast,?said a compa- ny spokesperson. Order volume and the number of ships were not conÞ rmed, but according to media reports the amount is of $1.4B. At the end of 2012 Lürssen purchased a shipyard for $23.5 million in what was the former East Germany, a yard which was reportedly the biggest military yard in the ex-DDR.Meanwhile, life boat experts at Fass-mer delivered last year, among others, one survey vessel, one rescue cruiser, a number of work boats and one research vessel. Last October Fassmer landed a deal for the construction of an innovative ferry boat from shipping company Cas-GERMANY?The supply industry en-gage in Germany around 68,000 employees with an annual turnover of around $16B. In the global compari-son this type of trade ranks furthermore at number one po- sition.?Hauke Schlegel, General Manager, VDMA TKMS supplied the corvette Oldenburg for the German Navy ?The German shipbuild-ing can score points with all what is complex, where customers have high require- ments and where they are willing to pay a higher price because they depend on that everything works well.? Reinhard Lüken, GM Director, VSM Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven had full docks earlier in the year. MR #8 (58-63).indd 60MR #8 (58-63).indd 608/7/2014 3:46:06 PM8/7/2014 3:46:06 PM