Page 28: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2015)

CRUISING IN CHINA loom as a cheaper, often bigger, threat tions” for the ship’s design, Fincantieri to business. Even though Meyer Werft would provide its product expertise and

GmbH and Fincantieri SpA share the other “specialist services” to augment bulk - 72% - of the European order book and guide CSSC. through 2017, including 24 cruise liners “This agreement . . . testi? es our de- with space for 76,161 passengers, con- termination in pursuing a strategy that tracts placed in Japan and possible orders increasingly establishes [us] as a global in China, “represent a threat to Europe’s and reference player in the sector, with continued preeminence in cruise ship- a strong presence in all markets that can building,” according to a CLIA Europe ensure the future of our business,” said

June market report. Fincantieri’s CEO, Giuseppe Bono, in a

The probable loss of cruise new builds press release. to Asian shipyards would be a blow to Eu- ropean shipyards, which have already lost

Survival Strategies other business to their cheaper, typically

The phrase “reference player” speaks mammoth and increasingly sophisticated to Blamey’s thoughts on why Fincantieri competitors in Korea, Japan and China. would want to help an eventual behe-

This time though, we may see these moth of a competitor. Building ships by shipyards ? ght back in a manner of stitching together prefabricated sections speaking, by taking the “if you can’t beat and parts produced by other partners is ‘em, join ‘em,” or at least partner with common in shipyards today. The strat- them, route. egy cuts costs and speeds production, “The Chinese have proven themselves sure, but in the case of the Chinese cruise to be very capable at engineering, and market, it is also a way to provide access capable of learning very fast. But cruise to the skillsets the Chinese do not yet ship building is a very challenging busi- possess. And if the market takes off as ness to get into. Because of the type of expected, down the road there will likely specialized ship this is, and the extremely be plenty of orders for Fincantieri – and tight deadlines necessary to meet cus- its European competitors - with or with- tomer demand on delivery, this is not out working with a Chinese shipyard. In something you get into easily with suc- the meantime, Fincantieri can build rela- cess. For example, the logistics it takes to tionships by sharing its expertise. keep the product on schedule and on mul-

It’s not clear what STX or Meyer tiple tracks presents a very steep learning Werft’s China strategies are, but the Ger- curve, and is the type of experience you man shipyard recently lost two newbuilds

The Chinese can lay the hull more cheaply than probably can’t afford to learn on your to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., de- own. It could prove extremely valuable to spite having built a seven ships for AIDA anyone else, and I think there is a widespread

Chinese shipyards to partner with others between 2007-2013, the largest at 71, 304 that have had success,” says CLIA’s Darr.

tons . The cruise operator’s next two ships, belief that the Chinese will eventually build

Blamey foresees a situation where at which will weigh in at 125,000 gross ton- least in the early years Chinese shipyards nage, will be built in Japan, which has a cruise ships at a high level of quality and at a would build the hulls and handle the as- checkered history in cruise builds. But semblies, but partner with experienced it’s cheaper, signi? cantly so, and as such lower level of cost. So shipyards like Fincantieri cruise ship builders to provide compo- drew protests from Fincantieri and STX nents like state rooms, ? ttings, some ma- when the deal was announced in 2011. might be thinking, ‘Let’s get in on the ground chinery etc.

In any case, one of the reasons for part- “The Chinese can lay the hull more nering with the Chinese is that they know