Page 66: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2016)

GERMAN SHIPBUILDING he global shipbuilding industry “This great success of the maritime Inspired by the same vision, VSM has continued its downturn in 2015 sector of the German industry has its launched and is driving new initiatives, with the number of new orders origins in our customers’ exceptionally including, in particular the German Mar-

T halved compared to 2013 level. high expectations. The high degree of itime Export Initiative (GeMaX) as well

The year 2016 is shaping up to be even complexity of the products manufac- as efforts to fos-ter innovation by estab- worse. tured here requires large numbers of lishing a new Maritime Research Coor-

The “Big Three” shipbuilding nations highly specialised experts. Hundreds of dination Center (Deutsches Maritimes

China, Korea and Japan are major cus- companies, all of them extremely reli- Zentrum, DMZ).

tomers to the world leading maritime able, must be coordinated perfectly to “These activities demonstrate that the equipment and system producers from work towards a common goal and jointly industry is doing its homework,” adds

Germany. The fact that the domestic sup- ensure the success of the given project. VSM General Manager Reinhard Lüken, ply chain has been generating more than These kinds of structures have grown in “but we also need back up by policy half of its sales within Europe will come Germany over decades and cannot eas- makers. The idea of launching a mari- in as an important stabilizing factor to ily be replicated in other countries,” said time agenda for Germany is therefore a weather the current storm: according to VSM President Harald Fassmer, CEO great opportunity.”

Clarksons Research, more than $7 billion of the shipyard Fassmer Werft GmbH, Policy initiatives include efforts to worth of orders for newbuilding projects describing the situation during the press foster LNG as maritime fuel, an active went to Europe this year, a world mar- conference held on occasion of the an- trade policy to improve market access ket share of 63 percent. Furthermore, the nual VSM General assembly meeting. and ? ght against market distortions as current low ordering activity in Asian “But there is no time to be compla- well as support for the naval defense in- comprises mainly shipowners with ? xed cent. We must relentlessly continue in dustry base. employment for their newbuilding proj- our efforts to further improve products ects. These customers tend to pay more and processes. We have to seize every

The German Shipbuilding Industry attention to quality equipment, which is opportunity to jointly safeguard Ger- Based upon the concentration of the why the success rate of German equip- many as a stronghold of the maritime German shipyards in innovative and ment makers has signi? cantly increased industry. It is therefore essential that promising markets – such as the passen- for the few remaining projects. we all come together as one industry ger vessel and yacht shipbuilding – the

Nevertheless, the total demand in and one community,” said Fassmer in a order situation in 2015 was relatively numbers remains low and causes major compelling appeal. good. Around 100 percent of the order challenges also in the German maritime Even if the German shipyards, based income, deliveries and backlog with community. on their specialization, are not afraid of seagoing vessels have been dedicated to

German shipyards bucked the global the competition – a concerned look went export, and many shipyards have built a trend by nearly doubling their order in- to Asia: “China will build vessels for comfortable order cushion for the com- take reaching nearly €5 billion in 2015 their own required cruise market within ing years. But between the different compared to 2013. A similar order of the next ? ve years”, stated VSM-Chief companies are signi? cant differences.

magnitude was recorded also for 2016 Fassmer, “Until then they will not be Twelve newbuilds were ordered in to date. better than German shipyards.” German shipyards in 2015 – with half 66 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • AUGUST 2016

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