Status: 10.01.2022 1:32 p.m.
A dramatic turnaround in the struggle for the financially troubled MV Werften: The management announced an internal report that it would file for bankruptcy. The Schwerin District Court confirmed receipt of the application. In the afternoon, the country’s finance committee will hold a special meeting to discuss how to proceed. At 2:15 p.m. we will report on an NDR MV Live.
“A bitter day for all of us, but we have to face this fact,” said the management’s statement. The insolvency was applied for at noon at the Schwerin district court, as the court confirmed. In talks between the federal government, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the owner Genting from Hong Kong, no solution for further financing was found, said a shipyard spokesman. However, bankruptcy does not have to mean the final end – that could also mean that it will continue.
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Tough struggle to the end
As the spokesman further explained, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) tried to find a way out on Friday. That did not succeed. The shipyard owner Genting Hong Kong had recently put pressure on the federal government and the state during the negotiations. Genting appealed to the federal and state governments to reconsider their negative attitude towards the release of funds for the completion of the more than 340 meter long cruise ship “Global 1”. The federal and state governments, on the other hand, had demanded a higher financial contribution from the company in order to save the shipyards.
Cruise giant almost finished
At peak times around 3,000 people worked at MV Werften, at last it was just under 2,000.
The MV-Werften did not succeed in securing the financing of the approximately 75 percent finished and approximately 1.5 billion euro expensive new cruise ship building. It is considered to be one of the largest cruise ships ever built and was intended exclusively for the Asian market. According to reports, the federal government had repeatedly assured that it wanted to provide around 600 million euros from the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF). The ship should be used as security for this. The owners’ own contribution was a contribution of 60 million euros plus guarantees for the federal funds in question. Genting, however, had only promised 30 million euros and is said to have recently offered a further eleven million euros, according to the “Ostsee-Zeitung”. The President of Genting Hong Kong, Colin Au, had asked in Wismar on Sunday that four offers had been submitted to the federal government for further financing. However, these have all been rejected.
For the time being, employees do not receive any wages
The almost 2,000 shipyard employees on the Baltic coast are now facing an uncertain future. In all likelihood you will not receive any December wages. MV Werften announced last Friday that the wages could not be paid – a clear indication that the company had run out of money. In addition, many jobs at suppliers depend on the shipyards. The employees must first apply for insolvency loss money from the employment agency. Much could then depend on a possible insolvency administrator and how he wants to continue the company.
Finance committee meets, IG Metall calls a general meeting
In a special meeting at 4 p.m., the finance committee of the state parliament will discuss how to proceed. At the same time, IG Metall wants to inform its members about the situation.
Shipyards were “the industrial heart of the country”
An insolvency of the shipyards is a severe blow for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as a business location. Prime Minister Schwesig had repeatedly referred to the shipyards as the “industrial heart of the country”. The shipyards in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund have belonged to the listed Hong Kong-based gaming and cruise company Genting since 2016. The booking of the business with cruises in the Corona crisis had brought the parent company into financial difficulties.
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