shipbuilding
Federal government demands owner contribution to save the MV shipyards
View of the grounds of the MV shipyards with crane systems in Wismar. Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The federal government has promised help to save jobs. According to the State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Udo Philipp, the Chinese owners have not yet made a commitment.
The federal government is still ready to support the ailing MV Werften with a new rescue package, but is demanding a contribution from the owner.
«We stand by the side of the company and its employees in order to get through these difficult times together. It is now only up to the owners to make an appropriate contribution, ”said State Secretary for Economic Affairs Udo Philipp of the German Press Agency. The owner, Genting Hong Kong, is currently not ready for this. The owners lacked a clear commitment to their yard. “That is disappointing and endangers many thousands of jobs in the region,” said Philipp.
Cruise ship as security
The federal government had already submitted a financing proposal to rescue the ailing shipyards before Christmas. The aim was to secure the more than 1900 jobs in a structurally weak region with little industry. The huge cruise ship “Global Class 1” should be completed with around 600 million euros from the economic stabilization fund. In return, according to dpa information, the Ministry of Economic Affairs asked the owner to make a contribution of 60 million euros. The ship was to be used as security for the federal financial injection.
According to dpa information, there have been several intensive discussions with the owners and a close exchange between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania since Christmas. The owner is therefore still unwilling to make a contribution to the rescue of his shipyards.
Industry collapsed
Genting acquired the shipyards in Rostock, Wismar and Stralsund in 2016 in response to the then booming cruise market in order to have ships built there for the Group’s own shipping companies. But with the collapse of the industry as a result of the Corona crisis, the Asian parent company ran into difficulties that continue to this day. The employees of MV Werften now have to worry about the continuation of shipbuilding and thus about their professional future.