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Shipyard crisis: "It's about thousands of families"

2022-01-09T17:09:26.640Z


The pandemic creates a new shipyard crisis. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, one of the largest employers is about to end. The federal government wants to help - but not without a contribution from the Hong Kong owners.


Enlarge image

The "Global Dream" in the shipyard in Wismar

Photo: Frank Hormann / dpa

The shipyard crisis of the 1990s seemed a long time ago.

It has been back in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania since Corona ruined the cruise business.

MV Werften, most recently one of the largest employers in the region with almost 2,000 employees, are fighting for their existence.

Now the Asian owner and the federal government are struggling for further aid.

In the stalled negotiations, the Genting Group sees it as the federal government.

The President of Genting Hong Kong, Colin Au, and the managing director of the shipyards group, Carsten Haake, expressed a lack of understanding of the German government's actions on Sunday.

Au appealed to the responsible politicians to reconsider their negative attitude: "It's about thousands of families."

Owner should participate in financial aid

In addition, an entire industry including its suppliers at home and abroad is threatened.

"To drop the shipyards now would be the biggest economic mistake the federal government could make," said Au.


The federal government is ready to provide further help, but has so far not wanted to abandon its demand for the owner to make a contribution.

There was no commitment to the shipyard, it was said last in Berlin.

The federal government had already submitted a proposal to rescue the ailing shipyards in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bremerhaven before Christmas.

Specifically, the giant cruise ship "Global Class 1" should be completed with around 600 million euros from the state economic stabilization fund.

In return, 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.

The state government in Schwerin is also ready for a financial injection.

Cruise ships for the Asian market

The shipyard group builds cruise ships in Warnemünde and Wismar for the parent company Genting, which is one of the largest providers in Asia.

Around 600 suppliers worked on the “Global Dream”, for example, which is 340 meters long and 46 meters wide.

The ship cost more than a billion euros.

The federal government secured the deal with export guarantees.

MV Werften has been part of the Genting Group, which is controlled from Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, since 2016.

For example, the company operates amusement parks and organizes cruises.

When the shipyards couldn't keep up with the orders from the shipping companies in the boom years, Genting bought the German shipyard group for 230 million euros.

The tourism and casino group Genting then pumped 840 million euros into the shipyard, but got into difficult waters with the corona crisis.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the company announced that it would no longer be able to service its $ 3.4 billion debt.

The parent company of MV Werften - Genting Hong Kong - lost two thirds of its market value at the time.

The MV Werften took refuge under the federal government's rescue package.

There was talk of a loan of 600 million euros.

Before the corona crisis, Genting was the world's number four in the cruise industry after the market leaders Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.

fww / dpa

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-01-09

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