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A Meyer ship is transported across the Ems to the North Sea.
On January 3, the German Press Agency (DPA) reported that the cruise ship MSC Grandiosa had arrived at the port of the Italian city of Genoa with passengers who were infected with coronavirus. The cases were detected during the various controls that were carried out on board. The infected people and their contacts had to be isolated in the cabins of the ship.
The next day, the cruise ship MS Amera, which was in Bremerhaven, Germany, canceled a trip due to at least 8 coronavirus infections among the crew members. The subsequent cruise of the ship was also canceled.
No more new cruises
What happened this week shows that the cruise industry, which was booming before the pandemic, continues to have several problems. Added to this is the fact that, at this time, new ships are not being required, something that is greatly affecting the shipyards in Germany.
German shipbuilding is not doing very well in the face of productive competition from the Far East, often cheaper. The pandemic makes operations more expensive and complicated. The warship or luxury yacht business is doing well, but it is far from as profitable as cruise ship building.
The worst years in its history
In January 2020, the Meyer shipyard, specializing in the construction of large cruise ships, proudly celebrated its 225th anniversary. Then came the coronavirus pandemic and plunged Germany’s largest shipbuilder into the worst crisis in its history: “In My 48 years in charge of the shipyard, I have never experienced two years so threatening for their livelihood, “acknowledged the head of the company, Bernard Meyer.
Only the first year of the panderia the shipyard suffered losses of 180 million euros. The situation does not seem to improve because there are no more orders. The shipyards have come to the conclusion that the most difficult years are yet to come.
Few ships built
In 2021, despite the pandemic, the shipyard company was able to deliver two large cruise ships, the Odyssey of the Seas and the AIDAcosma. In addition, Meyer also presented the “One 50” study to create super-modern luxury yachts. The company is also involved in the construction of two tankers for the German navy together with the Lürssen shipyard in Bremen.
Meanwhile, the Japanese shipping company NYK has just commissioned a cruise from Meyer. The unique vessel, which at 228.9 meters in length is quite small by Meyer standards, will be delivered in 2025: “We got this order thanks to our compelling ship concept, but also a tough price offer,” he told a German medium the general manager, Thomas Weigend.
End of the “rescue spiral”?
Shipyards on the Baltic coast are also having a hard time because of the pandemic, especially MV Werften in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Shortly before the end of the year, it became known that the Genting Hong Kong group, owner of the MV shipyards, demanded the state government the immediate payment of an aid loan of 78 million euros. Some 2,000 people work in the MV shipyards.
The Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Taxpayers Association is generally quite critical of payments without a solid concept for the future: “The entire rescue construction has been on shaky ground from the beginning,” they stated. The association called months ago for the end of the “rescue spiral”.
Demands of an “active industrial policy”
The unions also demand a commitment to the German shipyards: “We can be proud that we, as a maritime industry, have managed to appear in the coalition agreement as an industry and also with a clear commitment. The important thing now, in addition to describing the objectives, it’s an active industrial policy, “said Industriegewerkschaft Metall union leader Daniel Friedrich.
For their part, shipyard workers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bremerhaven are demanding quick decisions to make more state aid. In addition to the MV shipyards in Rostock, Stralsund and Wismar, the future of the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven also depends on new million-dollar aid from the federal government.
(ju/er)
Author: Dirk Kaufmann