News

Suitors wanted for Gdynia Shipyard

Fairplay International Shipping Weekly

Fairplay International Shipping Weekly
18 Aug 2005




Suitors wanted for Gdynia Shipyard
COMPONENTS of Polish shipbuilding are sought after by Western investors, but something keeps emerging to hold things up. A recent potential project involving Polish yards reportedly involved global container carrier Mediterranean Shipping and Ray Car Carriers (RCC) of the Isle of Man, with backing from Israeli shipowner Rami Ungar – a 16% shareholder in Gdynia Shipyard. Last year Ungar bought out Zl56M ($17M) of debt from Kredyt Bank and later exchanged it for shares. MSC and RCC were reportedly interested in the yard and the European engine builder H Cegielski Poznan. They were understood to have offered a Zl150M buyout a month ago. However, Dariusz Adamski, who heads the yard’s Solidarity trade union, told reporters that the response from the economic ministry caused the shipowners to walk away. The ministry insisted that the deal should involve Korporacja Stocznie Polskie (Polish Shipyards Corp), which was set up to restructure shipbuilding.

But MSC and RCC were interested only in the yard. After they withdrew, the ministry made another offer but it was apparently ignored. The ministry’s AID management agency for privatisation has refused to comment about the talks. With its elected period running out and facing likely defeat in the approaching elections, the Polish government will probably not interfere with shipbuilding, even though Polish yards urgently need capital to complete restructurings. Gdynia Shipyard received a Zl40M capital enhancement from AID, which helped reduce losses to Zl70M last year, from Zl200M in 2003. Arkadiusz Krezel, AID’s president, tells Fairplay the agency is auditing the yard, with findings expected by the end of this month. Half-year results indicate net losses of Zl65M for the yard.

But managers hope for a positive result for the full year, even though steel prices not dropping as predicted. The rationale for this thinking is that not many ships were delivered in the first half of the year, while costs were attached to initial construction stages for many others. These ships will now be sold in the second half and therefore generate profits, thus enabling the first half-year loss to be overturned. As Fairplay went to press, the Gdansk yard, part of Gdynia Group, was building two ships of the 8184 type and producing ship sections for Gdynia Shipyard. At the Gdynia yard, seven ships are under construction: three container ships of 4,400-4,500TEU, two large car carriers and two prototype, smaller PC/TCs.

By the end of 2005, the whole yard group will have 13 ships delivered, totalling a sales value exceeding $567M. Five of these were delivered before August – three built at Gdynia Shipyard and two units built in Gdansk. Gdansk’s most recent christening and launching was the container ship Passat Breeze on 5 August. Its financing was facilitated by a loan from Nord/LB Bank Polska Norddeutsche Landesbank, with guarantees from the Polish government. The Germanischer Lloyd-classed ship at 39,100dwt has container capacity of 2,700TEU, including 300 refrigerated boxes. Its top speed is 21.5kt, thanks to its 21 735 kW Cegielski MAN B&W 7S70MC-C main engine. Gdynia Shipyard, known in recent years for its lengthy series of very large car carriers, is now outfitting its first unit (of four contracted) of the rather smaller 8245 design. Elbe Highway, launched on 16 July, is for RCC, with a likely delivery date of next month. The 7,750dwt PC/TC can carry up to 2,130 standard cars of Japanese RT-43 type (equivalent to the Nissan Bluebird) on its eight internal decks, which provide 17,500m². The DNV-classed ship has two stern ramps and generates 18.9kt with its Cegielski-MAN B&W 7S46 MC-C main engine. The ships are being built through loans from PKO Bank Polski bank.

COMPANY PROFILE:
Full company name:
Stocznia Gdynia SA
Formed: 1922
Employees: 6,300
Head office: Gdynia, Poland
Latest results:
2003 losses: over Zl200M ($62M); first-half 2005: Zl65M
Leading shareholders: as of 4 May
Ministry of State Treasury: 37.743%
Ray Car Carriers: 16.058%
Corporation Polskie Stocznie: 11.607%
Stoczniowy Fundusz Inwestycyjny: 8.551%

See Also: http://www.fairplay.co.uk