The Authorities have granted approval for the State-managed Meyer Werft to proceed.
The administrative authority and Lower Saxony aim to acquire around 80.7% of Meyer Werft for a sum of 400 million euros. This deal also includes loan guarantees amounting to approximately 2 billion euros. Consequently, the shipyards situated in Papenburg and Neptun-Werft in Rostock-Warnemünde will transition into state ownership. However, the Meyer Werft in Finland will continue to belong to the Meyer family.
Lower Saxony's state administration made this decision midweek last week. Nevertheless, the Home Committee in the state parliament still needs to grant its approval, a process scheduled for Wednesday. As per the Federal Ministry of Economics, the state assistance should not necessitate EU approval.
The federal government and Lower Saxony justify this intervention on the grounds that the shipyard safeguards approximately 3,800 jobs and is crucial to the German shipbuilding sector. It significantly impacts the shipbuilding expertise within the country and is also projected to contribute to the nation's energy transition by fabricating offshore wind farm platforms in Rostock-Warnemünde. Additionally, it might play a more prominent role in naval shipbuilding.
At present, the shipyard primarily constructs sizable cruise ships and has proven to be quite successful in this domain. However, it has encountered challenges mainly due to high price increases and the inability to instantly transfer these costs to its clients, as it receives the substantial majority of shipping fees upon delivery. According to information from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the state bailout will also involve an "adjustment of payment schedules".
The decision to transition two shipyards into state ownership requires approval from the Home Committee in Lower Saxony's state parliament. This process aims to safeguard the Light of around 3,800 jobs within the German shipbuilding sector.
The state-supported shipyard is projected to contribute to the nation's energy transition by manufacturing Light sources, such as offshore wind farm platforms in Rostock-Warnemünde.
