The German government is brokering a deal between three major shipbuilding companies in the country, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), Lürssen and German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK), which are about to merge into a giant national conglomerate, NDR first reported. According to the outlet, the consolidation talks between the major players and current competitors in the national naval industry have been going on since the start of the year, with the move being seen as an important measure to preserve thousands of jobs.
“We consider a consolidation of system houses in German naval shipbuilding to be sensible and necessary in order to sustainably strengthen international competitiveness,” the representative from Lürssen told NDR.
This was echoed by Jörg Herwig, GNYK CEO, who stressed that “only a strong German player will strengthen and expand the maritime German high technology sector”.
The details about the emerging German shipyard group and its legal status are still unclear, but the participants hope that it will be able to copy the experience of international shipbuilding giants, including Naval Group in France, as the French government is believed to be almost exclusively working with national contractors when it comes to large projects.
GNYK and TKMS both competed for the order of four MSK 180 ships, resulting in multi-billion-euro losses and major criticisms from the industry lobbyists who questioned Berlin’s good-hearted efforts to engage with EU companies instead of providing national shipbuilders with work. Previously all large German Navy defence ships had been mostly built by national contractors.