Sunday 16 January 2022
Hope for bankrupt shipyard
MV shipyard boss: Genting is out with Lloyd
The MV shipyards and the Bremerhaven Lloyd shipyard are insolvent. Both are part of the Asian group Genting. In the event of a sale of Lloyd, however, the Hong Kongers can no longer have a say. The insolvency administrator emphasizes: “We are completely independent.”
After the insolvency of its MV shipyards on the Baltic Sea, the Asian group Genting no longer has any influence on the sale of the also insolvent Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven. That said the provisional insolvency administrator of the MV shipyards, Christoph Morgen, and MV managing director Carsten Haake. “We are completely independent of Genting and can freely dispose of the shipyard,” said Morgen. He hopes that a buyer will soon be found for the Bremerhaven shipyard with its approximately 300 employees.
Bremer’s fears that the separation of shipyard operations and premises at Lloyd could hinder sales were counteracted in the morning. Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH, which filed for bankruptcy last Monday, has been responsible for operations for around ten years. Per Hendrik Heerma was appointed as the provisional insolvency administrator. The shipyard premises and the facilities belong to Lloyd Investment and Management Company mbH, which in turn belongs to MV Werften Holdings Limited.
Bankruptcy was declared for this holding company, not for the debt-free Lloyd holding company, Morgen said. He is in conversation with Heerma. “We offered to act in a coordinated manner, as if Lloyd Werft were in one hand.” Once a buyer has been found, he will decide “with which forces from the operating company he will continue to run the shipyard”.
Cruise industry is in crisis
The Hong Kong tourism group Genting had bought the German shipyards to build cruise ships. But with the cruise industry at a standstill during the pandemic, Genting and MV Werft were no longer able to shoulder the financing of two huge ships. “Genting is out and no longer part of the sales process,” said Haake.
Even before the bankruptcy, talks had been held about selling the Lloyd shipyard with the Bremerhaven steel and ship building group Rönner. He also confirmed interest from Abu Dhabi investors in the United Arab Emirates. This goes back to the mega yacht “Solaris” delivered in 2021. “The “Solaris” has become a masterpiece.”
Before moving to MV, Haake was Managing Director at Lloyd. “The Lloyd shipyard has a special advantage because it is active in many areas of shipbuilding,” he said of his old company. You can build new yachts and special ships and modernize, rebuild, maintain and repair cruise and container ships.