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Damen Mangalia’s debts have reached 2.3 billion lei / Shipyard sale would cover only one-third

Cristiana Dida

4 November 2026, 09:34

Current Affairs

Foto: Inquam Photos / Daniel Stoenciu

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Damen Mangalia’s total accepted debts have reached approximately 2.3 billion lei, following the accumulation of 101 million lei in current debts since the declaration of bankruptcy in April 2026. The sale of the shipyard to Rheinmetall for 138 million euros would cover only approximately one-third of the claims.

According to an interim report by judicial liquidator CITR, as of September 30, the largest current debts were 73.8 million lei owed to the Guarantee Fund and 12.2 million lei owed to the state budget. Outstanding salaries and related taxes totaled 8.5 million lei, while suppliers were owed another 4.3 million lei. The debts could increase, as the accounting records for October had not yet been closed.

These amounts are added to the 2.2 billion lei already accepted in the proceedings. The provisional definitive table, published in February 2026, indicated claims of 1.94 billion lei, while the supplementary table in August added another 193 million lei. Approximately 85% of the initial claims were asserted by companies belonging to the Damen group.

The state or local budget would be owed at least 260 million lei, while employees would be owed at least 33 million lei. The two categories have priority in the distribution of funds, ahead of unsecured creditors. Rheinmetall has so far paid only 10% of the transaction value, required to participate in the auction, so the sale has not yet been finalized.

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Context: The sale procedure for Mangalia Shipyard was challenged in court, while Rheinmetall’s takeover was expected to lead to a revival through civilian and military projects

Before the assessments concerning debts, the sale procedure for Mangalia Shipyard was complicated by litigation: Damen Holding BV, a creditor and shareholder with a 49% stake in the shipyard, challenged the change in the sale method and the reduction of the starting price. The challenge concerned the decision of the Constanța Tribunal of September 7 (under which the auction could start at 184 million euros and subsequently go lower if no bidders appeared), while the case was scheduled to be reviewed by the Tribunal on November 4.

Meanwhile, the procedure was relaunched in several rounds after the first auctions failed to attract buyers. For the next stages, CITR was expected to apply the mechanism under the Civil Procedure Code, with a decreasing price (from 100% to 75%, or, in extreme cases, to 50%), while Damen’s challenge did not suspend the sale, allowing the process to continue regardless of the court’s decision.

At the same time, regarding plans following the takeover, Rheinmetall (together with MSC) had announced its intention to transform the shipyard into a dual-use production facility, with civilian and military shipbuilding, including participation in a 920-million-euro contract commissioned by Romania for four vessels by 2030, financed through the European SAFE program.