Rheinmetall Director: “We have not yet bought the shipyard; we submitted a winning bid. As you know, the shipyard is insolvent and inactive.”

Mangalia Shipyard needs significant investment and the hiring of a new workforce to become operational again, Andre Neumann, sales director of Rheinmetall’s Naval Systems Division, told News.ro. The German company points out, however, that the transaction has not yet been finalized.

“We have not yet bought the shipyard; we submitted the winning bid,” Neumann said in a brief conversation held at the company’s stand.

Rheinmetall submitted the winning bid, worth 138 million euros, after four failed auctions, but so far it has paid only the participation guarantee. The shipyard is insolvent and inactive, and restarting it will require maintenance work, infrastructure modernization, and staff recruitment.

“As you know, the shipyard is insolvent and inactive. It is not operational. Therefore, significant maintenance work will be necessary. Investment is needed to bring the shipyard back into operation. Also, there is no longer a workforce. So, we need to hire people, we need to bring in staff. This will take some time,” explained the sales director of Rheinmetall’s Naval Systems Division.

Rheinmetall intends to take over the assets together with the MSC group and transform the shipyard into a dual-use facility capable of building both military and commercial vessels. The project is expected to ensure a constant workload and stability for employees and local suppliers.

According to the company, Mangalia could play an important role in the construction of four military vessels ordered by the Romanian Government and in the development of future naval projects in southeastern Europe. The completion of the transaction is being challenged by Damen Mangalia’s main creditor, Damen Holding BV, and the Constanța Court of Appeal is expected to issue a ruling on December 11.