Future of Germany’s Meyer Werft Shipyard Secured
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Cruise Line | The Disney Treasure being guided down the Ems River.
(eap) The long-established company Meyer Werft in Papenburg has been an integral part of the German shipbuilding industry for over 225 years. Due to extraordinarily challenging market conditions (Covid-19, Ukraine War, raw material price development, just to name some factors), the company has recently been in serious financial difficulties. The German federal government and the state of Lower Saxony have now pledged their support to jointly acquire around 80 percent of the shares in Meyer Werft. Also, they are investing 400 million euros and intend to provide guarantees of around one billion euros each. These are intended to help secure the financial stability of the shipyard and its many related jobs and to guarantee ongoing operations as well as future projects.
However, it is clear that the takeover of shares by the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony is not intended to be permanent, according to Meyer Werft. In the long term, Meyer Werft is to be transferred back into private hands. The owner family Meyer has been granted a corresponding buy-back right. “Our goal is to lead Meyer Werft and its employees into a successful and secure future. We firmly believe that our company, with its innovative technology and dedicated team, has a future,” emphasizes Bernd Eikens, CEO of Meyer Werft. “We are confident that together we will emerge stronger from this crisis and maintain our position as one of the leading companies in international shipbuilding. We would like to thank our employees, partners and customers for the trust they have placed in us and for their support in these challenging times.”
Despite the current financial challenges, the company has already orders worth 11 billion euros in total up to the year 2031, including further cruise ships for Disney Cruise Line. The new “Disney Treasure” ocean liner left the shipyard in Papenburg just yesterday. The ship is due to set off on its maiden voyage from Port Canaveral in Florida on December 21 this year. ■
