All Croatian Shipyards Have Work for One Normal

The shipyard 3. maj has tradition and a future, but it must change, said Edi Kučan, the CEO of the Rijeka shipyard, today at a pre-holiday gathering with journalists.

He emphasized that in this moment of severe crisis, someone must stand behind shipbuilding, stressing that if the state does not see ways and models to support shipbuilding in such a situation, it will not end well for Croatian shipbuilding.

There is no need to invent a model; in times of poor economic conditions, ships are generally built for domestic shipowners. After emerging from the crisis, these ships can be sold on the world market at a realistic price, and the incurred losses can be compensated, he said.

He stated that 3. maj and Uljanik, although the privatization of 3. maj has not been carried out, are jointly operating in the market, for example, in negotiations for the construction of four container ships for a client from Finland.

He noted that the restructuring plan for 3. maj must be completed by January 15, that it needs to be refined in cooperation with Uljanik by then, and that around 400 workers will need to be accommodated in the restructuring, but that this will still be discussed. He reminded that 3. maj delivered four ships and one barge in 2012, and that three ships were launched.

They tried to enter the Scandinavian market, but that is also a market of countries that are now protecting their economies; 3. maj also attempted to return to the Russian market, but there they have employed their own capacities.

He believes that 2013 will be worse for shipbuilding than this year, but he added that he is still an optimist. He expects that cooperation with the Norwegian company Whisby Tankers will continue and that the construction of about 30 barges for that company will ensure continuity. Additionally, contracting four tankers with Tankerska plovidba, for which a preliminary contract has been signed, would fill capacities in the next period, Kučan noted, adding that there will still be a lack of work in some parts of the shipyard at the beginning of next year.

Speaking about the state of the world market, he stated that this year there are a total of 1,091 ships in the order books of shipyards worldwide, which is about 50 percent of orders from the worst years, and that now the ordered ships are mainly those that are not built in Croatian shipyards, such as large container ships.

When asked about the orders that Uljanik has, Kučan said that if all Croatian shipyards were summed up, they have orders for one normal shipyard, adding that Uljanik does have slightly more orders than 3. maj.

In response to journalists’ questions, Kučan said that 3. maj will not be able to pay Christmas bonuses this year, although they are provided for by the collective agreement.