Damen files bankruptcy request for Mangalia shipyards that it still manages

Dutch Damen Shipyards, which owns 49% of Damen Shipyards Mangalia and the company's management at the Black Sea coast, filed a bankruptcy request for the latter, according to the public court website consulted by Cursdeguvernare.ro.

Minister of economy Stefan Radu Oprea, quoted by Profit.ro, said the request is for insolvency and "is not so bad news" as it may "create opportunities."

However, some 70% of the company's employees were already sent home under technical unemployment amid a lack of contracts (until recently secured by Damen group).

The request was filed following EUR 160 million overdue loans that Damen granted to its Romanian shipyards from the moment of taking over the shares in 2018, the president of the Free Navalist Union, Laurentiu Gobeajă, told Europa Liberă.

The legal action comes after Damen has already asked the International Court of Arbitration in Vienna to terminate the 2018 association agreement by which the Romanian state became the majority shareholder of Damen Shipyards Mangalia, with 51% of the shares.

"Damen Group does not have any information to communicate at this moment," the Dutch company told all Romanian media outlets that contacted it for details on April 24. No further comments are available from Damen at the moment.

The defendant (in the litigation at the Vienna International Arbitral Centre) is the Romanian state company Santierul Naval 2 Mai, controlled by the Ministry of Economy, which owns 51% of Damen Shipyards Mangalia, according to Profit.ro, which also writes of some compensation asked for by the Dutch company without, however, indicating whether the compensation should be paid by Santierul Naval 2 Mai or the Romanian state.

In 2018, Damen took over the majority stake (51%) in Damen Shipyards Mangalia from Daewoo under the condition to pass a 2% stake to the Romanian state (represented by state-owned Santierul Naval 2 Mai company) in exchange for the management right. However, the agreement conflicts with legislation passed by Romania in 2023, under the country's commitments taken under the National Resilience Facility and as part of the steps taken towards OECD membership.