Germany’s Rheinmetall announces plans for major military shipbuilding hub at Romania’s Mangalia shipyard

Rheinmetall, the German defense giant valued at roughly EUR 50 billion, confirmed its intention to acquire the Romanian Mangalia shipyard, located south of Constanța, together with Swiss shipping company MSC.

Damen Shipyards Mangalia was awarded to Rheinmetall Real Estate Romania on Friday, October 9, in an auction organized by judicial liquidator CITR, for EUR 138 million, excluding VAT.

The Romanian government also welcomed the approval of the acquisition.

With a delay of 10 days, the company noted that it had been awarded the bid following an auction and that the acquisition is expected to be finalized within a few weeks.

“The takeover aims to establish a dual-use production site, where both civil and military shipbuilding activities for domestic and international markets can be developed and carried out in parallel. To this end, the site will be subdivided into various sectors and security zones in the future,” the company said in a press release.

Rheinmetall also said that the Mangalia shipyard will play an important role in the build of four naval vessels, which have been commissioned by the Romanian government. The ships include “two 96-metre offshore patrol vessels as well as two 43-metre diver support vessels.”

At the same time, the site is intended to serve as a hub for further military shipbuilding projects. In doing so, Rheinmetall is creating a scalable foundation for future projects in south-eastern Europe and strengthening its position in a strategically important market.

“Following the acquisition, we plan to expand and upgrade the shipyard comprehensively. We aim to further develop the existing infrastructure, improve production conditions and adapt capacity to meet future requirements. This will enable the site in the long term to play a key role in the implementation of our strategic activities in South-Eastern Europe and to strengthen our industrial presence in the region,” said Tim Wagner, CEO of the Naval Systems division.

The sale price of the Mangalia shipyard was at 75% of the EUR 184 million market value used for the previous four auctions. Those attempts ended without a buyer. Damen Shipyards Mangalia entered insolvency on June 19, 2024, following a request from its parent company, Damen Holding BV.