Romania's ailing Mangalia shipyard may get EUR 700 mln contract under SAFE

Defence minister Radu Miruță declared that he wants to save the Mangalia Shipyard, including by involving it in military ship construction projects financed through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) mechanism. The shipyard would get a EUR 700 million contract to build two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), but experts doubt its ability to deliver the ships on time.

"The Mangalia Shipyard can only be saved if it produces such ships in the immediate future," said Miruță, according to Hotnews.ro.

However, sources from the defence industry with naval expertise told Techrider.ro that a possible award of the construction contract to the Mangalia shipyard for two military ships placed on the SAFE list would make it impossible to complete them by 2030, which is the deadline.

At Mangalia Shipyard, the majority shareholder is the Romanian state, which owns 51% of the company. The remaining 49% belongs to Damen. The Dutch group also owns a shipyard in Romania, in Galați, where it has produced over 30 military ships for 13 Nato and EU countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Pakistan, Canada) – but none for the Romanian Army.

"On the OPV side, no shipyard in the country is capable of delivering the ships by 2030, apart from the one in Galați," a source with strong expertise in the naval segment told Techrider.ro.

"Mangalia is not an efficient shipyard. The smaller ones, in Tulcea or Galați, are much more efficient," according to experts.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Daniel Stoenciu)