Shipyards, Assonave: two speeds in 2015

Rome - The Members’ and Aggregates’ Assembly of Assonave was held in Rome behind closed doors and the conclusions drawn demonstrated that the shipbuilding industry is running at two “speeds”; the trend in demand for new ships is strongly affected by two factors, the type of vessel and geography. In particular, looking at orders that fell by 15% in terms of volume but remained stable in terms of value, in 2014, there was a clear boom in orders for cruise ships (16 units vs. 9 of 2013) and a reduction in the offshore sector. In this context, the Asian share of the shipbuilding market – in terms of value - fell from 81% to 76%, while the boom in demand for cruise ships has led to a significant increase in the share held by the European shipbuilding industry, an increase from 10% to 18.5%, thanks to the contribution of the Italian shipbuilding industry, driven by Fincantieri. There was also a declining demand for military ships, while the orders for Mega Yachts remained stable.

In the area of ship repairs and conversions there is a drop in ordinary maintenance and repairs and an increase of refitting orders for passenger ships. On the supply side, an irreversible consolidation process is underway that runs through all the main sectors of the market and it’s not only to help it survive, but should also strengthen those companies that can generate the best combination of strategic positioning, technological expertise and managerial and financial capability. Regarding the national shipbuilding industry, Fincantieri secured 8 orders for cruise ships in 2014 while in 2015 the company has already signed Letters of Intent for an additional 8 units thus confirming its position as a market leader in this important sector. The numerous prototypes in their portfolio will benefit from funding available for product innovation and process as allocated by the Stability Law 2015. On the military front Italian shipyards are ready to start working on the first phase of the national military fleet renewal plan, which is certain to have a positive impact on employment.