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Putin’s actions on the Crimea leave Norwegian yard on the ropes

Oslo: Russians troops’ annexation of Zaliv shipyard on the Crimean peninsula has left a Norwegian yard out of orders.

Ukrainian billionaire Kostyantin Zhevagos who owns yards in both Kiev and Norway has seen all his plans fall through due to the crisis on the Crimean peninsula, writes Finansavisen.

According to the paper, Zhevagos was thinking vertically and had grand plans for using his yard on the tip of the Crimean peninsula to produce hulls while using his other yard, Noryards just outside Bergen,  to assemble offshore vessels.

As the plan was laid out on paper, Russian troops marched in and confiscated the Crimean yard , and transferred ownership to a Russian company.

The Russian move against Zaliv leaves Noryards with an orderbook that runs dry this June. In the past year the Norwegian shipbuilder has let go of 500 people.

Zhevagos took control over Noryards in the summer of 2014 from Bergen Group.

The London-based Ukrainian is worth $1.2bn, according to Forbes.

 

Hans Thaulow

Hans Henrik Thaulow is an Oslo-based journalist who has been covering the shipping industry for the last 15 years. As well as some work for the Informa Group, Hans was the China correspondent for TradeWinds. He also contributes to Maritime CEO magazine. Hans’ shipping background extends to working as a shipbroker trainee with Simpson, Spence & Young in Hong Kong.

Comments

  1. It is pretty rediculous to read such an opinion about the so-called synergic (Bergen Group called it like “strategic”) partnership with the Ukrainian loss-making shipyard. It was a fiasco from the beginning. The two parties – Bergen Group and Zaliv Shipyard – the both were seeking in 2010 an exit from their awful situation with the lack of profitability of their shipbuilding business – the Bergen’s stock prices fell like a stone from the mountain and the strategy was to get rid from the loss making activity at any price and fast. Zaliv having a dry dock of a 360 meters long and launching weight capacity of 60,000 tons for placing at least the Aframax size hulls (the last one was built in the times of the USSR) and the lowest productivity among Ukrainian comparable shipyards was interested to find a cash caw at any price as well. And they had found each other – the mouse and the elephant. The result was as expected – the Bergen was lucky to sell the business (two shipyards in Norway) at the drop price to Zhevago who does know absolutely nothing about shipbuilding) and with the promise “to delivery its competencies to Zaliv”. Zhevago has obtained in return a hole from the bagel. By the way – Zhevago is not a billionare any more – just a millionare in 2014.

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