Arkas stays faithful to GermanyThe Turkish shipowning Group takes over 2 newbuilding containerships from a shipyard belonging to the same Hegemann industrial group which has built up its modern fleetTurkish shipowner Arkas Shipping has confirmed they are buyer of 2 newbuilding self-sustained containerships of 2,500 teus capacity, as a resale deal from Volkswerft Stralsund shipyard, in the former Eastern Germany.
Still unofficial is anyway the price, about 24 million Euro each one, according to brokers’ report.
One vessel is currently undergoing sea trials under the name Vivien A, which has already been used by Arkas before in its fleet.
Having been built as yard hull no. 483, the ship is now coded IMO 9491848, flagged inTurkey and registered at the port of Izmir. She is equipped with three 45-tonne cranes , has 25,000 GT tonnage and 34,470 dwt capacity, length of 210 m, breadth of 30 m and a draft of 11.5 m.
These two units were originally ordered by Belgian operator Delphis – based in Antwerp and owned by Alexander Saverys - who took over one of the ships commissioned last year but then cancelled the rest of the initial order for 4 ships (plus 2 options) overall.
As it is well known, having received in the past few years as much as 14 vessels ranging from 1,200 to 1,600 teus, the last one being dated past October (S2S n.41/2009), the Turkish owner is a long-standing customer of Hegemann, the holding company of the industrial German group which controls – further to Volkswerft Stralsund GmbH – also shipyards Peene-Werft GmbH in Wolgast (where Arkas has had built almost its entire containerships fleet), Detlef Hegemann Rolandwerft GmbH & Co. KG in Berne (near Bremen) as well as Deutsche Industrie-Werke GmbH in Berlin Spandau.
However the ailing shipbuilding group, facing a harsh crisis as many western colleagues, had to ask for state aid measures in 2009 and recently announced it will focus on its two main facilities in the Baltic (Volkswerft, 1,400 staff and Peene Werft, 750 staff; both were asked to reduce staff), while the smaller Rolandwerft, 250 staff, which mainly produces feeder boxship, was put up for sale.
Actually Hegemann took a big risk in August 2007 when it bought from AP Moller – indeed very happy to get rid of a captive facility that could just build small-medium size ships for its two brands Safmarine and Maersk lines - the Volkswerft Stralsund shipyard, that had already passed through several hands since its foundation in 1948.
Reorganized to limited company Volkswerft GmbH in June 1990 after the German reunification and privatized in 1993, when Bremer Vulkan Verbund AG took its management, after the latter group went insolvent in 1996, in February 1998 the company was taken over by A. P. Moller.
