Federal government buys shipyard

New old name from GDR times: Warnowwerft

What initially sounded like an idea born out of desperation has become a serious reality. There's no such thing as impossible, seemed to be the motto of this large-scale project - and without the Ukraine war, such quick and pragmatic solutions would probably still be lost in the jungle of bureaucrats, regulation-obsessed people and review processes.

And yet it seems to fit: Decades of shortages in the German armed forces have left their mark on the navy, repairs and layovers are lengthy and complex, and the availability of units in the already far too small navy is poor. On the other hand, the demise of the traditional shipyard at the dockyard was initially a horror for the region and its employees. Now the federal government has bought the shipyard. Jobs are being secured or newly created, stability may return. And the navy is building up its own capacities in order to be more independent. The navy? Not quite, because the new part of the naval arsenal belongs to the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support. In the presence of Federal Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) and Minister President Manuela Schwesig (SPD), the shipyard was given back its old name from the GDR era in a ceremony in the shipyard hall with around 150 invited guests: In future, the site will bear the name Warnow Werft.

The Warnowwerft shipyard becomes a naval arsenal, photo: Bw/MFG 5

The federal government took over the former site of the insolvent MV shipyard group on 1 August 2022. The naval arsenal has sites in Wilhelmshaven, Kiel and now also in Rostock, where 480 employees already work. According to previous information, only around a third of the naval fleet is currently ready for deployment, with two thirds in maintenance or at the shipyard. This ratio is to be reversed. The question of whether part of the shipyard area in Warnemünde could possibly be used for private commercial purposes also remained unanswered on Wednesday. The Belgian company Smulders had already signalled its interest months ago in building platforms for the offshore wind industry on part of the former MV shipyard site.

The new naval arsenal site in Warnemünde is scheduled to repair four naval vessels a year and also award contracts worth millions to the private sector. According to the naval arsenal, the total annual sales volume, including materials, will be in the "high double-digit millions". This year, repair work for the fleet service boats "Alster" and "Oste" is still pending, while the tender for the corvette "Erfurt" is scheduled for 2023.

Video: Marco Thiele