The first steel cut for a new DLR research vessel took place at the Flensburger Shipyard. The Rönner Group also plans to start work on the MEKO project for the German Navy.
Lloyd Werft was awarded the contract for the newbuilding for the German Aerospace Center (DLR) last February. As the Bremerhaven shipyard does not manufacture hulls, the steel construction was assigned to Flensburger Shipyard, also part of the Heinrich Rönner Group.
For Thorsten Rönner, shareholder of the Heinrich Rönner Group and Managing Director of Flensburger Shipyard, the first steel cut for the new research vessel was “a goosebump moment”. He is happy that the two companies are now working together successfully. “This is a great start for the future,” said Rönner at the steel-cutting ceremony. “We will deliver a great ship on schedule.”
According to the current schedule, delivery of the hull and the transfer to Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven for final outfitting will take place in September. The final outfitting is expected to take about a year.
Lloyd Werft and Flensburger Shipyard are sister companies, which made Flensburg the logical choice for the hull construction, Rönner explains. As Lloyd Werft does not have its own steel construction facilities, the group turned to its Flensburg site, one of Germany’s leading yards in steel shipbuilding and now part of the same corporate structure. The fact that the hull construction went to the former FSG was primarily an economic decision, reports Rönner. They had also enquired about shipyards in Eastern Europe, but Flensburg proved to be the best economic solution. All costs included, such as construction supervision costs, travel costs and the technical and commercial risks, spoke against building abroad. “Overall, this is the most economical solution.”
In addition to the steel construction for the DLR research vessel, around 300 workers from the Flensburg Shipyard are also working on the 210 m long RoRo ferry “SeaRoad I”. The Australian client is due to take delivery of the ship in the summer.
The shipyard also plans to start building the MEKO frigates in the near future. It was only recently announced that the Heinrich Rönner Group will be involved in the construction of the new MEKOs for the German Navy. The main contractor is the shipyard TKMS.
The Flensburg-based company also has other new construction projects in the pipeline, none of which have yet been signed. However, Rönner says that two of these are to be acquired for the Flensburg site this year.
