Another change at the shipbuilding location of Stralsund: the city has terminated the lease agreement with the German subsidiary of the Norwegian Fosen shipyard ahead of schedule.
The city announced today that it wanted to set “new accents for economic development”. The previous tenant, Fosen Werft GmbH, had previously rented the large shipbuilding hall of the former Volkswerft shipyard, among other things. However, it appears that business has not gone as hoped: “Despite intensive efforts, Fosen has not succeeded in attracting the expected number of shipbuilding and steel construction projects to Stralsund or in creating the desired number of jobs,” according to a statement from the Hanseatic city of Stralsund. Against this background, the decision was made to terminate the lease prematurely.
Future of the Stralsund site still unclear
The site has had an eventful recent history. According to Ostseestaal, Fosen took up residence as a tenant on the site of the former MV Werften shipyard in Stralsund in 2022 after the MV Group went bankrupt. Fosen was previously active on the site of the former Nordseewerke, but had to cease operations there.
The move to Stralsund was seen by the city as “a clear sign for Stralsund and the future of shipbuilding in the Hanseatic city”. The former MV Werften site had been taken over by the city of Stralsund following insolvency and renamed Volkswerft again.
In recent years, the city has shown considerable commitment to strengthening its maritime industrial and commercial park Volkswerft. “With extensive investments in infrastructure, the best conditions have been created here to operate in shipbuilding and plant construction on the attractive sites with economical lease and energy prices,” it continues. Around 20 companies are currently based at the site, including Ostseestaal, Premator, Strela Shiprepair, Sottmann Gerüstbau, Ekato Nord and Steamergy.
“Our Volkswerft shipyard is a real gem and offers enormous potential for industrial development,” emphasized Mayor Alexander Badrow. What is possible here can be seen, for example, in the Krebs Korrosionsschutz GmbH project, which preserves the monopiles for offshore wind power here, or in the many ship repairs carried out by Strela Shiprepair.
What happens next has apparently not yet been finalized. “We are currently holding concrete talks and are confident that we will soon find new partners who will utilize the advantages of the location. In future, we will also focus on project business that builds on the existing good cooperation at the location,” the mayor continued.
What will become of the planned innovative container ships that Fosen wanted to build in Stralsund is also still unclear.
