His dramatic comments came after the meeting was told that LWB will, after all, repair and complete the 81,000gt Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) newbuilding Pride of America up to the beginning of June next year.

The ship was berthed at LWB and was being completed for ?300m on an American hull when she was damaged in a storm in January. She listed and flooded. The halt to completion work was followed by a halt in NCL payments forcing LWB into bankruptcy proceedings despite good work elsewhere. Reports have put the cost of repairs at about ?180 million.

NCL and an insurance consortium grouping more than 60 firms have now agreed the repairs can resume and that the completion contract can be extended. The LWB management and local receiver Wolfgang van Betteray said the deal followed 'long, contracted and tough negotiations', but did not reveal the settlement value.

Prior to the meeting the court handling LWB's bankruptcy instructed Lloyd Werft to carry on and not step down. Van Betteray said 'this is not only an easier way forward for yard managers, but a tremendous proof of trust in the management, seldom pronounced by any court'. He said he was sure he would be able to close bankruptcy proceedings after the Pride of America had been delivered and said LWB jobs and future were now secure.