Van Oord order survives Sietas insolvency

The petition for insolvency was filed in the Municipal Court Hamburg recently by JJ Sietas Schiffswerft GmbH & Co KG, but it is understood that Hamburg ship repair yard Norderwerft, which Sietas took over in 1973, and crane and hydraulic equipment manufacturer Neuenfelder Maschinefabrik (NMF), also owned by Sietas, are unaffected by the parent company’s insolvency.

In December 2010, Sietas revealed they were to become the first German shipyard to build a windfarm installation vessel, for Dutch marine contractor Van Oord. The order was seen as a boost for the European shipbuilding industry at a time when a flurry of such vessel orders, were heading to yards in the Middle and Far East. The order included the option for a second vessel, and is based on the Sietas Type 187 installation vessel of 139m LOA. Similar to the majority of other installation vessels currently on order, the vessel is a jack-up design, based around a conventional self-propelled ship’s hull with a transit speed of 12 knots. The vessel, due for delivery in September 2012, incorporates a 900 ton capacity crane able to operate at a height of 120m, to be supplied by Sietas owned NMF.

It is reported that Sietas’ insolvency was due to over-indebtedness and the court appointed a provisional creditors’ committee of inspection. A Hamburg lawyer was subsequently appointed as provisional insolvency administrator working alongside the Works Council, clients and suppliers, with the expectation that progress will continue on the company’s existing order book. Pre-financing will secure salaries of the staff at Sietas, numbering around 700, until the end of January 2012, after which insolvency proceedings are expected to commence. The company’s existing management team is to remain in place working alongside the administrator. Sietas is a major employer, with a long history in the region and it is reported that it has approached the Hamburg government for assistance.

In 2009, confronted with a rapidly diminishing order book, Hinrich Sietas, owner and managing director of the yard handed over the reins, on his 65^th birthday, to Rüdiger Fuchs, who assumed the role of chairman of the Sietas Group.

Sietas has been in existence on the south bank of the river Elbe since 1635, perhaps best known in more recent years for multi-purpose container feeder series of vessels. Their book currently includes three 99m Voith propelled, double-ended ro-ro passenger ferries, ordered for Denmark’s Nordic Ferry Services in 2010. Other recent notable deliveries include the two Type 183 heavylift ships Svenjaand Lonefor German owner SAL.

By Peter Barker