Two European shipyards find new owners after years of turmoil

Two of Europe’s best-known shipyards are heading into new ownership, with Germany’s Rheinmetall taking over Romania’s Mangalia facility and Turkey’s Kuzey Star Shipyard selected to acquire Croatia’s Uljanik Brodogradnja 1856.

German defence giant Rheinmetall has secured the Mangalia shipyard for €138m ($160m), winning an auction organised by court-appointed liquidator CITR on Friday.

The Black Sea facility, one of Europe’s largest shipyards, is expected to become a major naval construction centre, initially supporting a €920m programme to build four vessels for the Romanian Navy, financed through the European Union’s SAFE initiative. However, commercial shipbuilding remains part of the plans.

Mangalia’s troubles stretch back years. Established in 1976, the yard passed into South Korean hands under Daewoo in 1997 before Dutch shipbuilder Damen entered in 2018. Damen withdrew from the partnership in 2023 following a dispute with the Romanian government over management rights. Insolvency followed in June 2024.

Meanwhile, across the Adriatic, Croatia’s Centre for Restructuring and Sale (CERP) has accepted a €12.05m binding offer from Istanbul-based Kuzey Star Shipyard for a 97.13% stake in Uljanik Brodogradnja 1856 in Pula.

The decision remains subject to foreign investment approval because the prospective buyer is based outside the European Union.

Kuzey Star has committed to maintaining shipbuilding, ship repair and floating structure construction across Uljanik’s concession area.

The Croatian yard has undergone years of restructuring following the financial crisis that engulfed the Uljanik group in 2018, prompting contract cancellations and eventually state intervention.

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