On Aug. 4, 2006, Norway-based Aker Yards ASA announced that the company and The Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group had “finalized the process of establishing joint ownership of the Damen Shipyards Okean,” shipbuilding facilities in Mykolaiv.
Aker Yards, which paid €10 million in cash and will also assume payment of Okean’s €11 million debt, will manage the Okean yard.
The new joint venture is planning to increase the yard’s annual output capacity to 60,000 tons. It will be able to build a variety of large merchant vessels, as well as steel sections for Aker Yards. Initially, the enterprise will have an order book of 11 vessels to a value of €30 million, and will also continue construction of the Damen portfolio including the series of cargo vessels for the Ukrainian owners.
Jürgen Kennemann, President of the business area Merchant Vessels in Aker Yards, is quoted by the press release as stating: "Following the successful privatization of the Okean yard, Aker Yards looks forward to participate in the future expansion of the Ukrainian shipbuilding industry."
Damen Shipyards Okean is located at a large shipbuilding area, covering 120 acres (about 50 hectares). The yard, which employs about 3,000 workers, consists of two production lines, the largest one having a dry dock 354 meters long, 60 meters wide, and 14 meters deep.
Aker Yards ASA is an international shipbuilding group focusing on sophisticated vessels. The group comprises 15 yards in Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Norway and Romania. Aker Yards has approximately 16,000 employees.
Damen Shipyards Group is an international shipbuilding group with 32 shipyards and related companies located around the world. The annual turnover amounts to €1 billion with over 8,000 employees.
