"We must bring shipbuilding back to Europe"

The German shipbuilding supply industry is booming, as is shipbuilding, especially in Asia and especially in China and South Korea. This is shown these days at the world's leading trade fair for the shipbuilding industry, the SMM in Hamburg. In the domestic construction of civil ships, however, Germany is losing one shipyard after the other - Fosen Yard in Emden finally gives up due to insolvency, the former MV shipyard in Wismar will build submarines in the future, its former sister shipyard in Rostock-Warnemünde will soon be repairing naval ships. Uwe Lauber (55), CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, also sees a risk for the internationally successful supplier industry in the German shipyard deaths, he told WELT. With a market share of 80 percent for two-stroke diesel engines – which power container ships, bulk carriers and tankers, for example – and 25 percent for smaller four-stroke engines, MAN Energy Solutions is the world's leading manufacturer of ship propulsion systems. In the near future, the company will also introduce new engines for alternative fuels such as ammonia and methanol. Engines from MAN Energy Solutions are also already designed for use with deep-frozen, liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to heavy fuel oil.

WORLD: Mr. Lauber, the German maritime supply industry with companies like MAN Energy Solutions is booming, the German shipyards are dying one after the other, most recently Fosen Yard in Emden. Why doesn't the industry in Germany get both together anymore?

Lauber: For the industry in Asia, and especially in China, shipbuilding is the core business, also in order to keep expanding our own share of world trade. That makes it very difficult for the shipyards in Germany and Europe. Our domestic shipping industry today would not even get the steel at the prices at which Chinese shipyards can use it with government support.

WORLD: This means that German shipyards and the German supplier industry are drifting further and further apart.

Lauber: Not necessarily. The more the domestic shipyards get on the defensive, the more the German shipbuilding supply industry suffers. Germany continues to build ships that are technologically at the top of the world, from cruise ships to superyachts to submarines. The German and European shipyards and the supply industry are still jointly developing and realizing such projects, for example ships with LNG drives or with fuel cells on board.

WORLD: In the meantime, however, the German shipyards have been pushed back to just a few segments in special shipbuilding.

Lauber: That is a big problem. Chinese shipyards will also build cruise ships in the future, so far a domain of Meyer Werft or Fincantieri in Italy. We must find a common answer in the European Union, create a legal framework to counteract the subsidization of Chinese shipbuilding. Climate and environmental protection can be a great opportunity for German and European shipyards.

WORLD: To what extent can that be the case?

Lauber: European shipyards can build ships with fewer greenhouse gas emissions than Asian shipyards – that would be a criterion for creating a framework for European shipbuilding. Another would be this: Europe must also rely on the absorption and storage of carbon dioxide on a large scale. Many overlook the fact that CO2 is also a raw material that we will also need in the future - for example, to produce synthetic fuels in refineries together with regeneratively produced, 'green' hydrogen. In order to do that, the CO2 has to circulate like a returnable bottle in the future, and we need an infrastructure for transport, for example with special tankers that could be built in Europe.

WORLD: Which new markets could the European shipyard industry open up?

Lauber: A huge market is the so-called 'retrofit', the modernization of ships already in service in order to reduce their energy consumption and emissions. Why should European shipping companies do this in Asia? European shipyards can do that just as well. Above all, I need good project management and good logistics. We are very good at that in this country. Apart from that, when in doubt, Asian shipyards are fully booked for years with newbuildings.

WORLD: Should German shipyards also process the very large container ships and bulk carriers that they no longer build themselves?

Lauber: Definitely where the appropriate docks are available. That can be a new start for domestic shipbuilding - and it would definitely be better than paying the shipyards subsidies that fizzle out in a short time.

WORLD: Should the European Union set a stricter, clear framework for emissions of greenhouse gases in shipping too?

Lauber: We need a clear timetable – also in shipping – for how emissions of greenhouse gases should be priced. That is difficult under the given conditions of the Ukraine war and the energy crisis. Nevertheless, the European Union must take a clearer lead here.

WORLD: Aren't the mostly medium-sized German shipyards simply lacking capital to be able to survive against the superior power in Asia?

Lauber: That's certainly the case, and that too would have to be thought through and discussed at EU level if the European Union wants to keep shipbuilding and shipping as a strategically important industry. Against the background of the pandemic and the Ukraine war, we see very clearly how important safe container shipping is, but also a safe supply of coal, ore, LNG gas and crude oil from bulk carriers and tankers. Why don't we build our own tankers for LNG gas? And later also tankers for methanol, ammonia and carbon dioxide.

WORLD: Will there be enough 'green' hydrogen in the coming years, which is to be produced by electrolysis using green electricity?

Lauber: From 2030 onwards, I am confident that there will be sufficient capacity for this in many sunny and windy countries – including in Europe. Before that, 'green' hydrogen will probably only be produced in homeopathic doses. But in Europe and especially in Germany, we have to move forward with such projects much faster. The H2Global initiative is a good approach for Germany to network internationally with regions that have good geographical conditions for the production of 'green' hydrogen. And there are countries like that in Europe too – the sunny countries in the south and the windy ones in the north.

WORLD: Does shipbuilding in Germany have enough young talent for all these challenges?

Lauber: At least not to the same extent as 20 or 30 years ago, when shipbuilding was a highly regarded profession in Germany. In the meantime, shipbuilding and shipping are far too little visible in Germany.