MV Werften secures fresh round of funds to stay afloat

German shipbuilder MV Werften, part of Genting Hong Kong (GHK), has received a €193 million (about $227 million) state-supported loan to complete the cruise ship Crystal Endeavor for delivery and keep the shipyard operations till March 2021. 

The loan was recently granted by the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and German federal authorities. 

All the funds from the loans will be used in Germany for MV Werften shipyards, the shipbuilder said in a statement.

The shipbuilder has been dealing with financial difficulties as a result of the production halt that first started in March this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. In spring, business operations were stopped at MV Werften’s shipyards in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund, leading to the liquidity crisis.

MV Werften was forced to apply for state aid within the federal COVID-19 rescue package. In late June, the shipbuilder received €175 million in emergency financing to make ends meet, pay suppliers and avoid potential bankruptcy.

“It is the impact of the COVID-19 that stopped the world’s cruise fleet, including GHK, that MV Werften has to turn to the State and Federal Government for support under the WSF, which had been established by the German Government to assist industries impacted by COVID-19,” Carsten Haake, the Chief Financial Officer of MV Werften, said.

“Since 2016, GHK had fully supported the shipyard and had not withdrawn any of the invested funds from Germany.”

Back in April 2016, GHK bought the yard group in order to build ships for its three cruise brands as the orderbook from existing shipyards was full and the earliest delivery was seven years into the future. 

Since 2018, MV Werften has been building Crystal Endeavor, a new Polar-class expedition ship for American cruise line Crystal Expedition Cruises.

The 20,000-GRT PC-6 expedition ship is under construction at MV Werften shipyard in Stralsund. It was rolled out from the covered shipyard drydock in late December 2019.

The introduction of the newbuild was originally planned for August 2020. However, the cruise line postponed the launch of the ship following the temporary closure of MV Werften.

With the newly secured loan, MV Werften said it can now complete the construction of the vessel.

Crystal Endeavor will be able to accommodate around 200 passengers and will feature a length of 164.5 meters and a width of 23.4 meters.