FSG lays keel for 1st ship after owner change

Germany’s shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbaugesellschaft (FSG) held a keel-laying ceremony today for a roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel to be built for IVP Ship Invest.

During the ceremony, the first hull segment of the newbuilding, weighing more than 50 tonnes, was lowered by crane onto the blocks. In line with the well-known maritime custom, a 1-euro coin was placed under the keel for good fortune.

Last month, the RoRo was the first order FSG received since its new start under the direction of Tennor Holding. IVP Ship Invest is a company of Lars Windhorst, founder of Tennor Holding. The EUR 140 million order also includes an option for a second vessel.

“For FSG, today’s keel-laying marks an important milestone, as this is the first order after restructuring and relaunching the shipyard in September 2020,” Philipp Maracke, the shipyard’s CEO, commented.

„As RoRo type 4100 was developed by us and built here repeatedly, we are very familiar with its construction. That makes it extraordinarily easy for the shipyard to ramp up.”

He added that trainees from the 3rd year of their apprenticeship will be deployed operationally in construction.

The commissioned 210-metre-long ship features fuel-saving technologies as well as advanced loading concept.

Apart from building ferries, the shipyard has another goal, according to Maracke.

“The shipyard will diversify in the future and we will increasingly act as a reliable partner to the German Navy and in international naval shipbuilding,” Maracke revealed.

“To this end, we can build on earlier projects,…, even though we focussed on merchant ships in recent years.”

Maracke further said that the shipyard looks to address the topic of zero emission, combining both ecological and economic aspects in special shipbuilding.