Stx Finland News

It was 1914 when the English explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail on his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition aboard a ship called Endurance. It was an ill-fated journey: the ship got trapped in the ice and eventually crushed by pack ice in 1915. It sank to the bottom of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea. (Shackleton and his entire crew survived the ordeal by escaping in smaller boats.)It was difficult to believe that the Endurance might ever be found. The icy Weddell Sea is inhospitable and the wreck lay in more than 3000 metres of water.

Six leaders and influencers from across the shipping industry will join global NGO Carbon War Room’s (CWR’s) Shipping Operation Advisory Board. Their backgrounds span the shipowning, chartering, technical analysis, finance, and academic worlds. The board will lend extensive industry insight and support CWR’s mission to profitably decarbonise the international shipping industry. Galen Hon, Manager, Shipping Operation, Carbon War Room, commented: "Following UNFCCC in Paris, the industry has an obligation to find new and innovative ways to reduce carbon while remaining competitive. With expertise spanning finance, ship operation, classification, data analysis, technology, and software, these individuals are perfectly positioned to identify and evaluate opportunities for innovation and growth.

Six leaders and influencers from across the shipping industry will join global NGO Carbon War Room’s (CWR’s) Shipping Operation Advisory Board. Their backgrounds span the shipowning, chartering, technical analysis, finance, and academic worlds. The board will lend extensive industry insight and support CWR’s mission to profitably decarbonise the international shipping industry. Galen Hon, Manager, Shipping Operation, Carbon War Room, commented: "We are thrilled to have gathered a group with so much knowledge and experience in shipping. Following UNFCCC in Paris, the industry has an obligation to find new and innovative ways to reduce carbon while remaining competitive.

Innovation, superior technology and competitiveness are the characteristics that have brought the Finnish maritime industry world repute. Its well-knit maritime cluster responsible for achieving a high level of production has propelled it into prominence in the global market. Extreme conditions during winter have set technological and quality demands on Finnish shipping which, in turn has contributed towards the emergence of a competitive maritime industry in Finland. The Finnish Maritime and Offshore Cluster (incl. Marine industries, shipping and port operations in private and public sectors) is one of the central industries in the Finnish technology industries.

Arctech Helsinki Shipyard is now 100 percent Russian-owned as United Shipbuilding Corporation bought the remaining half of the company’s shares from STX Finland Oy. Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Inc. was founded in December 2010 as United Shipbuilding Corporation bought the first 50 percent of the shipyard shares from STX Finland, a subsidiary of the Korean-owned STX Europe. The joint venture was established to respond to the need of growing market of Arctic shipbuilding and to unite the Finnish and Russian maritime clusters.

German cruise ship builder strengthens its yards. MEYER WERFT joins forces with the STX Finland shipyard in Turku. Following weeks of negotiations the Finnish Government and MEYER WERFT signed a share purchase agreement with the current owner STX Europe. With its 70% stake MEYER WERFT takes the industrial leadership of the new company. At present some 1,300 employees and a specialized supplier network are involved in the construction of the cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 for the German cruise operator TUI Cruises from Hamburg.

On June 4, 2013, STX Finland and the Norwegian passenger ship company Fjord Line AS signed a contract on conversion of Fjord Line’s cruise ferry. The steel production for the conversion project began January 10, 2013. In connection with the rebuild of MS Bergensfjord, the ship was renamed MS Oslofjord. The overall value of the conversion contract was approximately EUR 30 million, and it provided some 200 man-years of labor. MS Oslofjord is 134 meters long and 24 meters wide, built in Norway in 1993.

On Thursday 22 May 2014, STX Finland Oy’s Turku Shipyard handed over the first newbuild to TUI Cruises. Mein Schiff 3 is a sophisticated and highly innovative cruise ship, designed for the German premium-class cruise market. With the production started in November 2012, the environmentally friendly Mein Schiff 3 was floated out in November 2013. The ship provided some 5,500 man-years of labour to the shipyard and the network. Mein Schiff 3 will start operating on 13 June 2014, with the maiden voyage starting from Hamburg and heading for Palma de Mallorca.

On Friday May 9, 2014, STX Finland Oy’s Rauma Shipyard handed over a next-generation offshore patrol vessel to the Finnish Border Guard. The vessel was christened Turva by her godmother, Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen, in the christening and float-out ceremony held on August 2, 2013. The technically advanced and highly versatile 96 meters long and 17 meters wide offshore patrol vessel will be used for frontier supervision, maritime search and rescue (SAR), environmental protection and monitoring of natural resources…

Sakhalin Energy and Sovcomflot (SCF) inform they have agreed to extend their co-operation having signed a number of agreements for construction and long-term operation of support vessels for the Sakhalin-2 project. SCF explain that the vessels will be used as year-round personnel carriers and also as supply vessela for offshore platforms in the Sea of Okhotsk. In case of emergency, they will be deployed for personnel evacuation and oil spill response. It is intended that Russian shipbuilders will play an active role in the construction of the new vessels: SCF has already signed a shipbuilding contract with Arctech (a joint venture between OAO United Shipbuilding Corporation and STX Finland) and structural components for the vessels will be produced in Russia at Vyborg Shipyard.

The companies have signed a number of agreements for construction and long-term operation of the vessels for Sakhalin-2 project. At an official ceremony in Moscow, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Sakhalin Energy) and Sovcomflot Shelf (SCF Shelf) on behalf of Sovcomflot Group have signed a contract for the construction and long-term operation of the multifunctional icebreaking supply vessel for Sakhalin-2 offshore platforms. Operations under the contract will continue for 20 years. The vessel will be used as year round personnel carrier and also as supply vessel for offshore platforms in the Sea of Okhotsk. In case of emergency, the vessel will be deployed for personnel evacuation and oil spill response.

On 25 February 2014, approximately nine months after the keel laying of TUI Cruises’ first newbuilding Mein Schiff 3, TUI Cruises and STX Finland celebrated the keel laying of Mein Schiff 4 in the Turku shipyard. Following the old shipbuilding tradition, the lucky coins were placed under the keel block of the ship. In the lucky coin ceremony, held on the bottom of the drydock, the shipowner was represented by Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises, CFO Frank Kuhlmann, Chief Engineer of Mein Schiff 3 Kostas Kallinikos and the designated Captain of Mein Schiff 3 Kjell Holm.

A Finland government owned investment company, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, has today purchased a 66.4 per cent majority stake of the shares of Aker Arctic Technology Oy (Aker Arctic) from STX Finland Oy. Aker explain that In recent months the Ministry of Employment and the Economy has been studying actively the possibilities for securing the Company's know-how and further development in Finland. The transfer of the Company´s know-how, such as intellectual property rights, away from Finland, would have meant a serious setback for the entire Finnish Arctic marine industry's future development. Aker Arctic is one of the world's leading companies in Arctic marine logistics and offshore solutions as well Arctic vessels design.

The float-out of Mein Schiff 3, an environmentally friendly cruise ship being built for TUI Cruises, was performed at STX Turku Shipyard on Friday, November 8, 2013. At the press conference held at STX Finland Oy’s Turku Shipyard earlier the same day, Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises and Jari Anttila, Deputy CEO of STX Finland Oy were pleased to speak about the important milestone Mein Schiff 3 project reached on that particular day. One year ago, the start of production of newbuilding 1383 was celebrated at Turku Shipyard. Mein Schiff 3 is scheduled for delivery in spring 2014.

STX Finland has been actively seeking solutions for saving the Finnish shipyard industry. In September 2013, the company launched a major restructuring aimed at safeguarding the operating potential of the company and, by extension, the entire maritime industry in Finland, thus ending the years of uncertainty. As part of the STX Finland Oy restructuring, cooperation negotiations concerning the Rauma and Turku Shipyards have been conducted between the personnel groups and the company management. The negotiations were completed on October 29, 2013.

As part of the restructuring of STX Finland, current operations at the Rauma Shipyard will be ramped down and functions shifted to the Turku Shipyard. Like other European shipyards, the Finnish shipbuilding industry is suffering the effects of the recession in the global economy; an increase in surplus capacity and the financial crisis have all led to a cut in orders and stiffened competition. Consequently STX Finland say they have been been activelly seeking solutions in order to save the Finnish shipyard industry.

STX Finland, which has seen a deterioration of its shipbuilding base for many years, today announced its latest plan to stem the flow of red ink: a phase out of the Rauma shipyard. Senior management cited the continued bad global economy in the wake of the economic meltdown of 2008 as the primary source of trouble. "The decisions made now are based on a realistic estimate of the company’s current state and the market outlook,” said Jari Anttila, EVP & Deputy CEO of STX Finland.

The offshore patrol vessel UVL10, currently being built for the Finnish Border Guard at STX Finland Oy’s Rauma shipyard, was named Turva at a festive naming and launching ceremony on Friday 2 August. Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen acted as godmother for the ship, wishing the vessel and its crew luck and success in their future maritime operations. In her speech as the ship’s godmother, Minister Räsänen stated that taking delivery of the ship is an important part of the preparation for the risks of increasing maritime transport and prevention of environmental damage…

Scandlines and STX Finland Oy have today signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for building two new ferries for the route Rostock (Germany) – Gedser (Denmark) for delivery in spring 2015. The project will bring some 1000 man-years of work for STX Finland and its subcontracting network. The ferries will be double ended and construction will allow the ferries to be used on the route Puttgarden (Germany) - Rødby (Denmark) as well. Each ferry will have a capacity of 1,300 passengers and 72 trucks or 382 cars. The ferries will be operating on environmentally friendly LNG instead of traditional heavy fuel, thus reducing emissions to the air significantly. Nitrogen emissions, CO2 and particulates are reduced remarkably and sulphur emissions are practically zero.

The STX Turku Shipyard in Finland recently lost the order for a third Oasis class cruise ship and an option for a fourth to ”sister” shipyard STX France, when neither the owner, the financially troubled STX Group, nor the Finnish government wanted to inject a missing $64.3m to the capital of the shipyard. The yard is currently building two 97,000gt cruise ships for TUI Cruises. In January the shipyard delivered the world’s first LNG-fuelled big size passenger-car ferry, the Viking Grace for Baltic ferry operator Viking Line.

Arrangements have been made to ensure that the Turku shipyards of STX Finland will be able to deliver two ships ordered by the German TUI cruise line, Finland’s Ministry of Employment and the Economy said on Friday. The two cruise liners are slated for a 2014-2015 completion date. The parties participating in the agreement are the State of Finland, German shipping company TUI Cruises and the Korean-owned STX Europe. The Finnish government expects to put 31 million euros in subsidies toward construction, and 9.6 million has been used so far. Finnvera, a state-owned financing company, pledged up to 292 million euros for the period that the ships are under construction.

TUI Cruises President and CEO Richard Vogel is in Finland this week reviewing the status of the construction of the company’s two ship orders, Mein Schiff 3 and Mein Schiff 4, and provided an update. Mr. Vogel noted that construction on Mein Schiff 3 at STX Finland is now 25% complete, and the main engines have completed their acceptance testing. Formal keel-laying has been set for Friday May 24, 2013 with delivery almost exactly one year later. In light of recent public speculation relating to the shipyard…

Arctic offshore vessel NB 507 has been named after Russian Navigator Aleksey Chirikov at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard. The vessel will be delivered to the largest Russian shipping company Sovcomflot shortly and will continue its path straight to Sakhalin area in Far East Russia, where it will supply the Arkutun-Dagi oil and gas field. Arctech has built two arctic offshore supply vessels for Russian company Sovcomflot, which specialises in hydrocarbon transportation from Arctic and subarctic regions with challenging icy conditions.