Masa-Yards May Cooperate With Gdynia

Masa-Yards, a unit that Kvaerner has put up for sale, could cooperate in building vessels with the Polish Gdynia shipyard, the group's head said. "One alternative would be for us to have a cooperation agreement with them and to use their very efficient facilities," Masa-Yards Chief Executive Martin Saarikangas said. Gdynia shipyard had planned to bid for Masa-Yards, but a consortium formed by Saarikangas won the support of the Finnish government to keep the group's two yards in Helsinki and Turku in Finnish hands. Saarikangas said through cooperation and lower labor costs in Poland, Masa-Yards could gain a competitive edge on other Western shipbuilders. He said Masa-Yards will ask the government and parliament to back a "reasonable" subsidy for the Finnish shipbuilding industry.