What are technological trends of European shipbuilding industry?

Production enterprises of shipbuilding and ship-repairing sector of Europe are always in search of the answers to the question: in what direction Mediterranean basin fleet is developing? What types of vessels will be in demand within nearest 20 years and will receive priority financing of private investors and state support from financial institutions of European Union? 

Norway

Shipbuilding industry of Norway is an example of how in the face of fierce competition successful development of stagnant world economy is possible.  

Base of Norway shipyards orders is composed of relatively small in size, technically complex special vessels with high unit cost, such as, for example, vessels, servicing offshore oil and gas production (offshore vessels), ferries and  fishing vessels.

Construction of fishing vessels, taking the third place in Norway shipyard orders, is quite great and is done both for domestic market, and for the Customers from such fishing countries as Iceland, Canada, Ireland, USA, Scotland, Faroe Islands and other.

Germany

German shipbuilding is oriented to construction of special vessels, many of which later become standard projects worldwide.

75% of products of German shipbuilding was (before crisis) made for export, and most part of this volume was made by  container carriers, but this sphere of  marine shipments was affected by crisis most of all, and level of governmental support turned out to be quite less than the one in Korea and China.

Therefore, price competition with manufacturers from East Asia was lost for German shipyards.

Now the country pays special attention to sector of special vessels with high added value (patrol vessels, oil spill vessels, supply vessels, towing vessels, research vessels, rescue and fishing vessels).

Spain

Spanish shipbuilding industry, which within recent decades played an important role on economy (25% of all industrial products were of shipbuilding sphere), in the second half of 20-odds went through a period of reorganization.

At present, there are 23 private shipbuilding companies in civil industry. Stock of orders of Spanish shipyards is made of harvesting vessels, oil vessels and drilling platforms, tankers for chemical products, ferries and passenger vessels type Ро-Ро, container carriers, special cable and oceanographic vessels, i.e. vessels with high-tech production technology.

Croatia

Construction of vessels in Croatia is concentrated along the coast of Adriatic sea, all large shipyards are almost evenly spread from north to south of Adriatic Sea. According to official information there are 7 large, 14 medium and 352 small shipyards in Croatia.

There are about 200 enterprises in Croatia,  producing various industrial equipment. Main equipment is produced by licenses (as engines MAN and B&W at shipyards Brodosplit and Uljanik, and engines Wartsila New Sulzer Diesel at shipyard 3.Maj). Ship lifts, vent covers, aux engines and diesel generators, rescue boats, electrodes, electrical equipment and other equipment and ship components are also produced  in Croatia. Many of Croatian shipyards (mainly medium and small) widely practice subcontracting works.

Successful restructuring of shipbuilding industry was the main condition at the negotiations , concerning accession of Croatia to EU, but governmental support of its shipyards by Croatia was outside the legal field of  EU government grants.