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| Turku STX Shipyard |
Neijo Niemela of Cruise Business gives details of Finland's STX shipyard plight . . .
Finland’s Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen was tight-lipped about possible government financial help for STX shipyard in Turku to help to win the order for a new ship from Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class. The cruise line has requested from the Finnish government a loan of 50 million euros (to cover the cost of construction during the building process), which would help it secure an order for a cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd has said that it would like to order a new Oasis-class vessel from Turku STX Shipyard. In return, STX has asked the Finnish government to lend it the 50 million euros it needs to be able to complete the cruise ship. Ultimately, each ship in the class bears a price tag of 970 million euros, according to Yle. In shipbuilding, the customer, which in this case is Royal Caribbean, typically doesn’t ante up for construction costs until the ship is actually delivered.
Katainen, as reported by Yle, has been coming under considerable pressure to respond to the request and in fact Finland’s shipbuilding industry recently lost a major order from RCCL to the German Meyer Werft as a result. The Finnish Maritime Industry earlier sent the Prime Minister a confidential letter saying the whole sector was at risk, if the order cannot be secured. Later on Sunday, the powerful Finnish Metalworks’ Union urged a favorable decision on the matter.
Continue article at: cruisebusiness.com
