After months of rumours, Rauma's city council and STX Finland have agreed to the sale of the latter's shipyard and its fixed assets for €18.1 million (US$24.7 million) in late January.
Following perceived indifference from the Finnish government with regards to the shipbuilder's fate, the city plans to redevelop the area as the Seaside Industrial Park. Positioned at local and municipal maritime and shipbuilding businesses, the Seaside Industrial Park will operate as a centre of maritime engineering.
The Rauma yard is scheduled to be closed in April/May after the completion of its last project – the €30 million (US$40.9 million) rebuilding of Fjord Line's ex-'Bergensfjord'. The vessel is to be overhauled for a new international route between Sweden and Norway.
Mayor of Rauma, Kari Koski, told local Finnish press: "We can now get on with establishing a competitive heavy engineering industrial environment while safeguarding the growing marine cluster and positively influence regional employment."
A statement on behalf of the city's local government said it could finance the deal from its own internal resources, as well as with support from companies interested in establishing a presence in the newly developed property.
For STX Finland, this sale is another step to regaining its financial health and commercial credibility so that it can tender for more shipbuilding deals at its remaining wholly-owned yard in Turku.
Currently, the company is negotiating the sale of its half-ownership in the Arctech Helsinki Shipyard to joint venture partner United Shipbuilding Corporation of Russia.
The proceeds from the Rauma sale, plus the nearly €10 million (US$13.6 million) netted from the Finnish government's two-thirds purchase of Aker Arctic, means STX Finland finally has money of its own in the bank.
This will reignite talks regarding a two-year co-operation in developing the Rauma yard, as well as a €450 million (US$614 million) order from Scandlines for two LNG ferries that lapsed last year due to difficulties with financing.
Scandlines is frantically searching for a yard that can build the two ships in time for 2016. By then, new regulations come into force, as the Baltic becomes a Sulphur Emission Control Area for all ships in 2015 and a Nitrogen Emission Control Area for newbuildings in 2016. With LNG as the fuel source, all new MARPOL Tier III emissions limits are easily met.
Scandlines first attempt to get its new short-haul ferries order for the Denmark-Germany Gedser-Rostock route was cancelled when the German yard in Stralsund went bankrupt (the shipyard had shown its inability to build them according to the specifications anyway).
STX Finland has a fine reference in this sector with the LNG cruise ferry 'Viking Grace' celebrating a hugely successful first year a week ago. Finnish fingers are crossed that better times lie ahead.
John Pagni