Germany’s Rheinmetall Acquires Romania’s Mangalia Shipyard
The long-running battle over the future of Romania’s Mangalia Shipyard was settled with the court-appointed liquidator confirmed a deal to sell the yard, with the goal of quickly resuming work. Germany’s Rheinmetall has agreed to acquire the yard for €138 million ($154 million) as part of an effort to build four ships for the Romanian Navy.
Once one of the largest shipyards in Europe and a major employer in Romania, the yard of late had been in a joint venture with the Damen Group. Reports said the yard had, at its peak a decade ago, employed between 2,000 and 2,500 people.
Damen entered into a joint venture with the Romanian government in 2018 to operate the yard as part of its Eastern European operations in addition to the Gala?i shipyard, which has been operating in Romania since 1999. Damen owned 49 percent of the joint venture for Mangalia, with the government holding the other 51 percent. However, according to media reports, the troubles began in 2023 when Romania changed the rules for the management of private enterprises, and Damen asserted it was a breach of contract for Mangalia.
Damen filed in 2024 to put the yard into insolvency, citing the large loans it had made to the joint venture for the modernization and operation of the yard. A plan to reorganize the operations was rejected by the creditors, of which Damen is the largest, and the courts declared the company bankrupt in April 2026.
The court-appointed liquidator set the value of the assets at €84 million, and the creditors agreed to a series of auctions starting at €184 million. By August, it was reported that the first three auctions had received no bidders, and the administrators were proposing to the court to begin lowering the price for the subsequent auctions. Under the rules, there were to have been six auctions at the full price, and then they were going to step down the price first to 75 percent and then potentially 50 percent. The yard was reported to have debts totalling €190 million.
Rheinmetall acquired the yard at 75 percent of the originally agreed auction price. Romania’s former Minister of Economy and now the Minister of Defense called it a major step forward in the promise to revitalize the operation and restore employment at Mangalia. He asserted the ministry had been offered just €10 million for the yard when the process began, and he rejected it despite criticism from opponents.
The German company best known as an arms manufacturer entered shipbuilding with the acquisition of Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) in Germany, completed in March 2026. In May, it confirmed that it was exploring taking over Mangalia as part of its effort to build four ships for the Romanian Navy. It was awarded a contract valued at approximately €920 million in May 2026 under the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, which includes the naval vessels for the Romanian Navy. It is to build two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and two support vessels.
Morocco Cancels Concession Tender for Casablanca Shipyard
Morocco’s National Ports Agency (ANP) has reportedly cancelled the concession tender for Casablanca shipyard. ANP had launched the tender process in April last year seeking a private operator to upgrade and operate the yard for 30 years. Preliminary results for the tender were expected in July 2025. This was later delayed, with ANP saying the winner would be announced in August 2026, then delayed again until December 31.
Now, after the 18-month delay, ANP has decided to cancel the tender and says it has adopted a new strategic direction for the yard. According to local media reports, the ANP board is said to have considered national sovereignty concerns. Other factors which were mentioned include a new focus towards national control of critical maritime assets, aligning with the vision of the Moroccan royal family.
In a speech in 2023, King Mohammed VI directed for development of a “strong, competitive national commercial marine fleet.” In the same year, a Moroccan public think-tank - the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) - highlighted shipbuilding as a potential high-growth sector for the Moroccan economy. The Casablanca Shipyard was one of the designated shipbuilding zones. With a projected cost over $300 million, the shipyard would have been the largest in Africa if fully built. The yard was planned to cover a 21 hectare site with a 244-meter by 40-meter dry dock.
ANP made its first attempt to concession the yard back in 2019 but failed to attract any bids. Around that time, ANP also tried to negotiate with France’s Naval Group to operate the yard without reaching an agreement. The tender re-launched in April last year has now ended with a cancellation.
Sources within ANP quoted by local media indicated that the cancellation had nothing to do with the candidates or their offers. Notably, the tender round had attracted global shipbuilding giants. One bidding consortium was backed by Morocco’s Somagec, South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Turkey’s Kuzey Star Shipyard.
The other consortium included Morocco’s Radi Holding, Spain’s Marina Meridional and the Chinese Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding Group. In addition, Italian operator San Giorgio del Porto submitted an individual bid.
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