The Fosen shipyard only started in 2022 to breathe new life into one of Stralsund's landmarks. Now the ship with the greatest hopes is bankrupt again.
The Fosen shipyard in Stralsund has filed for bankruptcy. According to information from NDR, around 45 employees are affected by the bankruptcy, who were informed at a staff meeting according to IG Metall. The company had rented the large shipbuilding hall, which is one of the city's landmarks and in which the “Gorch Fock 1” was being renovated until May.
This development is a setback for the plans of Stralsund's mayor Alexander Badrow (CDU) to make the former Volkswerft an attractive industrial location again. On Wednesday, Badrow announced that the lease agreements with the Fosen shipyard had been terminated. One day later, Fosen's management filed for bankruptcy.
The Fosen shipyard was one of the first companies to be established at the site after the bankruptcy of the MV shipyards in 2022. At the time, Badrow raised hopes that the former Volkswerft would “come back to Stralsund”. Fosen would create 100 jobs. However, these expectations were dashed; in the end, Fosen only employed 45 people and did not pay collective wages.
The company apparently also failed to pay part of the rent; according to Badrow, a six-figure sum is still outstanding. The city terminated the contract and cut off the electricity shortly afterwards. Fosen was no longer able to deliver some completed orders for a Danish company.
What will happen next for the employees remains uncertain. Stralsund's IG Metall spokesman Frank Prenzlau described the situation as a “slap in the face”. Mayor Badrow, on the other hand, sees the separation from Fosen as new opportunities for the site and expressed optimism that new partners will be found soon.
There are already signs of a new interested party. The Stralsund-based Strela Shiprepair Yard announced that it wants to fill the gap created by Fosen's withdrawal. “For us, this opens up the possibility of significantly increasing our existing repair and conversion capacities,” said managing director Jan Tebbe-Simmendinger. It is still unclear whether and how many new jobs could be created as a result.
The sailing training ship “Greif” is currently being renovated in the shipbuilding hall. The work on the traditional sailing ship is 75 percent complete. A solution is now being sought for the rest, says Badrow.
The center of the former Volkswerft is Hall 290, which is large enough to accommodate ships up to 290 meters long. The shipyard has one of the largest ship lifts in the world with a lifting capacity of 25,000 tons. It was founded in 1948 and contributed a large part to shipbuilding in the GDR.
