Spain has positioned itself as the second shipbuilding power in the European Union behind the Netherlands in terms of number of ships under contract and order book, and ninth in the world in terms of contraction in a market dominated by China and South Korea. Spain’s prominent position is supported by the activities of Asturian shipbuilding groups Armón and Gondán, who accounted for 86% last year. Of the 36 ships signed in Spain.
Pymar, the company that brings together the main Spanish private shipyards, including Armón and Gondán, yesterday presented its “2022 Maritime Sector Activity Report”, highlighting that the Spanish sector has increased hiring by 45% and doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels. In 2020, the sector recorded a 57% increase in contracts compared to the previous year, to 36 ships, and a 24% increase in CGT (English abbreviation meaning compensated gross tonnage, a unit evaluated in both size and size). complexity of construction) allowed the number of ships under construction to increase by 24% year on year, with a total of 56 ships and 305,513 CGT.
These data made it possible for Spain to take second place in 2022. Contracting power at European level It is the ninth ship worldwide and highlighted in the Pymar report, “highlighting the capacity of Spanish private shipyards to build, convert and repair ships with high added value, technologically complex and innovative components.”
The world market is dominated by Asia, and this continent is dominated by China and North Korea. accounted for 96% of total CGT Agreements were reached with 1,624 ships and 40.6 million CGT in the world. But in general these are cargo ships with less added value and construction complexity than those produced in Europe; Here the industry is a segment where the construction of large cruise ships is experiencing a slight recovery in 2022 (with 359 new contracts). Specializing countries such as Germany and France are not at their best.
“Spain’s position stands out in typologies with greater construction complexity and added value, such as large fishing vessels, for which Spain is the world leader in contracting, or oceanographic vessels, for which it is the second world power with the highest contract volume -“, noted the Pymar report It does. Asturian group Armón, which increased its capacity last year Production with the acquisition of Spain’s largest private shipyard Hijos de J. Barreras in Vigo and those in Navia, Gijón, Puerto de Vega and Burela, added to those already in the same city, pioneered the segments of large fishing vessels and oceanographic vessels in Spain.
Renewable energy
The Pymar report also underlines that the Spanish maritime industry is turning to diversifying its activities towards offshore renewable energies in order to take advantage of the opportunities from the development of floating wind energy. In 2022, 21% of the national order book consisted of ships supporting offshore wind fields, placing Spain second in the world rankings behind China. In this segment in Spain, the Asturian group Gondán, which has a shipyard in Castropol, is the reference point.
“To face the future and consolidate these amazing results that are the result of the shipyards’ efforts, we must continue to move forward in the transformation process of the maritime industry, gaining competitiveness and relying on sustainability,” said CEO Almudena López del Pozo. Pymar’s. 34% of units in the national portfolio had the capacity to use alternative fuels and technologies with a lower environmental footprint in the near future, 10 percentage points above the global average.