2023-11-08 05:15:00
Pymar, the company that brings together the main Spanish private shipyards, including those of Armón and Gondán, yesterday presented its “2022 Naval Sector Activity Report”, which highlights that the Spanish sector increased hiring by 45% compared to pre-pandemic levels and doubled 2020 contracts. In 2022, the sector registered a year-on-year increase of 57% in contracts, up to 36 ships, and 24% in CGT (English acronym that refers to compensated gross tonnage, a unit that evaluates both the size and complexity of the constructions), allowing the number of ships under construction to grow year-on-year by 24% with a total of 56 ships and 305,513 CGT.
These data have made it possible for Spain to be the second power in contracting at European level and ninth worldwide in 2022, “highlighting the capacity of Spanish private shipyards to build, transform and repair ships with high added value, technologically complex and with a high innovative component,” highlights the Pymar report.
The world market is dominated by Asia – and within this continent by China and North Korea – which accounted for 96% of the total CGT contracted in the world, with 1,624 vessels and 40.6 million CGT. But in general they are cargo ships with less added value and construction complexity than those manufactured in Europe, where the sector has experienced a slight improvement in 2022 (with 359 new contracts) despite the fact that the construction of large cruise ships, segment in which countries like Germany and France specialize, is not going through its best moment.
“Spanish positioning stands out in those typologies with greater construction complexity and added value, such as large fishing vessels – where Spain was the world leader in contracting – or oceanographic vessels – where it is the second world power with the highest contracted volume -“, notes the Pymar report. The Asturian group Armón, which last year increased its production capacity with the purchase of the largest private shipyard in Spain – that of Hijos de J. Barreras in Vigo, which joined the one it already had in that same city and those in Navia, Gijón , Puerto de Vega and Burela – led these segments of large fishing vessels and oceanographic vessels in Spain.
The renewable energies
The Pymar report also highlights that the Spanish naval industry is betting on the diversification of its activity towards marine renewable energies, in order to take advantage of the opportunities derived from the development of floating wind power. In 2022, 21% of the national order book was made up of vessels supporting offshore wind fields, placing Spain second in the world ranking, only behind China. And within this segment in Spain, the Asturian group Gondán, with a shipyard in Castropol, is the benchmark.
“To face the future and consolidate these magnificent results, the result of the efforts of the shipyards, we must continue to advance in the process of transformation of the naval industry, gaining competitiveness and betting on sustainability,” said Almudena López del Pozo, CEO of Pymar. 34% of the units in the national portfolio had the capabilities to, in the near future, be able to use alternative fuels and technologies with a lower environmental footprint, a percentage 10 points above that registered in the global average.
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