The strategic project for the recovery and economic transformation (PERTE) of the naval sector was long in coming, but it is already underway. The initiative, approved by the Council of Ministers in the middle of last March, was presented yesterday in Vigo at a ceremony attended by representatives of the main Asturian shipyards, the spearhead of the sector in Spain. Endowed with a total investment of 1,460 million euros, of which 310 million will come from the public sector, the ultimate goal is to provide the foundations for this industry to make a technological leap and generate 3,200 jobs. “We aspire to promote a revolution,” said the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, in charge of presenting the roadmap whose first stop will be next month, when a first call is made with public aid worth 200 million of euros. To this end, both the minister and the director of the Pymar shipyard employers’ association, Almudena López del Pozo, mentioned the importance of two business niches for the future: offshore wind power, especially floating wind power, and the use of new energies, starting for hydrogen for ships.
As detailed by Maroto, the 200 million “leverage more than 1,120 million of private investment” and are added to other measures “improved in the last year and a half” such as the one aimed especially at R&D and digitalization in the naval within the Misiones program Science and Innovation, developed by the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) and endowed with 30 million euros. Maroto reported that a total of 15 projects have been submitted to this mission with a budget of 57.2 million euros and that they request a subsidy of 42.1 million. 75 companies (of which 43 are SMEs) from 14 autonomous communities participate in these 15 projects. Once again, offshore wind and hydrogen are the main sectors covered by the projects, along with port logistics. The PERTE Naval also has the backing of credits for the construction of ships or improvements in aid from the Ministry of Industry in the area of R&D, to which are added the “tax lease” or the restructuring and guarantee funds.
In addition to Maroto, officials from the administrations took part in the act, such as the mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero, who highlighted the “immense expectations” raised by the Perte among the sector, which he assured “will be up to the task”. The first vice president of the Xunta de Galicia and Minister of Economy, Industry and Innovation, Francisco Conde, criticized the “seven months” of waiting and stressed that “PERTE is a great opportunity that requires a greater investment than announced.” Conde highlighted the importance of public-private collaboration and coordination between administrations and at that point he highlighted the “close” collaboration with the Government of the Principality of Asturias, represented at the event by the Minister of Industry, Enrique Fernández, who did not intervene.
Yesterday the creation of the PERTE del Naval Alliance was announced, in which administrations, employers, companies and unions will be represented to promote the strategic project.
The director of Pymar, Almudena López del Pozo, highlighted the current situation of the naval industry, advancing figures such as the fact that there are 64 ships in the portfolio for a total value of 1,900 million euros and that they generate 15 million hours of work . Sources from the Principality specified that of these 64 ship contracts, 38 belong to the Asturian companies Armón and Gondan. “They are magnificent credentials,” said López del Pozo, who praised the “admirable effort of the shipyards” and their “courage to commit to growth.” She was the first to mention the opportunities both in floating offshore wind power and in zero emission ships. “It’s a golden opportunity,” she sentenced.
Reyes Maroto, who also alluded to these two niches, recalled that Spain is also pursuing its own offshore wind farms. “We hope to deploy this technology in our marine environment,” said the minister, who stressed that the Perte “shows the Government’s commitment” to the sector.
The Asturian companies Armón and Windar, examples for Minister Reyes Maroto
Minister Reyes Maroto pointed out that in February 2019 she visited the shipyard that the Asturian company Armón has in Vigo to see the construction of seven ships for Nueva Pescanova “and that visit impressed me because the ships already incorporated highly energy-efficient engines and technological developments pointers”. She added that three and a half years later, in which a pandemic and many difficulties, “the Spanish naval industry resists and is a reference in Europe and in the world, and Armón is now also the owner of the historic Barreras shipyard, which has specialized in oceanographic vessels”. Maroto put Armón –represented at the event by his CEO, Langrean Laudelino Alperi– as an example of the strength of the Spanish naval sector and referred to another Asturian company, Windar Renovables, from Aviles, and to its partner Navantia to highlight where the sector to conquer the floating offshore wind market.