Ro-ro and ropax shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) has filed for ‘self-administered’ insolvency under German procedure.
Similar to the US Chapter 11, this allows the existing management team to remain in control while the company restructures its finances.
In 2019, FSG was rescued from near bankruptcy by a German private investor.
The shipbuilder had posted a loss of $120 mill for 2019, primarily driven by delays and cost overruns on the newbuilding ropax ‘WB Yeats’ for the Irish Continental Group.
Doubt now surrounds the yard’s ability to build a second large ropax for the same owner.
In February, FSG agreed to cancel two ropaxes worth $475 mill contracted by TT-Line Tasmania. The order was eventually switched to Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) by mutual agreement.
FSG suspended production in mid-March, due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and many of the workforce had been furloughed under a German payment scheme.
