One of Europe’s largest shipyards, Romania’s Damen Mangalia, which declared bankruptcy last year, has welcomed a potential buyer.
According to Europa Libera Romania, the Romanian government unexpectedly received a proposal from shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) regarding the management and operation of the Damen Mangalia. The shipyard had previously fallen into bankruptcy due to the termination of its agreement with Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group, and the Romanian government is currently seeking new investors for it.
In April 2025, Prabhat Jha, CEO of MSC Shipmanagement Limited, wrote to Marcel Ciolacu, then Prime Minister of Romania, Marian Neacșu, Deputy Prime Minister, and Ilie Bolojan, then Acting President of Romania.
The letter states: “MSC’s fleet expansion requires large shipyards to support its new shipbuilding plans. Currently, MSC’s new ship orders are mainly concentrated in Asian (container ships) and European (cruise ships) shipyards. The plan is to use the Damen Mangalia to build cruise ships, ro-ro vessels, and tugboats in the future, and to bring in an external management team to assist in restoring the shipyard’s operations.”
MSC has reportedly paid the cost of the repairs upfront to provide funds to help Damen Mangalia rehire staff. This means that MSC will compete with Turkish shipbuilder Desan.
Earlier, Desan had entered into negotiations with Romanian authorities regarding the lease of Damen Mangalia’s shipbuilding facilities and workforce. The news that Desan is a potential investor has been confirmed by Romanian Minister of Economy Bogdan Ivan.
Desan’s interest in investing in Damen Mangalia began with the shipbuilder’s capacity expansion plan. Damen Mangalia has a larger dry dock that can repair post-Panamax vessels, making it a potential choice for Desan.
At present, the specific details of the transaction structure between MSC and the Romanian government regarding Damen Mangalia remain unclear. Given that the shipyard is currently in bankruptcy, restructuring may be required before a new agreement can be reached.
Despite facing serious financial problems, Damen Mangalia has gradually resumed its ship repair business since May. Currently, two vessels are undergoing repairs in the shipyard, with another vessel awaiting repair scheduled to arrive soon. The shipyard plans to undertake at least 13 ship repair projects in the second half of 2025.
With the resumption of ship repair operations, Damen Mangalia has already welcomed back approximately 800 employees to the shipyard, marking a significant improvement compared to the situation in February, when it was announced that “over 200 shipyard workers had been laid off and over 1,000 employees were in a state of technical unemployment.”
It is reported that Damen Mangalia was established in 1976. In 1997, South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME, now Hanwha Ocean) took over the shipyard and held a 51% majority stake. In 2018, Damen Shipyards acquired all of DSME’s shares from the financially troubled company.
Soon after, Damen Shipyards reached a joint agreement with the Romanian government, agreeing to transfer 2% of its shares to Romanian state-owned enterprise Santierul Naval 2 Mai free of charge in exchange for the management rights of the shipyard. After the equity transfer was completed, Santierul Naval 2 Mai’s shareholding ratio reached 51%, becoming the largest shareholder of the shipyard.
However, due to a new corporate governance law (Law No. 187/2023) passed by the Romanian government in 2023, the Romanian government no longer abides by the agreement on the operation and management of the shipyard, and Damen Shipyards has lost the management rights of Damen Mangalia. For this reason, Damen Shipyard announced its withdrawal from Damen Mangalia.
In May 2024, Damen Shipyards filed for bankruptcy for Damen Mangalia, and formally initiated bankruptcy proceedings in June of the same year. Prior to bankruptcy, the shipyard had experienced a three-year drought in orders. To date, the shipyard has been in bankruptcy for over a year, with total debts exceeding the value of its assets.
The total debt currently registered by creditors is €380 million. In comparison, Damen Mangalia’s latest market value, including fixed assets, inventory, accounts receivable, and equity, is approximately €190 million, and its liquidation value is approximately €86 million.
During Damen Shipyards’ management, Damen Mangalia developed into one of the top five shipyards in Europe, with three dry docks. At present, the shipyard is still controlled by the Romanian government, with Damen Shipyards holding a 49% stake and remaining the largest creditor.