Audit requested by Lürssen
According to our colleagues from Superyacht Business, Lürssen should soon start a complete review of the 35-month concession contract in the form of La Ciotat, awarded in the summer to the Blohm + Voss yard. As a reminder, the German civil and military shipbuilding giant Lürssen, including the superyachts, acquired in October 2016 its compatriot Blohm + Voss, active in the repair and production of ships, particularly in luxury yachting. Shortly before the takeover, the latter had obtained the exploitation of the great form of La Ciotat.
Oliver Grün, Head of Communications at Lürssen, told our colleagues that"given the confidentiality of the agreements, Lürssen had not been able to access the site and the information concerning the establishment in France before October. In the coming weeks, we will discuss with Blohm+Voss and La Ciotat Shipyards/SEMIDEP management in order to have a clear picture of the construction site in La Ciotat. We will then decide on the next steps and how to proceed."
Ambitious development prospects
When the concession was awarded in June 2016, SEMIDEP justified its choice for 3 reasons:
- A project to develop activities and jobs for the high quality territory.
- Professional, technical and financial guarantees, provided by a recognized company.
- An interesting financial proposal for SEMIDEP, based on a fee proportional to the turnover generated by Blohm+Voss
Justified local concerns?
The Lürssen Group is technically and financially able to maintain the original project. If he were to withdraw, the fears of Compositeworks and Monaco Marine, unfortunate candidates to exploit the great form of La Ciotat, would be justified. They regretted that SEMIDEP was turning away from local players, who were more involved in the local industrial fabric.
The beginning of 2018 should shed light on the future of the yacht refit industry in La Ciotat.
