The Spanish Private Industry Has 51 Ships in Its Order Book

As of May 30, 2016, Spanish private shipyards have an order book of 51 units, 24% more than a year ago, with a value of 1.282 billion euros in orders and a total of 7.5 million hours of work. These are data from the Activity Report of the Shipbuilding Sector presented by PYMAR at the general shareholders' meeting held on June 20 in Madrid.

This data positions Spain as the third European country with the highest number of units in its order book and demonstrates the adaptability of Spanish private shipyards to the changes imposed by the market, diversifying their order book with significant increases in less common types, such as dredgers and oceanographic vessels.

Spain maintains significant positions in the rankings of contracting for the types of ships in which it historically held a substantial market share, such as offshore vessels (6th worldwide), tugboats (4th), or fishing vessels (7th).

Two European rulings on the Spanish tax lease have been very positive for this surge in activity. On December 17, 2015, the Luxembourg Court annulled the European Commission's Decision against the old tax lease system, nullifying the order to recover the aid supposedly received by investors.

On April 14, the community justice rejected the Dutch appeal against the current tax lease, confirming its legality. Since its implementation in 2013, 28 operations have been closed to date with the new tax lease, amounting to 934 million euros, which have accounted for more than six million hours of work.

Photo: Javier Alonso C (Vigo)