Germany’s Rheinmetall and Swiss-based shipping group MSC were awarded the €138 million bid for Romania’s bankrupt Mangalia shipyard following an auction, Rheinmetall said on 19 October. The partners plan to develop the Black Sea site for civilian and military shipbuilding. [1][2]
Rheinmetall said the yard will be divided into sectors and security zones and will support construction of four naval vessels commissioned by Romania: two 96-metre offshore patrol vessels and two 43-metre diver-support vessels. It also described Mangalia as a potential hub for further military projects in southeastern Europe. [1][2]
ContextThe announcement adds MSC as a joint acquirer and specifies the initial naval programme. Rheinmetall said completion of the transaction is expected within a few weeks, so the award and development plan should not be read as confirmation that the full acquisition or vessel construction is already complete. [2]
Added MSC as Rheinmetall’s joint acquirer, the planned division into security zones and the four-vessel role announced on 19 October; clarified that closing is still expected within weeks.
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Rheinmetall buys Romania’s Mangalia shipyard for €138 million
The German defence group won the auction for the bankrupt yard, which Romania expects to restart as a military and civilian shipbuilding centre.
Rheinmetall Real Estate Romania won the 9 October auction for the bankrupt Damen Shipyards Mangalia operation with a €138.03 million bid excluding VAT, according to the judicial liquidator cited by Digi24. The sale follows four earlier unsuccessful auction rounds.
Romania’s government said planned investment should restart activity and turn the yard into a major European military-shipbuilding centre. The Defence Ministry’s SAFE programme links Rheinmetall’s industrial commitments to a naval component covering four vessels for Romania.
ContextRheinmetall had previously described a longer-term plan for a dual-use military and civilian shipbuilding hub. The auction result transfers the industrial asset, but the cited sources do not establish that all planned investment or ship construction has already begun.
The EU condemned the September Brașov industrial-site fire at the OSCE, endorsing Romania’s attribution to a Russian-coordinated network and expressing solidarity with Bucharest.
