Shipyard may be sold to Polish Armaments Group

The shipyard’s trustee accepted the offer by State-owned PGZ – which was the only bid made – and it was approved by a judge from the Gdańsk District Court, however the decision is not yet binding.

The judge said on Thursday that sale procedures could take some months and will require an agreement of the defence and maritime ministries and the harbour in Gdynia, in Poland’s north.

The tender offered perpetual rights to the use of a total of 30 hectares of land and ownership of buildings and infrastructure.

Money from the sale of the shipyard, which is currently 99 percent owned by the state-run Industrial Development Agency – which was set up by the current government to assist with restructuring assets formerly owned by the treasury – with defence ministry owning one percent, will be used to pay off debts.

In late 2016, Marek Gróbarczyk, Poland’s maritime minister, asked the Justice Ministry to supervise the liquidation procedure of the Naval Shipyard.

“We cannot allow the loss of a shipyard in such a strategic location for the security and finances of the country,” Gróbarczyk said.

At the time, Gróbarczyk indicated an open tender could see the shipyard being taken over by a foreign investor.

The Naval Shipyard, which has been in liquidation since 2011, recorded a profit of PLN 1.3 million in 2012, and eventually growing profits to PLN 22 million in 2015. (vb/rg)