​Many of Romania’s major factories went bankrupt, leaving tens of thousands of people out of work, while cars were sold for scrap and replaced by shopping malls and housing estates. This is a scenario we have seen many times since the revolution. Damen Mangalia employs 1,500 people. The private investor there, the Dutch company Damen, announced in August that it had decided to pull out, and the Romanian state now has to take care of everything, pay people and attract orders to keep the shipyard running. However, there is no plan for this yet.

History in brief:

• In 2018, the then investor Daewoo decided to leave, and a controlling stake of 51% of the shares was bought by the Dutch from Damen.
• The Dutch company agreed to settle the company’s debts of more than €750,000 and transferred a 2% stake to its Romanian partner, Şantierul Naval 2 Mai, in exchange for receiving administrative and executive management. This is how the majoritarian state came about.
• As this was the first such situation, an exception was introduced in the law on corporate governance in state-owned companies, according to which a private investor could have operational control of a company if it provided capital, know-how, technology, orders and contracts.
• This year, Law 187/2023 again amended corporate governance legislation, which was one of the milestones established by the PNRR. By the same law, the Agency for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Activities of State Enterprises was established.
• The new government-initiated law no longer included an exception when the Damen Mangalia Shipyard collapsed, as the European Commission no longer accepted any exceptions. During the parliamentary debate, the Ministry of Economy presented an amendment that warned that Damen’s departure would lead to the implementation of Romanian state and social problems in Constanta county. However, the amendment was not voted by the parliament.
• The Dutch investor believed that this violated the memorandum concluded with the Romanian state in 2018 and announced in August that it would completely exit the Mangalia business, leaving only the Galati shipyard in Romania.
• Now the Romanian state, as the majority shareholder, has to provide operational and managerial management of the site in Mangalia, provide financing, receive orders and pay salaries.

Damen announced in August that it would leave the Magalia shipyard

At the beginning of August, Damen officially informed the Romanian state that it would no longer provide any financing for the construction site in Mangalia and did not place new orders.

The company has called an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders for November 14, at which it is asking the state to “supplement financing for 2023 and support financing,” according to AGEA’s convener, published in the Official Gazette.

According to HotNews.ro, a similar meeting of shareholders was held on September 11, and then state representatives would have refused to provide the requested funding. Under such conditions, there would be a risk that the construction site would run out of money for salaries in a few months, if the Romanian state does not find a source of money.

The Dutch from Damen refused to comment on this information.

“In light of your questions and given the lack of relevant developments requiring us to supplement our statements at this time, all information can be found in two previous press releases from Damen Holding BV,” they said. company representatives, at the request of HotNews.ro.

On August 11, Damen said: “As Damen has notified all relevant authorities, the termination of the association agreement is already effective from 08/03/2023. Damen only expects the cooperation of the Romanian side to effectively implement the exit procedure with as few obstacles as possible for all stakeholders. The solution is not to create committees and commissions. Which, in any case, is too little, too late. In addition, Damen Holding has not been contacted by any authorities and is currently not in talks with any commission.”

Ministry of Economy: There is a risk of social problems in Konstanz County

Radu Economy Minister Štefan Oprea, speaking to HotNews.ro, did not want to comment on the current situation in Mangalia.

But the ministry he heads is well aware of the risks there.

In the amendment submitted to parliament during the discussion of Law 187, representatives of the ministry draw attention to the fact that there is a risk that the state will be sued in international arbitration institutions and pay fines for violating the agreement with a private investor. and, in addition, there is a risk of some social problems at the level of Konstanz county:

“Taking into account the fact that Damen Shipyards Group has provided the joint venture with the necessary know-how to build high-performance ships, securing the market, we support that the exclusion situation will continue, a change in the legal conditions that affects the fundamental principle that was the basis 2018 agreement between the Romanian state through Şantierul Naval 2 Mai SA and Damen Shipyards Group Holland, as well as the memorandum approved at the government meeting on 21.06.2018 on the topic “Completion of negotiations between Mangalia 2 Mai”. Shipyard SA and Damen Shipyards Group regarding the joint venture contract “and may lead to the withdrawal of the foreign partner, the risk of the Romanian partner’s performance, as well as social problems at the level of the Constanța district,” reads the amendment to the Ministry of Economy, which was rejected in parliament.