The A.P. Møller-Mærsk Lindø Yard, Denmark’s main yard for newbuildings, is to close due to increasingly stiff competition in the shipbuilding industry.

”Regardless of the major efforts to improve the competitiveness at Odense Steel Shipyard with investments in new technology and streamlining of the production, the shipyard has run up very considerable annual deficits and must today realise that it is impossible to attract orders, which are commercially sound,” A.P.Møller-Mærsk says in an announcement.

Lithuanian sell-off
It addds that when current contracted orders have been fulfilled, shipbuilding at Odense, which has built ships since 1917, will cease.

At the same time, A.P.Møller-Maersk says that it has put a Lithuanian yard up for sale.

”With the discontinuation of the shipbuilding activities at Odense Steel Shipyard, there is no longer a need for ownership of the Lithuanian shipyard, Baltija Shipyard,” the company says adding that the company is to be put up for sale, as well as the design and engineering company UAB Baltic Engineering Centre in Lithuania.