HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Galați shipyard (), formally Damen Shipyards Galați, is a
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...
located on the maritime sector of the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
in
Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...
, a city located in the
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
region of
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. It was founded in 1893 as the ''G. Fernic et Co Mechanical constructions and iron and bronze foundry'' (''Uzinele de construcții mecanice și turnătorie de fier și bronz G. Fernic et Co''). In 1897, it was renamed as the ''G. Fernic et Co Shipyard'' (''Șantierul naval G. Fernic et Co'').


History


Origins to 1893

The earliest mention of a shipyard in Galați comes from a
firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...
issued to Alexandru Lăpușneanu in the late 16th century, regarding the arming of some caïques constructed there. In the following period, many shipyards were established around the port of Galați. During the first half of the 18th century, one shipyard developed extensively. It incorporated a launch
slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...
, a
rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...
shop, material stores, a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
, and a log warehouse. In 1761, the Ragusan traveler Roger Joseph Boscovich, described the shipyard as an "arsenal" where ships were being built for the Turks. Due to
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
being a vassal state, most war vessel production was on behalf of the
Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...
through the 1820s. By 1773, many ships including
frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
, caravels, various commercial ships, as well as
ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...
with up to 60 cannons were constructed there. Austrian Captain Georg Lauterer reported in 1783 that annually the shipyard was building 10 to 12 ships with 2 to 3 masts and was repairing many more. Many of these ships were built for the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, but the construction cost was covered by the Danubian Principalities. One such order came in 1794, when 10 warships were to be built at Galați and paid for by
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
and Moldavia. The wood, of high quality, came from forests upstream and was brought by raft. In 1817, a
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
was built for Voivode Scarlat Callimachi. However, it was not until the late 1830s, following the establishment of a
free port A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...
at Galați, that the bulk of its ships started being used domestically: seven vessels were built there in 1839, followed by ten in 1840. Due to the fewer and fewer orders for wooden ships, the shipyard ceased its activity by late 1860. Following the
unification of Moldavia and Wallachia The unification of Moldavia and Wallachia (), also known as the unification of the Romanian Principalities () or as the Little Union (), happened in 1859 following the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince of both the Principality of Moldavi ...
, the Headquarters and the Fleet Workshop of the Romanian Navy were moved to Galați. In 1879, the workshop became the Navy Arsenal.


1893 to World War II

In March 1893, a local resident named Gheorghe Fernic established the "G. Fernic et Co Mechanical constructions and iron and bronze foundry" together with I. Guiller and T. Poujollat. In 1897, Fernic obtained approval to create a branch of his company that would work on ship repairs, which was named the "G. Fernic et Co Shipyard" (''Șantierul naval G. Fernic et Co''). In 1898, two state-owned floating dry docks started to be rented to the shipyard for repair works. In 1907, the shipyard was extended. Also in 1907, four river monitors (NMS ''Ion C. Brătianu'', ''
Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian Liberalism, liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on Octo ...
'', ''Alexandru Lahovari'' and ''Lascăr Catargiu'') were commissioned for the Romanian Navy. Built in sections in the Austro-Hungarian port of
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, they were assembled in Galați. In 1911, under the Premiership of Petre P. Carp, the area suffered some structural collapse, allegedly as a result of bad workmanship and political corruption (investigated by Nicolae Fleva on behalf of the Opposition). Through further association with Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, several buildings were constructed at that time. In 1916, the shipyard changed its name to the "Danube Shipyards". During the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
and into
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the yard had strategic significance, and two
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s ( NMS ''Rechinul'' and NMS ''Marsuinul'') and one minelaying destroyer escort ( NMS ''Amiral Murgescu'') were built there. Initially commanded by German captains, then replaced with Romanian crews, the submarines later fell to the
Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
. Sorin Anghel
"Afacere bună cu vase pe bandă"
''Jurnalul Național'', 16 October 2006; accessed February 19, 2012
Bogdan Nistor

''Adevărul'', 2 June 2015; accessed March 14, 2016

''Adevărul'', 14 August 2020; accessed March 18, 2023
From 1938 to 1944, Galați completed 65 civilian ships and 11 warships: in addition to the submarines and minelaying destroyer, these consisted of four motor torpedo boats (the '' Vedenia''-class) and four minesweepers (the ''Democrația''-class). The country's first native-built dry dock was constructed there between 1937 and 1942. Before the war, the largest ships built were a river steamer of 420 tons and barges up to 1,700 tons at Galati; the yard employed 500 to 800 men. The number of employees reached nearly 2,000 during the war. Romania's first native-built oil tanker, ''SRT-128'', was launched there in 1942. Between 1893 and 1944, 116 ships were fully-built at the shipyard. Many others were assembled and repaired.


Postwar period

Between 1946 and 1950, the shipyard delivered 77 ships to its beneficiaries. The main types of ships built were oil tankers and grain and timber barges of 1,000 and 2,000 tons, river tugs of 160-700 hp, as well as fishing trawlers. On 11 June 1948, the shipyard was nationalized. After 1950, Galați shipyard was modernized by the communist regime in several stages, creating conditions for the construction of large-tonnage ships. In 1960, Galați shipyard (SNG) completed the construction of the first Romanian cargo ship of 4,400 DWT. By the end of 1970, SNG had built 477 ships: tankers, barges, cargo ships, tugs and fishing vessels. After 1974, highly complex and high-capacity ships, with increasingly larger displacements up to 55,000 DWT, were built for Romanian and foreign clients, as well as 7
offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the ter ...
platforms for the exploitation of existing oil and gas reserves on the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
continental shelf (, Orizont, Prometeu, Fortuna,
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...
,
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
and
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
). From that time until the 1989 fall of the regime, some 80% of the shipyard's products were exported. The components of the Cernavodă Bridge were also built at SNG. During the same period, an important horizontal integration of the naval industry was also created in Galați, starting with the Faculty of Naval Architecture (1951) and the (1957), and continuing with the Galați Naval Mechanical Enterprise (1966) which produced naval equipment, and the Naval Propeller and Steel and Iron Castings Enterprise (1972).


Damen Group era

Following the 1989 fall of the communist regime, there were 32 unsold ships at the shipyard, and these were only liquidated in full in 2000. Meanwhile, the Dutch
Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...
had taken over the yard. The group's interest in Galați began in 1994, when it subcontracted several cargo vessel hulls.Introduction
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
This was the means by which its manager decided whether to invest somewhere. Noticing too that the boats left over from the Communist period were being reinforced, he decided to take control of the shipyard company's stock, which happened in 1999. Although he wished to obtain 100% of the shares, he only managed to acquire 99%, the remainder being in the hands of unidentified individuals who received
privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
vouchers in the 1990s. Galați is the largest naval shipyard on the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
, its output ranging from large tankers to small coast guard
patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...
s. The company also represents a significant element of the local economy. Since 1990, all of its products have gone to export. Following Damen's takeover, an investment plan focusing on improving efficiency and working conditions was introduced. For example, at the time of the takeover, spoons and coffee cups were listed in the inventory; afterwards, all items worth under $100 were considered disposable goods and no longer placed on the record books. The yard builds offshore vessels, naval vessels, special vessels (such as buoy laying vessels, patrol vessels and research vessels), tugs, workboats and mega yachts,Organisation
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
and has also produced
oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...
s, container carriers, cargo
barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
s and drilling rig platformsProducts
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
—over 250 vessels (as of 2010) since 1999. There were some 1,550 employees at the end of 2010, as well as 1,150 subcontracted employees handling support functions including electricity,
HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC ) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...
, carpentry, blasting and painting.Key figures 2010
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
This was down from 10,000 total employees in 2006, of whom 3,100 worked for Damen. Engineering services are mainly supplied by two firms in which Damen is the major shareholder, Marine Engineering Galați, established in 2004, and Marine Design Engineering Galați, established in 2023.Engineering
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012

, at the Marine Engineering Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
Production takes place on four lines: for vessels up to 10,000 DWT, for vessels up to 26,000 DWT, for vessels up to 50,000 DWT, and for tugs and workboats.Facilities
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
There is also a workshop for piping and galvanizing and a blasting and painting hall.Piping & Deep Hot Galvanizing Workshop
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
Blasting & painting hall
at the Damen Shipyards Galați site; accessed February 19, 2012
Since 1999, when it was taken over by Damen Group, Galați shipyard has delivered (as of 2024) over 450 ships to customers around the world, including 30 military ships built for 13 countries. From the 1960s to 2021, over 1,500 ships were built at the Galați shipyard.


Warships built


See also

* Port of Galați *
Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...
*
Constanța Shipyard Constanța Shipyard () is the largest shipyard in Romania and one of the largest in Europe having a market share of 20% in the Black Sea basin. The shipyard has two drydocks, one used for the construction of ships up to , and the second one us ...
* Mangalia shipyard * List of Romanian-built warships of World War II


Gallery

File:Mihail Kogălniceanu monitor.jpg, ''Mihail Kogălniceanu'' in 1941 File:Amiral Murgescu (side).jpg, ''Amiral Murgescu'', the largest Romanian-built warship of the Second World War File:Marsuinul launching.jpg, Launching of ''Marsuinul'', May 1941 File:MS KBV 003 Amfitrite.jpg, '' Amfitrite'', a
Swedish Coast Guard The Swedish Coast Guard () is a Sweden, Swedish civilian Government agencies in Sweden, government agency tasked with: * maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea. * co-o ...
vessel built at Galați and launched in 2010 File:Samskip Pioneer p2 Port of Rotterdam 01-Jan-2005.jpg, '' Samskip Pioneer'', a container ship launched in 2006 File:Cargo ship Susan Borchard at Port of Barcelona container terminal - 6 Oct. 2011.jpg, '' Susan Borchard'', launched 2010


Notes


References

* * * * *


External links


Damen Galați official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galati shipyard
Shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...
Companies of Galați County Manufacturing companies established in 1893 Shipyards of Romania 1893 establishments in Romania Damen Shipyards Galați