Shipbuilding and shipping are among the most promising areas of cooperation between Norway and Ukraine. The maritime sector is Norway’s second largest industry after the oil and gas industry, with an added value of over 12 billion Euros in 2007. To stay in the forefront of the world maritime market, Norway has for decades concentrated on enhancing its maritime competence and developing innovative solutions for its renowned shipbuilding, ship’s and fishing gear industries.
Ukraine’s maritime industry has substantial technical and human resource competence to offer, in particular related to shipbuilding. There are currently around 30 shipyards in Ukraine, and the five largest are well-known internationally. An illustration of successful Norwegian-Ukrainian partnerships in the shipbuilding industry is the long-term presence in Ukraine of Kleven Maritime, the Ullstein group and Poss Ltd., in addition to previous experiences by Aker Yards, the Bergen Yard company and the Norwegian shipping company Havyard Leirvik AS in Nikolaev.
In order to explore existing and new opportunities, the Norwegian Embassy in Kiev and the Ministry of Industrial Policy of Ukraine organized a Ukrainian-Norwegian Roundtable on Shipbuilding in October 2010, with participation from Ukrainian and Norwegian authorities and business representatives.
At the roundtable, the participants discussed and suggested ways to make Ukrainian-Norwegian cooperation in the shipbuilding sector more efficient in terms of production capacity and outputs. The roundtable focused on concrete measures for strengthening future cooperation and promoting mutual value added activities. Representatives of Ukrainian and Norwegian shipbuilders and yards offered their expert input to Ukrainian authorities, representing the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Industrial Policy, the State Tax Administration, the State Customs Service and other relevant authorities. From the Norwegian side, representatives from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Norwegian Directorate for Customs and Excise and representatives of the shipbuilding business took part.
The roundtable confirmed that there are great opportunities to further develop Ukrainian-Norwegian cooperation within the shipbuilding sector. A more strategic cooperation between Norway and Ukraine could not only be economically beneficial for both countries, but could also contribute to strengthening the European maritime industry overall, which is currently experiencing fierce competition from Asia.
For additional information regarding Norwegian maritime industry please visit the following sites:
Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO): www.nho.no
Federation of Norwegian Industries: www.norskindustri.no/maritim
Association of Norwegian Maritime Exporters (NME): www.maritimenorway.no
Nortrade – the official Norwegian business environment on the Internet: www.nortrade.com