New Szczecin Shipyard starts to look for new contracts

The Szczecin shipyard will be known as the New Szczecin Shipyard (Stocznia Szczecinska Nowa) after it has been registered. Meanwhile yesterday it relaunched ship production. Initially about 700 will be employed, which may rise to 2,660 when production picks up after three months. The shipyard workers are demanding that 6,000 be employed. Arkadiusz Krezel, president of the Industry Development Agency (ARP), said that apart from the completion of nine ships, the company has to win new contracts. He added that the minimum number of ships required to keep the shipyard going is five to six per year, which would give work to 3,000. He also said that if the shipyard succeeds in finding new orders and finance for the construction of 11 to 12 ships, then the number of employees may increase to 5,000. In related news, five former management board members of Szczecin Shipyard Porta Holding are suspected of having run up losses totalling zl. 35 million in the name of the shipyard. According to a source quoted by Rzeczpospolita, the accu sations are connected with the activity of Grupa Przemyslowa SA whose shares belong to the six presidents from the former seven member management board of Porta Holding. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6; Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) A.Z.