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COM (83) 483 
 
 
 
Vol. 1983/0 182 
  
 
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 
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file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.  
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom  1. 
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Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgem einschaft (ABI. L 43 vom  15.2.1983,  
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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(83) 483 final
Brussels, 7 September 1983
REPORT
FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL
on the State of the shipbuilding industry  
in the Community
' SCOM(83) 483 final(Situation  at t he beginning of 1983)

C i  f l  h 2 ' i
CONTENTS
1. Introduction 2
2. General economic background 3
3. Trends in the sea transport sector 4
4. Situation of the shipbuilding industry 8
4.1 General trends 8
4.2 Situation in the Community 10
4.2.1 Production 10
4.2.2 New Orders 11
4.2.3 Order books 14
4.2.4 Employment 17
4.3 Market prospects and final 18
condiderations
Appendi x

This docuaent is the fifth report ef the Coaaiseien to the Counoi 1 on the  
development of -the orisis in -the shipbuilding sector.
The Situation ef the eeotor woreened in 1983« Sea traasport deelined world-vide,
■einly as a reeult of the bad general etate of the worid econoay. This deeline  
had the effeet of sxtending the overoapaoity of floate virtually throughout the 
market t and ereated additional overoapacity in large bulk carriera for both  
liquide and solide, where it was already apparent at the beginaing of the year.
In these cirooastanoes, the deaaad for new ahips feil by 1956 in 1982, this fall  
aggravated ooapetition aaong shipyards, and uader the influence of Far Eastern  
yards, led to a pries drop of 30# on average for new ships of Standard types.  
Production of ships, still affooted by the previoua level of ordere, renained  
stagnant.
It does not seem that shipyards ean ezpeet an iaproveaent in the Situation in the  
near fature: the fleets already with surplus eapaoity can oeet the foreseeable needs,  
even if these grow, and the drop in new ordere for ships will nake itself feit  
in production. At the aase tiae, in view of the inoreased eapaoity of certain  
third countries on the ahipbuilding market, the Situation nay becone extrenely  
painful in areas where tha industry is nost vulnerable, in particular in Europa.
In the Coaaunity, the drop of 19# in new ordere in 1982 was already accompanicd  
by a fall of Tfc in production. It is likely that production will fall forthar in  
the short tem, sinoe work prograaaea for a nuaber of yards are laoking fron tha  
autunn of 1983« and layoffa of workers are announcad.
This development of the Situation will require the extension and reinforoeaent  
of efforte by the Coaaunity industry to adapt to aarket oonditions, aainly by  
direeting aetions towards the iaproveaent of coapetitivity, and a modifioation  
of public aid aeasures in this direotion. The Coaaission has dealt with these  
aspeots in its report entitled "Polioy Ouidelines for Restrueturing the  
Shipbuilding Industry".

2
B,SPORT Off VIE STATE OF THE SglPBPILBIIfO gTOSTRY iy_ ^ _ O Q i m _ m  
Situation at the beginning of 1983
1. Introduction
Tub C'OTSHoi.i Resolution of 19 September 1976 (*) called o h the Commission to  
ambadt periodic reports o h the state of the shipbuilding industry. This is the  
Cemuisaion*© fifth such report. Like the previous ones (**), it seeks to  
outline the current situation, sad prospects on the shipbuilding Market.
SltateiatutB tlat the shipbuilding industry is in the grip of a. crisis are now  
commonplace. Ebmetholests the industry is passing through highly critical times i  
despits the tangible efforts whiuh the majority of shipbuilders have been  
making to adapt - including drastic outbacks in production, workforce and  
capacity - the storm clouds have been gathering since aid- 1982.
The root of the probles lies ia the farther contraction of demand for new  
vessels, depressed not only by the recession and the general stagnation in  
shipping, but also by the persistent, and indeed growing over-capacity in  
the sea transport sector. It will take time before this is absorbed by the  
revival in trade generated by the general economic recovery, which has yet  
to make itself felt sad osanot bs expected to pat an end to the problems  
from which, the shipbuilding industry is suffering.
World demand for vessels fell by 19$ in 1982. Is contrast, the yards managed  
to inoreass their output by about 4$. However, this signals no upturn, but  
merely that the slightly higher orders booked in 1981 were completed.
Generally no more jobs were shed. This relative stabilisation night suggest  
that the crisis is mow bottoming out. Oh the other hand the weakening of the  
narket in 1962 led to the auneuneenent of further redundancies at short notice  
in Europe. At any event, it is becoming increasingly clear that the industry  
is likely to remain short of orders for serveral mors years before the situation  
improves and that 1963 will bs a particularly critical year.
(*) OJ C 229, 79.9.1978
(**) Supplement 7/79 to the Bulletin of the European Communities,
COM ( 8 0) 443 final, COM (81) 432 final, COM (82) 564 final.

- 3 -
In addibi®** the farters affecting overall demand, a number of others  
- many of then oat si As the eoatrol of the industry - play their part in  
determining what share of world, depend rival shipyards take. The wain external  
considerations are the expansion of production capacity in certain third  
countries, notably South Korea, the differing interest rates, flnetaation in  
exchange rates and the inpart of national policies, especially of these  
ineorperating aid sehenee. The interplay between these factors adds to  
the uncertainty of the individual governments and shipbuilders osnesrnsd.
Sines this preoeee so often puts European y  ards at a disadvantage, further  
support has bean needed - despite the growing desire to out down aid to the  
shipbuilding industry - in order te avert grave disruption of the shipbuilders'  
activities. This has delayed the reorganisation, in sons eases substantially.
The Ceaniseien daeidad te reassess its policy guidelines for restructuring  
the industry, in the light of these latest develepneate. The resultant report  
published in Karsh 1983 (l) raoea— ndaft, inter alia, stepping up the efforts  
to help the industry adjust and, above all, recover. This was to be achieved  
by inplenenting, or reinforcing a progranae ef qualitative adjustnents to  
oonaelidate the results to the earlier restructuring, principally by naans  
of aere extensive consultation and coordination of reseuroes. To avoid  
repetition, this report loaves aside the topics discussed in the Karsh  
report, such as oonpetitiveaess, structures and shipbuilding policy.
2. general aoonoaic background
The extremely glooay economic situation of 1981 deteriorated further in 1982,  
when COS* in the OECD shrank by 0„5$ in volune terns following increases of only  
1$ in each of the two previous years. Production volune followed nook the  
sene pattern, while world trade fell by 0.9$ in 1982. (tonerally, developments over  
the second half of tho year were even nore negative than the average for the  
year as a whole.
According to the latest Coemission forecasts, econonio activity could piok up  
slightly in 1983 (compared with 1982) though the upturn will remain extremely  
modest and fragile. GDP is expected to grow by 1.7$ in the OECD in 1983 1 the 
world evolution would bo of the sans magnitude with world trade, based on  
imports, expanding by 0.5$. Tory limited (0.5$) growth in GDP and in industrial  
output is forecast for the Gonnunity in 1983.
(1) COM (83) final

4
la view of the general glean at tho start of 19831 the into m a t  ional shipping  
eonnsnity whieh handles tho lien's share of world trade has boon showing no  
sign of eptiniss either.
3* Trends in the eea transport sector
The deterioration whieh began in virtually all branches of the sea transport  
narkat in 1981 continued in 1982, with the situation dominated entirely by  
the combined inpaot of the over-oapaoity on supply side and of the weak  
deaand for shipping services. The gross tonnage carried at sea slipped back  
by 8.5JC in 1982 and the fleet utilisation rate in tonae-niles by 10^. This  
was on top of the 1981 lessee of 4and 6fL respectively. These losses were  
paralleled by stagnation in the fleet, though not even this was enough, to  
prevent further weakening of the aarknt throughout 1982. The tension was  
heightened by the nanifest, growing, over-oapaeity. This inbalanoe had a  
disatrous effect on freight rates, where tho collapse which started in 1981  
continued, sparing virtually no sector of tho narkat.
The table below gives an idea of the nain trends.
TABLE 1 WORLD SEABOSHE THAI® AID OAXdo^AH&hta FLEET
Crude ail and oil products Other oargo
Seaborne trade Fleet*------ se
aborne trade ------TleeT-------
'000 nillion  
tonne-si lee % nillion dwt %'000 nillion % 
teane-nilcsnillion dwt i
1973
1975
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982 p10217
9730
11467
IO646
10659
9405
8371
6965100
95
112
105
107
92
82
68234.3
313.0
356.1
352.9
350.9
348.4
342.4
328.5100
134
152
151
150
149
146
1405187
5636
6050
6388
T016
7372
7469
7225100
109
117
123
135
142
144
1392 0 5 .6
230.7 
268.5
279.8 
287.0
292.9
305.9 
318.8100
112
131
136
140
142
149
155
* As at end of year p - provisional Sourcej Fernleys Oslo

- 5 -
These figures also shew bow mob. the tread varied from one sector of the Burke  
to another. For instance, the oil-tanker fleet carried less, in tcnne-eile  
terns, in 1982 to bring its total loss of trade over the last five years up to  
40$. The sain reasons for this predicament are the furtlar 9$ or so reduction  
in oil oonsunptian and the inoreaae in supplies from the fields closest to the  
centres of eonsuaptim, which has shortened the usual voyages. Despite the  
fact that there wae surplus tanker tonnage even at the start of 1981, the fleet  
has shed only 4$ of its capacity - too little to stop the severe slum in  
tonnage carried, fron inflicting considerable danage on the oarket. The  
increase in the number ef vessels withdrawn fron the freight nsrket in 1982, 
as coaparad with 1981, is olsar evidsnoe of the depth of the depression.
Tanker salas to breakers doubled whilst the laid-up tanker tasmage almost  
trebled. Sene experts put the surplus tanker oapaoity at almost 50$, part 
of it due to less efficient use of the vessels, and in particular to slow  
stealing and lew load factors.
All concerned broadly agree that the over-oapaoity in the tanker fleet will  
persist for several nore years, with oil novensnts expected to regain stagnant  
in the short, and possibly even nediun, term. Tbs largest tankers are the  
hardest hit.
Although statistics cannot tell the full story, the Table below sets out sons of the  
figures behind these developments.
TOTABLE 2 I 
MAGE WITHDRAWS (IN’000 GRT/EMT) l
Tonnage laid up “Tonnage broken up Tonnage used for storage
Month No GRT DWT 
9 7 8  VII 765 29.651 55.289 
X 737 25.486 47.507No CRT IWT 
1978 r.0 8 8  12 .8 4 0  21.7 0 3Month No DWT
179 I 595 16.678 30.290 
VII 417 11.206 20.063 
X 353 7.490 12.5181979 904 6.997 11.1371979 I 40 7.856 
VII 37 6.668 
X 37 6.672
9 8 0  I 298 6.204 10.603 
VII 268 6.767 12.249 
X 233 5.371 9.5121980 887 9.184 , 15.9401980 I 39 7.112 
VII 45 9.199 
X 67 14.266
9 8 1  I 229 4.840 8.288 
VII 246 8.618 15.562 
X 287 10.399 19.0141981 824 9.789 17.5171981 I 74 16.866 
VII 77 15.668 
X 149 35.950
9 8 2  I 353 14.111 26.391 
VII 624 25.437 49.122 
X 1071 35.293 67.2601982 1.082 17.685 32.590
>1982 I 120 28.757 
VII 79 18.295 
X 64 13.860
9 8 3  I 1292 40.657 77.168 1983 I 58 11.812 
III 68 15.172
Sources: In s t it u t e  o f shipping Economics Bremen/Howard Moulder C h a rte rin g  L td .

This all points to an unproductive wait-and-see attitude on the part of the 
parties concerned. However, there is no denying that resolute action could help 
renedy the situation. Sin<K* a large proportion of the surplus 150 nillion dwt is 
destined for the breakerftyard soeasr or later, noves to speed up the process would 
help restore the balance on the narket sooner.
Traffic in the dry bulk sector fell by a Laos t 4$ in 1982. This sector has taken 
a sharp turn for the worse, which is only to be expected as the vessels ordered were 
reoently brought on to the narket - against the dictates of the narket which indicated 
a downturn in transport requirements - to swell the over-capacity which has beset 
the fleet since the end of 1981. Almost 20$ of the fleet is now surplus to 
reqnirsaents, absorbed aainly in the fora of 1 aid-up vessels and by a far lower 
fleet utilization rate.
is for the chief conodities in the dry bulk sector, the decline in iron-ore 
shipaente continued, coal failed to live up to its pronise and there was a 
general, and in sows oases considerable, eluap in the other raw materials. Only 
grain transport approached the I 98I level. So improvement is expected in 1983) 
at beet the status quo will be maintained.
The over-capacity in the bulk-carrier fleet is unlikely to be absorbed in the short 
term, least of all while newly-built vessels continue to add to the fleet and 
shipowners such as the Japanese persist in placing aaseivs orders for this class 
of vesel, at the risk of delaying the improvement in freight rates.
The deterioration which struck the sore speoialized sectors and the liner trade 
in 1981 gained pace considerably in 1982. The incipient over-capacity 
in most fleets, including the LPGf, roll-on/roll-off, container and cargo fleets, 
is growing and the recession iV paralysing farther developaent. However, these 
fleets do not appear to be as over-tonnaged as the oil-tanker and bulk-carrier 
fleets and it should be possible to absorb the surplus capacity in the short 
torn, with a few exceptions, oaoe the general eeoaoaio eliaate iaproves and 
provided orders for new vessels reaain realistic.
The five-year decline in the fleet flying the flags of the Coasenity’s Member 
States gained pace, though tfea world fleet, sad the fleet of most shipping nations, 
remained stable or even grew slightly in 1982. The ComsBaaity ?s fleet hid. the 
highest proportion of vessels laid up or broken up in relation to the fleet on the sou 
Although the average age of the Community** fleet is relatively aodest, many of 
the Coanmity’s shipowners have suffered.6 ■

- 7 -
Above all, those running taskers sad balk carriers have been confronted with  
freight rates which fail eves to cover their operating costs, sad which,  
therefore, have made it harder for then to balance their boohs. Many of then,  
having exhausted their United, scape for diversification, had no alternative  
but to reduce the aise of their fleet in order to survive in an industry where  
eapital-occffieiemt and indebtednsaa are generally high and the nargLn for  
namoeuvre snail. So esaprehensive surveys of novenanta by the Member States *  
fleets are available, but the statistics below amply illustrate how each the 
flsst has been tnsned.
TABLE 3 - WORLD AND COMMUNITY FLEETS
I  A. Fleet as at 1 Ju^v fin gin ion a'rt’) 
1960 1970... 1975 1977 1978 1979198019811982
World
EEC129,8
48,1227,5
68,3342,2
96,8393,7
105,9406,0
110,9413,0
110,4419,9
111,1420.8
109.9424,7
104,5
EEC as % 
oJMrorld 1 figures37,130,028,326,9•  27,3 26,726,526,124,6
_.
B. Member States’ fleet (in. *000 grt) by flag.
Fleet as at 1 July Broken up
1981 1982 1981 1982
Germany 7708 7707 143 185
Belgiun 1917 2271 • • * •
Denmark 5048 5214 110 144
France 11455 10771 397 479
Greece 42005 40035 1691 2027
Ireland 268 239 • •  • ...
Italy 10641 10375 210 259
Netherlands 5468 5393 65 548
United Kingdom 25419 22505. 1026 1110Laid up
1981
290 
• « •
7950
230
596
14491982
760
1128
776
11521
1908
3377
Sources :  SK&sting flectt
Other datasL lo y d 's  R eg ister of S hipping.
In s t ;u te of Shipping Economics, Bremen,

- 9 -
Japanese shipyard's pricing praetieo has also made an impact even though it  
failed to spare Japanese yards problems in finding orders in 1982. They out their  
contract prioes in lias with their rivals on the narkat, most of whom enjoy  
substantially lower labour oosts. Since Japanese yards control over 40^ of  
the market their moves triggered a world-wide oollapsi in prices, by an  
average of 25/6 to 30% in 1982. A number of Japamese yards probably even  
charged rates whioh failed to oever their oosts. The Japanese authorities'  
reeent reoonmsndstions eomoernimg voluntary limitation of supply could  
exercise a salutary effect on prioes, but their excesses of 1982 only  
aggravated the financial difficulties experienced by many European yards.
Another of the maim factors which destabilised the market in 1982 was the  
relentless rapid rise of a number of newcomers to the shipbuilding market,  
led by South Korea. As a result the relative share of the world market  
taken by nonr-Japaness and non-European yards rose from 26^ in 1981 to 32£  
in 1982, with Korean yards alone pushing their share up from (fjL to 9 %•
This surge fueled by generally more competitive prioes and steady progress  
towards more sophisticated vessels- results in slowing down the efforts to  
redress the balance between supply and demand.
Alternatives to shipbuilding, such as the construction of off-shore  
structures and repair work, also suffered setbacks in 1982 and no longer  
offer a Mans of softening the impact of the lose of shipbuilding activity.
On the contrary, they could even turn into another headache for the shipyards.

- 8 -
It is dinar frou the figures that the deterioration hae been leee severe
la aortal* ISrnber States, generally la these with aa aid scheae of oae 
fora or another for shipowners. la any event, the erosioa of the comranity- 
hased shipowners« pesitiea rqdaeee their capacity to order new vessels, which 
in turn has aa adverse inpaet, on the Cs*s*Eity*e shipyards, their leading 
supplier®.
4. Sitaatiaa of «Mi>WMdi«jr ludastwr (l)
4 .1 Qoaeral treads
The general level of both activity and denaad indicate that the crisis 
in the shipbuilding industry has deepened with ao sign of iaprovenent 
over the next two years.
This is the result of the world-wide shipping crisis (see above) which 
has brought ia its wake aa inadequate rate of utilisation of production 
capacity in terns of both quantity and quality* Besides this, to 
a certain extent Europe's and Japan's efforts to adjust have been 
thwarted by the enomaws growth in capacity in countries which are 
newooaers to shipbuilding.
The new order intake was far worse in 1982, with an 19# fall world-wide 
eoapared with 1931. Likewise, 1983 has got off to a bad start. The 
danger is that this depression night oast its shadow over the next
few years, sinoe there is little chance of eoenonio growth absorbing
quickly the current over-capacity in the world fleets.
Europe has decided to press on with its efforts to adapt to the ohaaged 
position of the narkat. Preeeere from Japanese yards has not been as great 
as had bean feared following relaxation of the reeoanended production 
quotas in 1981. What is nere, the Japanese authorities seen to have 
cess round to a acre realistic approach, and, since the start of 1983, 
have once again been advocating limited utilisation of capacity, 
though no further adjustnsnt. Severtheless by artificially drwsaiag up 
a rush of orders for a United period the Japanese yards brought about 
a trend to anticipate reqairenants to a certain extent. This is one of 
the factors responsible for the current eentraotion of denned which hits 
European and Japanese yards alike.
(1) See the Appendix to this report for a guide to understanding and 
interpreting the units and sources of inforaation used in this section.
Bote in particular that the observations nade are based on the egrt figures 
supplied by Lloyd's Register ©f Shipping (LRS). Qreeoe is included in the 
Cosauaity figures for 1961 and after, though not in those provided by 
the OECD, which has no data for that country.

10 -
4* * * 2 Situation dans la Co— mart*
4*2.1 Production
In 1982 CoBwmity production foil by roughly 1% oonpared with 1981 to regoh  
2 .5 million cgrt. This was 51$ less than in 1976. Italy suffered th»  
heaviest losses. Output fell sharply in franc* and Germany too, though  
sine* it had been extrsaely high in 1982 ooapared with previous  
y*ars tha underlying contraction in both thaa* countries was no higher  
than tha Conunity average.
Production is running higher than the new order intake in almost every  
Heaber State, peeing the danger of further reductions in future.
Generally the situation is worse in yards specializing in large vessels.
TABLE 4 - PRODUCTION (OOMPLETIOW) H  *000 COST
1976 1978 1980 1981 1982
Germany 
Belgium 
Denmark 
France 
1  Greece 
Ireland 
Italy *) 
Netherlands 
1  United Kingd-tj)*? OECD
( AWES ^ f -
coeff.) 196 7_L R S  
(new 
coeff.OECD
(new .
coeffLRS OECD
(new (new
coeff.) coeff)LRS OECD 
(new (new 
coeff.) coeff)
0 :11468,0
139.8 
560,6 
672,4 
. xx
20,3
353.9
940.0
985.11630.0
141.0
425.0
1117.0 
.xx
14^0
314.0
507.0
824.01029,1
165.2
362.5
430.6 
.xx
5,0
305.2 
513,9 
718,41059,6
154.8 
378,7 
440,2 
.xx
283,1
455,0
708.9596,2
129,6
382.4 
267,8 
. xx
3,-0
345.5
249.5
458.6618.5
126.7 
267,9
301.8 
.xx/
287,4
239.6 
513,2870.1 
95,4
343,6
443.1 
5,0
17,0
359.1 
341,5 
243,0922.0 
95,8
363.1 
401,9
.xx
17,0
298.2
255.3 
254,0LRS OECD
(new (new
coeff.) coeft)
757,3 763,5
83,0 85,5
329.2 313,3
353.3 319,0 
61,8
156,2 176,6
390.0 366,0
394.0 420,8
EEC 5140,1 4972,0 3529,9 3480,3 2432,7 2355,1 2717,8 2607,3 2524,8 2444,7
* P16 °fCD figures for 1976 and 1978 cover only the main yards. The -I 980 figure 
includes 253 000 cgrt for those yards. 1  6
** Not available.

PRODUCTION TRENDS (COMPLETIONS) IN THE MEMBER STATES
li.ill;
UACtf M OIRWANI

11
4.2.2. N e w  orders
New o rd e rs  fo r  a  t o t a l  of 2.1 m i l l i o n  c g rt were 
p la ce d  in the Community in  1982, w e ll down (19%) 
on the 1981 f ig u r e  r e f l e c t i n g  a  com parable re d u c tio n  
w o rld w id e .
A ll Member S ta te s s u ffe re d  lo s s e s , except I t a l y  where 
an a id  scheme was re in tro d u c e d . Losses were above 
average in France and the U n ite d  Kingdom , which to g e ­
th e r w ith  the N e th e rla n d s , s u ffe re d  the h e a v ie s t 
lo s s e s , in term s of the average volume of o rd e rs  
s in c e  1980. The tre n d  o f new o rd e rs  h e ld  steady in
Germany and Denmark.
The reasons are h ig h ly  complex and hard to assess 
one by one,' they in c lu d e  such d iv e rs e  f a c to r s  as 
the p ro d u c t ran ge , p r o d u c t i v i t y  im p rovem e nts, sa le s 
f in a n c in g  te rm s , c u rre n c y  f a c t o r s ,  d i f f e r e n t  aid 
schemes and s o ' f o r t h .
Only in I t a l y  was the flo w  of new o rd e rs  s u f f i c i e n t  
to m a in ta in  the 1982 ra te  of p ro d u c tio n . Many yards 
s t i l l  l i e  id le  fo r  much of the second half of 1983.
TABLE 5  - N F W  ORDERS (  In '000 CGRT )
1976 1  978 1980 1  981 1  982
LRS O EC D j  LRS O ECD LRS O EC D LRS O EC D LRS O ECD
(AWES (  '6  7 (new (new (new (new (new (new (new (new
coeff.) coef f .  ) coeff.) coeff.) coe ff.) coeff.) coe ff. coef f )coeff. coe ff.)
Germany 726. 1 5 1 1 .0 535.8 448 6 613.0 619 0 8 7 1 .1 872. 4 716.7 844.3
Belgium 75. 0 5 4.0 59.4 40 9 53.8 138 0 8 1.4 47. 9 43.3 56.2
Denmark 317. 1 220 .0 263.8 306 6 284.6 349 0 296 .4 329. 3 250.6 265.8
France 63. 6 37.0 214.1 175 6 556.4 353 0 332 .9 402. 9 175.9 180.6
Greece .X X .X X .X X .X X -X X .X X 4C .  J -X X 10.3 .X X
Ire  land 19. 2 3,0 - 1.3 - 1 8.2 17. 7 1.3 -
I t a l y  *3 0 1  . 5 2 8 1 .0 330.0 265 6 231.2 285 0 144 7 99. 1 243.2 218.8
Netherl.
264. 259 4 0 376.5 311. 9 373.3 323. 0 365 2 345. 7 309.0 296.8
Jni ted
< i ngdom 627. 6 4 2 1 0 230.2 338. 5 350.2 384. 0 410 8 382. 9 301.5 282.2
E E C  total 2756. 6 1783 0 2012.6 1887. 7 2463.8 2451 . 0 2525 2 2497. 92051.8 2144.7
* The O E C D  figures for 1976 and 1978 cover only the main yards>the 1980 figure 
includes 214 000 cgrt for these yards.
** Not available

- 12 -
In  1 9 8 2  C o m m u n ity sh ip yard s' share of a ll new orders placed  
throughout the world remained r e la t iv e ly  s ta b le , in co n trast  
to the a p p re c ia b le  losses s u ffe re d  by other co u n tries in  
Western Europe, where, on the whole, th ere was g re a te r  
disinvestm en t in the s h ip b u ild in g  in d u s try . Japan's share  
of the market remained close to the lower end of the  
bracket w ith in  which the Japanese have been o p eratin g  
since the onset of the c r is is .
However, th is  has not been en o u g h  to a lla y  the fears  
raised at the Community's shipyards partly  by the uncer­
ta in ty  concerning p rices and partly  by the fu rth e r  
ag g ravatio n  of the c o m p e titiv e  p o s itio n  as Korea, and  
perhaps even other newcomers, exert in c re a s in g  pressure  
on a  stagnant and very f l a t  m arket.
TABLE 6 -  TREND IN THE MARKET SHARE O F THE MAJOR SHI PBUILDING REGIONS
1976 1978 1980 1981 1982
' 000 cgrt % ' 000 cgrt; % ' E 000 cgrt % '000 cg rt % '000 cgrt %
P r o d u c t ion
EC* 5140.1 23 .3 3529-9 21-3 2432-7 19-2 2717-8 19-.6 2524,8 17-3
l e s t  of AWES*.*3145 .7 14.2 2303-1 13-9 1499-0 11.9 1733-6 12-5 1760-2 12-1
lo t a l f.aU '
W e s t e r n  Europe8285 .8 37. 5 5832-9 35-2 3931,8 31-1 4451-4 32,2 4285-0 29.4
J a p a n8348.8 3 7.8 6120.5 3 7 .0 5207.2 41.2 5580,8 40-3 5811-1 3 9.8
l e s t  of world
i f  which5444.4 24,7 4593-4 27-8 3496-3 27-7 3808,7 27.. 5 4491-7 3 0 ,8
E a s te r n  bloc 2755 .4 12-5 2132.3 12.9 1213,5 9 .6 1394.9 10.1 1678.4 11-5
S o u t h  Korea - - 445-7 3-5 512-2 3-7 880-3 6-0
t o t a l 22078.2 100 16546.7 100 12635,2 100 13840.9 100 14587„8 100
l e w  order
in t a k e
E E2756.6 17. 2 201 2 ,4 .6 18.6 2463,8 17,2 2525,2 18.0 2051.8 17.8
l e s t  of A W E S  * *1903.0 11. 9 1367 r8 1  2 r 7 2049.5 14.3 2000*9 14,2 913.7 7 ,9
i o t a L  for a l l  
W e s t e r n  Europe4659.6 29. 1 3380,6 31 .3 4513,3 31,5 4526.1 32,2 2965.5 2 5 .7
: a p a n . 7337.5 45. 9 4 3 3 3 f9 40-1 6708-3 46-7 5823,1 41-4 4859-4 42-9
l e s t  of the3985 .3 25,0 3081 .8 28,6 3136.1 2 .1  .8 3703.9 26.4 3708.3 3 2.0
n rld  of which
E a s te r n , bloc1896.9 11,9 1146.8 10,6 467.9 3 .3 1058.0 7,5 1069,0 9 .3
S o u t h  Korea - - 939,3 6.5 893.2 6 .4 1002.5 8 ,7
l i t a l 15982.4 100 10796.1 hoo 14357,5 100 14053.1 100 11533,2 100
=  =  =  =  = = = =  = = b========: :- = = = = = : t s s s s s s z r r : U  === = = := := = L====|
S o u r c e  :  L lo y d '  s  Regi s te r of Shipping.
*  T h e  1976,1978 and 1980 fig u re s  do not inclu d e Greece. ■
• *  A W E S  :  A s s o c iiio n  of West European ShipbuiIders.M em bers from o u tsid e t 3 European Community
inclu d e the s h ip b u ild e r's  ass o c ia tio n s  o /  F in la n d , Sweden, Norway, Spain and P o rtu g a l.

- 13 -
In  1982 the Community's shipowners placed 78% of th e ir  orders  
with shipyards in the Community. However, the tonnage ordered  
remained the same as in the previous year 1  500 000 c g rt.  
C onsequently,  the  increase of 58 to 78% r e f le c t s , above a l l ,  a  
red u ctio n  in the e x c e p tio n a lly  high le v e l of orders which  
Greek shipowners placed with non-Community co u n tries in 1981.
In the vast m a jo rity  of Member S tates shipowners placed between  
80% and 90% of th e ir  orders with shipyards in the Community,  
the only exceptions being the United Kingdom (52%) and Greece  
(5% ). These fig u re s  do not include orders placed by the sh ip ­
owners non-Community s u b s id ia rie s , fo r whom no r e lia b le  
s t a t is t ic s  are a v a ila b le .
At the same time the Community's shipyards s u ffe re d  a  d ra s tic  
slump in th e ir  export o rd e rs , from v i r t u a l l y  1  m illio n  cgrt  
in 1981 to around 500 000 cgrt  in 1-982 o r ,  as a p ro p o rtio n  
of the to ta l volume o rd ered , from 38% in 1981 to 26% in 1982.
A s  co m petition on the market has gained in in te n s ity  the  
Community's s h ip b u ild in g  in d u stry has lost many of its  o u tle ts  
abroad.
TABLE 7 -  BREAKDOW N OF ORDERS BY FLAG
1976(x)
1978 1980 1981 1982
' 000 cgrt
N atio n al
market
Other E C  
co
untries
Non-EC coun­
tr
ie s
E C  t o t a l *
Non-dEC
co untries
N atio n al  
ma
rket .
Other E C  
co
u n tries
Non-EC
co untries
N atio n al '  
ma
rket
I
Other E C  
co
u n tries j
Non-EC :  
co
unt ri es
N atio n al
Market
i  .  I  
Ot
her EC 
'countriesU l
L
ilt
I
C
:0z
)rders placed  by 
Community ship­
owners64 % 5 % 3 1 %  1 8 0 % 2 0 % 63 % 7 % 3 0 % 5 3 % 5 % 4 2 % 7 7 % 1 %a
T C -TA L 3027 2063 2381 2665 1876
Orders received  
by Community  
shipyards7 0 % 5 % 2 5 % 7 4 % 2 # 6 1 % 7 % 3 2 % 5 6 % 6 % 3 8 % 7 3 % 1 %a
TOTAL2756 2233 2476, 2511 1988
Source :  LRS
* N o  breakdown w ith in  the Community is a v a ila b le  for 1978.
Note :  Greece is included in the Community fig u re s  fo r 1981 and onwa  rd s> there  
can be s lig h t d iffe re n c e s  in the to ta ls  in comparison to s im ila r data in other ta b le s ,
The tendency fo r each Member States yards to receive rem arkably fe w  
orders from owners in the other Member States was even more  pronounced  
in  1982. Community-based shipowners thus almost always turn eith er  
to one of the s h ip y a rd s in  th e ir  own country or else  to one  in a non-  
Community co untry. The fa c t th at the Community's shipowners placed a  
mere 1 %  of th e ir  orders with yards in other Community c o u n tries is  
c le a r evidence of the lack of a  common  s h ip b u ild in g  m arket.

- 14 -
O n  a  world scale the most prominent fe a tu re s  of the demand for  
the in d iv id u a l types of vessel were the contin u in g  d e c lin e  in  
orders for o il tankers and the f i r s t  signs of a  slump in orders for  
bulk c a r r ie r s . Today's le v e l of orders fo r bulk c a r r ie r s  must be  
considered in f la t e d  since v i r t u a l l y  no new vessels of th is  class  
are needed .
Table 8 :  TREND O F  N E W  ORDERS B Y SHIP TYPF.
'000
C G R Toi l tankers Bulk c a rrie rs Cargo shipsNon-cargo
vesselsTOTAL
(in c lu d in g  non-  
s p e c ifie d  (X)
1 9 7 7
E CWorld790-6
30»9(%) 
<3. 9)1.78 3 .2  
75- 1(X)
(4 .2 )8.497- 3 < % >  
1.76 4 .4  (20,8)2 .9 6 9 ,8  < % >  
670.5 (22,6)14.040.9 <% )  
2.540- 9 (1 8 .1 )
1 9 7 8
E CWorld1.18 5 .4
56.2 (4.7)534.8
23.6 (4 ,4 )6 .1 6 3 ,8  
1 .3 4 1 ,3  (21.8)2 .9 1 2 ,7
591 < ■  5  (20.3)10.796,7  
2.0 1 2 ,6  (18,6)
1 9 7 9
E CWorld3 .3 6 4 .8  
168. 1 (5.-0)2 .7 4 4 .9
466.5 (17)5.148.4  
1 .1 7 2 ,6  (2 2 ,8 )2 .9 4 9 ,8
747*6 (25.3)14.207.9  
2.554, 8 (18.-0)
1980
E CWorld2 .9 6 0 ,2
273*7 (9 .2 )4.325* 3  
425.9 (9.3)4.780,1  
1.02 3 ,4  (2 1 .4 )2 .2 9 1 .9
740,8 (32*3)14,357,-5  
2 .4 6 3 ,8  (17*2)
1981
E CWorld 1 .1 6 6 .7  
75 *  1 (6 .4 )4 .9 3 4 .9  
487.9 (9 ,9 )4 .9 6 7 ,9  
1 .3 4 2 ,7  (2 7 ,0 )2 .4 3 3 ,0
606.4 (24*9)14.053.1  
2.52 5 ,2  (18,0)
9 8 2
££_.World662 .6
70-3 (1 0 .6 )2 .3 3 5 .3  
197. 5 (8.5)5 -6 7 9 ,9  
1 .0 9 3 .2  (2 2 .0 )2 .1 3 5 .4
6 2 8 ,0  (2 9 ,4 :1 0 .8 1 3 ,2  
1 .9 8 9 ,0  (1 8 ,4 )
SOURCE :  LRS
W ithin the Community the tren d  in the types of vessels ordered was the  
m irro r image of th at in 1981, though the movement does not  
point to any fundam ental change in the q u a lity  of the Community's  
o u tp u t, where the bias is s t i l l  towards s o p h is tic a te d  vessels .
4 .2.3 Orders books
The slower flow  of new orders thinned out the order books,  
a lb e it  less a b ru p tly  thanks to the sim ultaneous cutbacks  
in p ro d u c tio n .

- 15 -
TABLE 9 -  ORDER BOOKS
1000 c  g  r  t At 31.12.78 At 31.12 .80 At 31.12. 81 At 31.12.82
LRS O EC D LRS O EC D LRS0E C  D J LRSoecd '
E C 50 8 7 .. 2 4870 4911.9 4799,6 5075,2 4738.7 4738.3 4358.2
Rest o f A W E S 3957, 2 3834 4398.1 3975.1 4450.5 4213.0 3474.3 3185,7
Western Europe (9044,4) (8704) (9310.0) (8774.7) (9525,7) 8951,7 (8212.6) 7543,9
Japan 5464,6 4938 ~ 7297,8 6541.0 7457,7 7225.5 6640.2 6622,6
Eastern bloc 2121,7 1964,9 2360,5 2206,2
S o u th  Korea '  "\ 1854,9
Other regions /
4817,6
j6787,9 7019.5 7019,5
Tota l 23418.6 25592.2 26363*4 23731,5------------- 1
r 
r  —  — — =  ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = :  = = = = ; ' = = = = = = = = = = = ] s s s s s s s s = = = . = = = = =
In  re la tio n  to the  a n n u a l rate of production (see Table 6 ), the  
Community's order book, lik e  that of Western  E u ro p e in  g en eral,  
appears somewhat b e tte r f i l l e d  than Japan’ s. This is a  constant  
feature of the order  book s itu a tio n , but it is purely s u p e rfic ia l.  
It re s u lts , in fact,- from the types of vessel on the order books :  
since those most commonly b u ilt  in E u ro p e a r e  more so p h is tic a te d ,  
construction takes longer. This in turn means that the vessels  
concerned stay on the order books  lo n g e r  than less so p h isticated  
vessels and that a  large proportion of the work which appears to  
be in hand has in fact already been completed. What is more,
the orders are entered e a r lie r  in Europe, where they are recorded
as soon as contracts are concluded, than in Japan, where entry  
is delayed u n til o f f i c i a l  a u th o riz a tio n  has been granted. Above  
a l l ,  Japanese yards often b u ild .th e  vessels in the year that the  
order was received, since the types of vessels which they build  
and th e ir capacity .  I end themselves to th is approach b e tte r than  
European yards, where th is  p ra c tic e  is extrem ely rare. This  
means that the e n trie s  concerning orders to be d e liv e re d  in the
short term show no more than part of the actual level of a c tiv ity
in Japan, whereas they include work already p a rtly  completed in  
the case of Europe.

- 16 -
T A B L E  10- O R D E R  B O O K S  IN T H E  E U R O P E A N  C O M M U N I T Yl
(In '000
r n  r t's
l R  SI IO E C D  -
Completi- 
tio n s inTotal order 
cook atFor delivery inI I
j'jCompleti-J
■jtio n s'in
1985 !t 1982Total
orderFor deliverey in
1982 31.12.82 1983 1984 1983 1984- 1985
G erm any 757.3 990.1 946,5 23,8 19,.8i! 763,5I I  *1 11.132,9 953,8 155.3 23 > 9
Belgium' 83.0 261,1 188.3 72,8tl
-  ! i 85,5I I228,2 - 228.2 -
D enm ark 329,2 603,9 376,1 107,8 120,0;; 313,1
I I
-  ! !  319,0I t748,5 423.5 190.5 134,5
France 353,3 978,5 608,4 370*1 790,5 456.4 334.1 -
Greece 61,8 191,4 127,3 34.9I I
?9 3"£ 3 * * 3  || • •m •
Ireland - 20,0' 18,0 2.1I I•  I I  I I17.7 17,7 -1
Italy 156.2 480.4 286,5 193,9 -  ! !  176.6I I354 8 172.9 168^3 1 3 ^
✓
Netherlands 390,0 498,8 399 f0 99,8 -  || 366.0 467.9 382,6 77.1 8,2
Uhited King­
d o m3 9  4  .0 714.1
I —— ——551,8 162.2I I
- ! !  420,8 617,7 467,8 135,4 14,5
C om m unity 2.524.8 4.738,3 | 3.501,9 1.067; 4 160*1 I I  2>Vt,7 
-  . n ________' 
4.358.2 2.874.7 1.288,9 194s6
The th in n in g -o u t of the order books in 1982 was most ra d ic a l in  
Belgium , where one of the two la rg e s t yards v i r t u a l l y  ceased ope­
ra tio n s  because of bankruptcy I t a l y ' s  order books were somewhat  
f u l l e r  fo r the reasons o u tlin e d  above, a l l  of which encouraged new  
o rd e rs . The fig u re s  set out in Table 10 seem to in d ic a te  a  higher  
le v e l of a c t iv it y  in 1983 than in 1982. However, as exp lain ed  in tlje  
previous paragraph, the d e liv e r y  fo re c a s ts  c ( o  not correspond to  
the a c tu a l volume of work c a rrie d  o u t. In view of the weak market a  
fu r th e r  d e c lin e  in a c t i v i t y  is lik e ly  in 1983, as the g^ps in the work  
schedules of some yards from au tu m n  1983 onwards suggested .  Com p l e  —  
tio n s t o t a l l i n g  ,  a ro u n d  2  400 0 0 0  cgrt are th e re fo re  to be expected  
in 1983.

- 17 -
4 .2 .4 . E m p  Loyment
A fte r the retu rn  to s t a b i l i t y  in 1981, the numbers employed  
in the Community's shipyards f e l l  s lig h t ly  in 1982 - by  
2,3%, i . e .  by less than o u tp u t. These cutbacks were due,  
almost e x c lu s iv e ly , to the c o n tra p tio n .o f the w orkforce in  
Belgium , where jobs were lost as a  re s u lt of the bankruptcy  
of one of the la rg e s t yards, and in I t a l y ,  where 2000 men were  
te m p o ra rily  redeployed to b u ild  m ilit a r y  vessels , fo r the second  
successive year more men were taken on in Germany.
TABLE 1 1 ': EMPLOYMENT-IN SHIPBUILDING IN THF  
COMMUNITY  (NEWBUIlDING)
Cat the end of the year)
1975 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
■Belgium *) 7467 6614 6258 6523 6119 5.031
Denmark 16630 12000 •  9900 11400 11350 113 00
France 32500 25300 23000 22200 22200 21.600
'Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
•Netherlands
Uniter! k'ingi46839 31113 27369 24784 26521 27.600
869
25000840
20000•
750
19000750
180003392
762
16.50C3.696
882
13.750
22662 17540 14540 13100 13100 13.100
54550 41050 31200 24800 25345 25.000
Sub-total 
(without Gree^e) 206517 154457 132017 121551 121897 118.763
T o tal | *1252$8?L 122.459
(Table compiled from n a tio n a l sources)  
*) Revised s e rie s .
** )  The fig u re s  for 1981 and onwards  
on the e s tim a te s  made by the Greek  
the Greek workforce numbered 2316in clu d e Greece, the data being based  
in d u s try  i t s e l f .  According to th e *,  
in 1975 and 2616 in 1980.
Thus, employment in the Community's s h ip b u ild in g  in d u s try  has fa lle n  
by 43% since the s ta rt of the c r i s i s ,  though production has contracted  
by as much as 51%. This d iffe re n c e  is due m ainly to the fa c t th at  
shedding jobs is not the only means of a d ju s tin g .th e  le v e l of employ­
ment; another method used has been to cancel o v e rtim e , which is commonly  
worked in time^ of f u l l  employment. What is m ore,shipyards must  
keep on a  minimum number of w orkers, ir r e s p e c tiv e  of how much work  
there is for them, in order to remain o p e ra tio n a l; th is  in turn  
ensures th at the level of employment f a l l s  less sharply than the  
level of a c t iv it y .
However, by the end of 1982 the employment s itu a tio n  was showing  
signs of d e te r io r a tio n  not apparent from the s t a t i s t i c s  set out  
above. In v o lu n ta ry  s h o rt-tim e  working had increased co n sid erab ly  
at many yards since autumn 1982, with 25% of Germany's sh ip b u ild in g  
w o rkfo rce, for example, a ffe c te d . S im ila r ly , at the end of 1982  
many more redundancy n o tices were served fo r 1983, p a r t ic u la r ly  in  
Germany and the United Kingdom.

t»J:.lf»l;ir-l.lia!g’E«J?jtll&!tl;tt.tgtL«fllMil!:lf5al.rfilti>K8
T t  t o r  f i t  i f f j T  f f f f  fig  f f i i  T O ±  - g j  r f r f f f  B f i  T O t  £ f f  i ± H  ± H l } i 5 +  I K t P  
i± S g 2 :::E B ±  :±fc H S  ±E£ S i  +h L  Hi? *E± 2±J± 5EF i+tt i f i J f f i  S S

- 18 -
Redeployment of the workforce towards re la te d  a c t i v i t i e s  such as  
the co n stru ctio n  of o ffs h o re  s tru c tu re s  or re p a ir work slowed down  
sharply in 1982, with the re p a ir sector s u ffe rin g  from the general  
d eclin e in shipping and the o ffsh o re sector from the slump in demand  
fo r  oil.
D e ta ils  of the aid paid out by the European Regional Development  
Fund and by the Social Fund were set out in the Commission's recent  
report e n title d  " p o lic y  g u id e lin e s  fo r re s tru c tu rin g  the s h ip ­
b u ild in g  in d u stry" (1 ).A s  regards the Social Fund, the new re g u la ­
tio n  re s u ltin g  from the re-exam in atio n  of the te x ts  governing the  
o b je c tiv e s  and the working of the Fund, re c e n tly  approved  
by the Counci 1 (2 )  w ill be in force from 1984.
4 .3 . Market prospects and conclusions
The u n certain  prospects for the beginning of a  re v iv a l in world  
trade in 1983 and the f r a g ile  hope of a  s lig h t improvement in the  
economy as a  whole are s t i l l  being greeted with extreme  
scepticism  on the part of most economic op erato rs engaged in the  
sea tran sp o rt m arket. Come what may, the o v e r- ca p a c ity  of the  
fle e ts  is bound to continue to depress the m arket.
In 1982 European and Japanese trad e o rg a n iz a tio n s  announced the  
revised market fo re c a s t which they m ade,taking in to  account  
the weakering of the m arket. The Table below sums up the  
forecasts made by the A ssociation of West European S h ip b u ild e rs  (AW ES).
TABLE 1 2  -  FORECASTS OF^WORLD SHIPPING REQUIREMENTS
■ >  ('AWES Study in 1982, ta k in g  the average assumption)
million cgrt N E W  TONNAGE REQUIREMENTS  
for d e liv e ry  duringCONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS  
f o r  delivery d u r in g
'1 9 8 2  -  
m id -1 9 8 5m id  - 1 9 8 5 -  
m id -  1 9 9 0,1 9 8 2  -  
m id  -  -1 9 9 01 9 8 2  -  
m id  -  1 9 8 5
O i l  t a n k e r s
'BuLk. c a r r i e r s
.Cargo s h ip s
N o n -c a rg o  c a r r y i n g  
v e s s e ls7-5  
8.6 
2 2 . 7 
10.97,5
9,0
4 6 . 3
20,21 5 .0  
1 7 * 6
6 9 . 0
3 1 .13 , 0  
0. 0 
1 3 , 8  
6-1
T o t a l 4 9 , 7 8 3 . 0 1 3 2 ,7 22.9
•A nnual a v e r a g e 1 4 . 2 1 6 . 6 1 1 - 5
A n n u a  l average t a-  
kinq the low.assumption ___9 , 9 1 26
Annual a v e r a g  in  
AWES s tu d y  1 9 8 015.2 2 1 .9 14.  1
NB . New tonnage requirements have alread y been p a r tly  covered by orders placed.  
C ontracting requirements represent orders y e t to  be placed.
CD C O M  (83) 65 f in a l.
( 2 ) when th is  report was issued, the texts  
were not yet published in the O.S.concerning these decisions

r i n r i i « i r r ^ r ^ r f r 7 « * » T * r « T 3 - 3 n - s k » » i  
■ n i t '  i « ■ tt m  ■a i> «  i r,a u r i ~ 4 : a  :j o »  u a  j j r -h u ».• •■■•4■»**»•.• j --^r

- 19 -
The economic growth scenarios on wfiich these data were based  
have been revised downwards slightly since they were first  
established. But despite the radical reduction  
of the earlier forecasts, it is generally acknowledged  
that the real prospects are even liower than forecast. But no  
more than a limited recovery in the annual average production  
level is forecast, remaining 25% bielow the pre-crisis peak  
even at the end of the decade. Requirements for classes such  
as oil tankers, bulk carriers and LN6 carriers are expected  
to remain close to zero for years to come.
Against these forecasts, the ambitious development  
targets which some countries have Set for their shipbuilding  
industry are incompatible with restoring the level of activity  
in the countries which have cut back their industry in line  
with the market over the last six years. There is a genuine  
danger that the latter will find if hardest to join in the slow  
recovery expected over the second half of the decade. In other  
words, there is a serious risk that the general developments will  
lag well behind the world forecasts in those countries, including  
the Community. There is reason to. think that shipbuilding  
activity in these countries has nojt yet bottomed out at a level  
where it can be expected to remain for the next three to five  
years.
For the Community, in view of the trends indicated by the  
the forecasts of AWES, and on the assumption that the Commu­
nity's shipyards manage to maintain their share of the world  
market, the annual average tonnage of new ships built during  
this period would be about 2.4 million CGRT. However for  
the reasons cited above, there is a serious risk that these  
conditions will not in fact be fullfiled, and as recent develop­
ments in new orders indicate, the tonnage built might prove to be  
closer to 2 million CGRT. Based on the most plausible scenario -  
no significant change in the share on the Community market taken  
by the shipbuilding industry in each individual Member-State  
over recent years - one can make the following medium-term  
production forecast for each Member State.

-  20  -
TABLE 13 - AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION IN THE COMMUNITY
1976 - 1982 1979 - 1982 1983 - 1985 I
I
1000 cgrt % 1000 cgrt %1000 cgrt ' % i
1
Germany . 964 28,1 721 26,7550 tp 660 27,4
Be l g i  en . · 117 3,4 108 4,075 to" 90 3,7 i
Denma r k 403 11,7 351 13,0250to 300 12,4 j
i
France 467 13,6 389 14,4280to 340 14,0 Ii
Greece 60 1/7 50 1,935to ^5 1,8 i
I
Ire land 12 0,3 10 0,4 10 0,4Î5I
Italy 319 9,3 277 10,3200to 240 9,81Ji1
Netherland 499 14,5I372 13,8300to 340 14,1I
j
Uni ted Ki ngdom 594 17,4 419 15,5320 to 400 16,41
Communi t y. 3435 100t2697 100
.201 Oto 2425 100 j
_________ I
Source :  for past figures :  LRS
I n view of the prolonged crisis, the Commission has brought up to date
its policy guidelines for the sector at the Community level (1).
The Commission is endeavouring, in cooperation with the parties concerned,  
to bring about the actions indicated by these guidelines and in particular  
those enabling the industry to improve competitivity .  In particular it  
will be desirable to try to avoid a situation where aids are used systemati­
cally to keep all existing yards alive at all costs, and rather to use  
resources on the one hand on the supply.side, to encourage
investments to improve productivity, and on the other hand on the demand  
side/ in order to improve the degree of utilisation of the yards, for example,  
by encouraging shipowners in the Community to place more of their orders  
in Community yards. The Commission will report to the Council the results  
of its work in this direction which is to be considered as part of the  
conclusions of this report.
As for external policy, it must be added that the Commission still feels  
that one of the most important aspects is that all countries whose industry  
influences the market must undertake to avoid- all action likely to disturb  
the situation and in particular exacerbate their partners' problems.
With this aim the Commission has been, and will continue, fostering inter­
national cooperation in this field under the auspices of the OECD and  
will seek solutions outside that framework if necessary, along with the  
non-OECD countries who, with their growing shipbuilding industries, now  
share responsibility for the situation.
1) COM (83) 65 final.

APPENDIX
1.Tbe tables giving tbs treat of completions, new order intake and order  
bosks in tbe Member States' shipyards are taken fro· two different souroes,  
in tbs OECD and Lloyd's Register of Shipping: (LHS).
Whore tbe Member States are oeneerned, tbe OECD statistics constitute  
an official source but provide a sore linited range of data, there  
are sonatinas differences of approach as regards the nonent when an  
order can be considered being booked and as regards the classification  
of vessels, they oentain breaks in the coefficients used for conversions  
into ogrt and do not permit worldwide comparisons to be made.
The figures produced by IAS are not infallible either. However, given  
that they present a wider range of data and that - over a period of time -  
the figures in ogrt are more o «sparable, it has been considered preferable  
to use this souroe for commentaries as the objective is to present  
homogeneous references and, moreover, they are being used worldwide by  
those concerned with these matters. The discrepancies between the two  
sources originate mainly from different thinking about the moment when  
an order is regarded as being definite, in the classification of vessels  
and in the coefficients for conversion into ogrt concerning the years 1976 
and 1977« Despite certain differences which can sometimes arise from  
this, the two sets of data show trends whioh generally point in the  
same direction. Sinoe the divergences between the two sources are only  
random, and the present report is essentially concerned with indicating  
the main trends, the reference to only one souroe is generally of no  
consequence.
2.egrt « compensated gross registered ton, a measurement which takes account 
of the volume of work that goes into building a vessel, calculated on the 
basis cf the grt and of special coefficients for different vessel types 
and sizes (grt x coefficient * ogrt). Sew coefficients for egrt calculations 
were agreed upoin by the OECD in 1977* The IAS figures for 1976 are based 
on iMES coefficients, which were the basis for the new OECD figures for 1976 
are however based on OECD 1967 coefficients, whioh diverge markedly from 
the new coefficients for certain types of ship. This explains why certain 
1976 OECD values are not at all comparable with the other series.