By
Cherie Rowlands |
The Finnish Government has offered €28.3 million of innovative support funding for the STX shipyard in Turku to build Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) third Oasis-class ship, according to a written statement on 21 December.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy agreed on the investment amount, the largest ever granted for a single cruise liner, provided all legal conditions were met. In addition, the State agreed to provide another €16 million in direct subsidies for a second TUI cruise ship, a total of around €44 million for both vessels.
STX Finland said the amount offered is insufficient to secure the RCI ship order, according to a Reuters report. The shipyard's chief shop steward Jari Aalto said: “We would have needed the €50 million loan.” Aalto believes STX Finland could lose the vessel order to STX Europe in France, which has a better package to offer the cruise line.
In addition, the State-owned finance company, Finnvera, has agreed to provide funding throughout the construction period for the RCI newbuild, referred to as Sanctuary in news reports. Finnerva’s risks for the building phase of Sanctuary, would be more than €600 million.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy said that due to the exceptionally high level of support and responsibility for funding, it would not be able to contribute to a direct funding package in any other way. In addition to supports and financial guarantees, the Finnish Government has factored in existing funding principles and EU regulations on state aid.
Minister of Economic Affairs Jan Vapaavuori believes that the Turku yard has a good chance of winning the RCI order. “Now, it is of the utmost importance that STX as a company and its owners do everything in their powers and commit themselves fully to the efforts to continue cruise liner production in Finland,” he said. “I believe that we are very close to winning the order. Success in bringing it home will essentially depend on the company’s own action and decisions.”