The ability of shipbuilders to provide attractive finance to prospective customers is becoming increasingly important in shipbuilding, including passenger vessels, said Corrado Antonini, Chairman of Fincantieri, the Italian shipbuilding group.
“Competition moves from design and innovation to financing,” he told the European Cruise council’s annual meeting in Brussels.
Four European yards – Fincantieri, STX France, STX Finland and Meyer Werft - have built 90% of the cruise capacity built since 1990, when measured by lower berths. To maintain this position, European yards need to innovate on a broad scale, ranging from technical to environmental matters, Antonini said.
