Lisnave confident in continuity in shipyards after concession in 2027

O managing Director of Lisnave, Nuno Santos, today expressed confidence in the company's continuity in the shipyards of Mitrena, in Setúbal, after the international public tender for a new concession in 2027, defending the extension of the activity to shipbuilding construction and recycling.

“Lisnave has passed and has projects for the future. We have ideas about the development of that shipyard and what can be done there, but that today cannot be, because the current concession contract does not allow us ", said the ship repair company's manager.

Nuno Santos spoke at the end of a session promoted by the Ports Administration of Setúbal and Sesimbra (APSS), about the future of the shipyards of Mitrena, competitiveness of the sector and opportunities associated with the new strategies, Portuguese and European, for the naval industry.

“I think we have all the conditions to be part of the solution in Lisnave’s future concession,” added the responsible, convinced that the company’s economic, financial, technical and commercial history and development projects that it intends to carry out are an advantage for Lisnave’s continuity.

Nuno Santos recalled that the current concession limits the activity to the repair, maintenance and modernization of ships, advancing that the company intends to extend the intervention to shipbuilding construction and recycling, “completing the life cycle of vessels, as well as the production of marine equipment and large structures that need to be built by water”.

Asked about the possibility of working for the military industry, Nuno Santos confirmed Lisnave’s availability for this market, recalling that the “European strategy considers the shipyards to be strategic dual-use, civil and military, which may justify restrictions on the participation of companies from countries outside NATO” in the future concession.

On the other hand, he warned of the difficulties of competitiveness of European ship recycling in Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, where, he said, environmental and safety requirements are less stringent, but said he was confident in developing ship recycling in Europe, highlighting the potential for steel recovery from end-of-life ships.

Regarding Lisnave's results for 2026, Nuno Santos admitted that they should fall short of expectations due to international geopolitical instability and storms in the first months of the year, which conditioned operations in the shipyards.

“ We had less activity in the first semester of the year. And weather conditions prevented the performance of nautical maneuvers, hindering the entry and exit of ships from the docks and causing successive delays in repair operations ", justified.

The president of APSS, Vítor Caldeirinha, also in statements to journalists, defended the diversification of the activity of the Mitrena shipyards, pointing to the “construction of civil and military vessels, unmanned ships, floating platforms for offshore wind power, ship modernization and ship dismantling”.

Vítor Caldeirinha recalled that these activities are foreseen in the national strategy Ports 5+, which provides for a new cycle of investment, growth and competitiveness in the port sector, and was confident that the shipyards of Mitrena, with the planned investments in the future concession, will be able to welcome these activities and promote significant employment growth.

“ We hope that, directly and indirectly, jobs will grow greatly, at least that they will double ", said.

With regard to the international competition for the award of the Mitrena shipyards, which was scheduled for the second quarter of 2027, Vítor Caldeirinha said that the APSS is in the process of awarding the studies necessary for the preparation of the technical parts and specifications, indicating that there are already demonstrations of interest by several companies.