Jordi Hereu stresses the importance of the Spanish naval sector's leadership for EU strategic autonomy

The Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, at the meeting with the CEO of PYMAR, Almudena López del Pozo, and its Secretary General, José Francisco Fernández

The Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, met today with the CEO of PYMAR, Almudena López del Pozo, and its Secretary General, José Francisco Fernández, and highlighted the importance of the leadership of the Spanish naval sector in the main markets for the strategic autonomy of the European Union.

According to PYMAR data, Spanish private shipyards were contracted to build 40 new vessels in 2024, which is the highest number of new contracts in the last 9 years. This means that one out of every five shipbuilding contracts in the EU corresponds to private shipyards in Spain.

These positive figures for new contracts have meant that the national order book currently has a total of 66 ships under construction, worth more than 2.5 billion euros, generating 14 million working hours, which is the highest level of activity since 2011.

These figures are 50% higher than those following the impact of COVID-19, and 74% higher than at the time of the 2011 crisis, which shows the great capacity for recovery and resilience of Spain's private shipbuilding industry. Some 80% of the ships under construction are destined for export.

Likewise, 44% of the ships under construction in Spain have new propulsion systems or capabilities to use clean fuels and technologies, 12 percentage points above the world average.

In this way, Spain has consolidated its position as the world's leading power with the largest order book for both research vessels and aquaculture vessels; the second largest order book in the world and first in the EU for passenger transport vessels; the second largest order book in the EU and fifth largest in the world for offshore wind energy vessels; and the second largest order book in the EU and sixth largest in the world for vessels for the fishing industry.

In this sense, Jordi Hereu expressed his satisfaction with 2024, which has been a great year for the economy in general, and for industry in particular and, in this specific case, for Spain's private shipbuilding industry, which "is at the forefront of environmental sustainability at an international level".

For her part, Almudena López del Pozo, highlighted that "the public private partnership that is coordinated through PYMAR has been an essential tool for the growth of our shipbuilding industry, which has achieved excellent figures for contracts and order books".

Non official translation