Galați shipyard

The Galați shipyard (Romanian: Șantierul naval Galați), formally Damen Shipyards Galați, is a shipyard located on the Danube in Galați, a city located in the Moldavia region of Romania.

Shipbuilding is a longstanding practice at Galați: by the late 18th century, longboats, canoes, sailboats and kayaks were being built there for both commercial and military use. Due to Moldavia's being a vassal state, most war vessel production was on behalf of the Ottoman Navy through the 1820s. The wood, of high quality, came from forests upstream and was brought by raft. It was not until the late 1830s, following the establishment of a free port at Galați, that the bulk of its ships started being used domestically: seven vessels were built there in 1839, followed by ten in 1840. In 1893, a local resident named Fernic purchased the arsenal of the fleet stationed there and the Naval Mechanical Factory, beginning ship production at what was called Șantierul Naval Fernic Galați ("Fernic Shipyard Galați"). Four river monitors (NMS Ion C. Brătianu, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Alexandru Lahovari and Lascăr Catargiu) were commissioned for the Romanian Navy in 1907. Built in sections in the Austro-Hungarian port of Trieste, they were assembled in Galați. In 1911, under the Premiership of Petre P. Carp, the area suffered some structural collapse, allegedly as a result of bad workmanship and political corruption (investigated by Nicolae Fleva on behalf of the Opposition).

During the interwar period and into World War II, the yard had strategic significance, and two submarines (NMS Rechinul and NMS Marsuinul) and one minelayer (NMS Amiral Murgescu) were built there. Initially commanded by German captains, these later fell to the Soviet Navy. From 1938 to 1944, Galați completed 65 civilian ships and 11 warships: in addition to the submarines and minelayer, these consisted of four speedboats and four minesweepers. The components of the Cernavodă Bridge were also built at Galați. In 1974, the Communist regime made a massive investment into the shipbuilding industry, so that the yard became fully stocked with supplies, including an animal farm. From that time until the 1989 fall of the regime, some 80% of the shipyard's products were exported.

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Wikipedia