Neptun Werft is a German

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

company, headquartered in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

. Since 1997 it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Ge ...

History

The company was founded as the "Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik von Wilhelm Zeltz und

Albrecht Tischbein Johann Heinrich Albrecht Tischbein (15 November 1803, Sternberg - 22 March 1881, Rostock) was a German engineer and shipbuilder; one of the designers of the first German iron screw steamers. Biography His father was the painter and art teach ...

" in 1850 and their first iron steamship was launched in 1851. The shipyard developed quickly, and as early as in 1857 it had some 400 employees. In 1890, after several mergers and buyouts, it became the "Actien-Gesellschaft Neptun". After 1945 and the division of Germany, the shipyard focused on markets in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

. At that time the "Schiffswerft Neptun Rostock" counted among the most renowned state-owned shipyards of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

. The changing conditions of international competition following the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

brought about a time of change for the company. Productivity was not up to international standards, and due to EU restrictions it was no longer allowed to build new sea-going vessels. The yard became "Neptun Industrie Rostock" (NIR), and the following years were heavily influenced by staff cuts, re-organisation and diversification. Focus was put on the repair and upgrading of ships, construction and delivery of ship components, steel constructions for hydraulic engineering and complex

Ro-Ro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

facilities. In 1997 Neptun Werft became part of the Meyer Neptun Group, which includes Meyer Werft in Papenburg. Neptun Werft has geared its activities to its core maritime sector, while many companies formerly belonging to NIR and dealing in different sectors were sold, or set up independent operations. Since the year 2000 the shipyard's activities have been centred on the premises in

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow. is one of the world's busi ...

(a district of

), and the construction of river cruise vessels has been included in the product range. New production halls were erected in 2003 which allow ship construction independent of weather conditions.

Ships built by Neptun Werft (selection)

Civilian ships

Recent

* '' A'Rosa Bella'' (2002) * '' A'Rosa Donna'' (2002) * '' A'Rosa Mia'' (2003) * '' A'Rosa Riva'' (2004) * '' A'Rosa Luna'' (2005) * '' A'Rosa Stella'' (2005) * '' A'Rosa Aqua'' (2009) * '' A'Rosa Viva'' (2010) * '' A-Rosa Brava'' (2011) * '' A-Rosa Silva'' (2012) * '' A-Rosa Flora'' (2014)

Historic

* '' SS Denebola'' (1899)

Naval ships

Submarines (U-boats)

* 10 x Type VII submarines (1941 - 1944)

References

External links

Homepage of ''Neptun Werft''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neptun Werft Shipbuilding companies of Germany Companies established in 1850 Economy of Rostock Companies based in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania