In 2024 the shipyards recovered national leadership with the majority of contracts for foreign shipowners (Source and photo submitted by Navalia, being the primeval source Atlantic Diario)

The Viguese naval ended 2024 with 20 contracts for the construction of ships, which placed Galicia leader of Spain with a portfolio of orders that represents 40% of the entire national territory (like that of Asturias) and 41% of weighted activity, exceeding Asturias (34%) and the Basque Country (26%).

The shipyards have signed their best exercise since 2019 with a total of 22 constructions distributed between the Viguese Freire, Argon, Ria de Vigo, Cardama, Nodosa in Marín and the Ferrollano Blascar, which the Ministry of Industry has included for a few months in the report of shipbuilding.

In the Galician community, with the Viguese ria as the epicenter of the activity, a total of 9 keel sets, a ten-pound and six ship deliveries took place last year. In addition, it should be noted that several builders were awarded new contracts that are not recorded in this statistics, but will be in force this 2025 with the start of the constructions.

If there are three shipyards that carry the baton of the naval sector of Galicia are Armón with 8 ships, its subsidiary Ria de Vigo with 2 and Freire with 7, adding 17 ships among the three companies last year. The current counter changes slightly, after some deliveries as an oceanographic for Iceland by Armón, which in turn has just started the work of a ship for the Swedish Navy.

Cardama is included in the statistics of the State Secretariat of Industry with two constructions, but has two other awards for Uruguay that have just entered into force. Metalshisp, for its part, only has work in repair and maintenance.

In Marin, Nodosa delivered at the end of last year two state-of-the-art fishing vessels for the Pancaparte and Pereira vines and is currently building another trawler for New Zealand. Blascar, in Ferrol, has two contracts.

90% of the Galician orders are from foreign shipowners from countries such as Saudi Arabia, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Sweden, Uruguay or Canada and a couple of them for Spain. They are oceanographic, fishing, multi-purpose, ferris, offshore and sailing vessels, among other segments.