The premises of the insolvent Hamburg-based shipyard Pella Sietas will be sold in a forced auction, according to the insolvency administrator Dr. Achim Ahrendt. Attempts to market the site through an investor process proved unfeasible because of a land charge on the property held by the sanctioned Russian lender Sberbank, according to möller pr Agentur für Kommunikation GmbH.
The competent court has set November 13, 2025, as the auction date.
According to Ahrendt, the auction is the only way to dispose of the property despite sanctions against Russia, as all interested buyers can participate. He expects the price achieved in the forced sale will not be lower than it would have been in a direct sale.
The property covers about 14 hectares directly on the River Elbe, with an appraised value of €25.8 million. The site includes the listed Jucho crane, which belongs to a leasing company and is not part of the auction. The buyer will need to clarify with the monument authority and the crane’s owner how to proceed after the sale.
Companies currently operating on the yard will also have to negotiate their continued presence with the new owner.
Sberbank is one of the shipyard’s largest creditors from before the insolvency proceedings. It secured loans with the land charge, which under normal circumstances would not have been an obstacle in an investor process, Ahrendt explained. Releasing the lien would have required Sberbank to receive a share of the sale proceeds, a transaction that sanctions prohibit.
Source: Port News
