It was the only possible solution given a lack of orders
Viana do Castelo shipyards, owned by the Portuguese defence ministry, said Monday they would have to dismiss 380 of their current work force of 720.
ENVC was founded in June 1944 by a group of technicians and skilled workers from the Lisbon Port Shipyard, headed by Américo Rodrigues, their general master. Later, Vasco D’Orey and the Viana-born João Alves Cerqueira (owner of a fishing company in Viana do Castelo) joined them as capitalist shareholders. This took place as part of a governmental program to modernize the Portuguese deep-sea fishing fleet.
The ship yard said it was the “only” possible solution given a lack of orders and the situation in the international ship building industry. The company closed their books in 2010 with a loss of 40 million and liabilities of over 400 million.
Source: The Portugal News