Dutch shipbuilders rely on a small group of large Dutch shipping companies. What kind of impact do these companies have on the country’s shipyards?

The big shipyards in the Netherlands are Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij, Wilton, Fijenoord (which is later Wilton-Fijenoord), Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde and Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij. The vast majority of the vessels they build are for the major Dutch shipping companies: around eighty percent, and at times a hundred percent of all the seagoing ships. Things have changed since the days of wooden shipbuilding: modern Dutch shipyards often have little say in the design and much of the technical shipbuilding expertise shifts from the shipyard to the shipping company. When these companies commission a vessel, they supply the design together with a long wish list. The yard's job is to ensure the ship conforms to the given specifications and is completed as quickly as possible. Time is money!