After 1960, the market for new ships shrinks. How do Dutch shipyards respond?

Although ship repair was still doing fine, it was not enough to compensate for the decreasing income from newbuilt ships. Shipyards therefore looked at other markets. They hoped that with less competition in those markets they would be able to achieve positive returns. Examples of relatively similar activities were the production of ships and installations for the offshore industry, but there were also so-called land activities. These activities had little or even nothing to do with shipbuilding. For example central heating radiators, construction parts for schools and nuclear reactors. When the shipbuilding conglomerate Rijn-Schelde-Verolme, in the years following the 1973 oil crisis, could no longer sell the ships it had built, it even established its own shipping company in order to exploit the ships itself. These strategies were rarely a success and did not turn out to be the solution to save the shipyards from collapse.