DW-TV: What are you expecting from the German government regarding the subsidies for German shipping companies?
Werner Lundt: We are expecting things to go on and to get better because we are in a very bad situation at the moment.
DW-TV: In the past there have been subsidies for the sector, what sort of incentives are offered by the government now?
Werner Lundt: The incentives, I wouldn't say subsidies, the incentives at the moment are that we got some support with R&D, which is for the development of things which are not contract related. The second thing is innovation help, this is connected to a contract, so if you have a very innovative contract then you can get some help from the government.
DW-TV: Okay, the sector certainly needs help. The industry has been though a lot. If we look at the number of orders that German vessels were getting five years ago during the financial crisis, that's a big difference.
Things have since picked up again, but they haven't made up all of that ground of course. Is the current uncertainty over global growth causing jitters for the sector?
Werner Lundt: Yes of course, global growth fell even further and at the moment I see there is global growth again, especially in Germany, and German ship owners are ordering ships again.
DW-TV: Where is the main competition coming from for Germany?
Werner Lundt: The main competition is from the Far East and the main countries are China and Korea, but they are very competitive in so-called standard ships, which are ships that German shipyards are no longer interested in.
DW-TV: And what is Germany's competitive edge?
Werner Lundt: Our competitive edge are so-called specialised ships, and I would say these are the big cruise ships, there we have a good position, and even mega-yachts or ferries and row-row ships. This is something for German shipyards.
DW-TV: So, not so much mass-production, but higher margins I suppose?
Werner Lundt: I wouldn't say higher margins, but high technology. What we need is orders with maximum technology because this is our competitive edge.
DW-TV: Which costs a lot of money to build, so loans I suppose, are something the industry is dependent upon?
Werner Lundt: Yes.
DW-TV: How dependent?
Werner Lundt: We are so dependent on that because there is more or less no chance to build ships on low standards. The Asians can do that much better.
DW-TV: We'll have to leave it there Mr Lundt, thank you for coming in.
(Interview: Ben Fajzullin)