African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 606 - 284 Baltecum Shipyard

The first civilian shipyard visited by Ernst was called the Baltekum Shipyard. According to the manager, Baltekum is a small town in the East Frisian Islands on the northern coast of Germany, which is also the origin of the shipyard’s name.

In East Africa, especially in the east, there are many place names with the suffixes ’gen’, ’den’, and ’burg’, similar to southern Germany, though East Africa’s official naming rarely follows this pattern.

However, it’s not unheard of. For example, the original Ruvu River served as the border between East Africa and the Portuguese colony of Angola, with many military outposts, hence the numerous places with the ’burg’ suffix.

Many names in East Africa are directly copied from Germany, so it’s not surprising that the Baltekum Shipyard bears such a name.

"Your Highness, our Baltekum Shipyard specializes in the construction of small to medium-sized fishing boats. In this field, it ranks among the top in East Africa. We produce about forty fishing boats annually, with a total tonnage of more than two thousand tons, mainly supplying fishermen between the Bemba Strait and the Zanzibar Strait."

Ernst indeed saw that the hulls at the shipyard were not large, so the production rate was quite considerable, given that the civilian shipping industry in East Africa was generally not flourishing.

This can be observed from the dietary habits of East Africans. Although East Africa has a vast maritime area, its demand for seafood is not proportional to its population. If East Africa were a landlocked country, it would be understandable, but it is indeed a bi-ocean country.

Conversely, the shipbuilding industry is very advanced in the inland lake areas of East Africa, especially around the Great Lakes Region. The area near the Great Lakes is an important grain production base for East Africa and a region producing rubber and other cash crops. With large export volumes, shipments require vessels to transport goods, which are then transferred to rail transport in Kisumu, delivering to cities along the northern rail line or directly exported from Mombasa.

Alternatively, goods are delivered from Mwanza through a branch railway to cities along the Central Railway, mainly serving the domestic market. As for exporting from Dar es Salaam, it becomes cost-prohibitive, unless destined for Australia or South America. Dar es Salaam holds an advantage, but Australia of that era was merely a penal colony, and South American products are similar to those from East Africa, meaning more competition between the two.

"Last year, the total number of registered coastal vessels in East Africa exceeded seven thousand, a result of over a decade of accumulation, but there is still a long way to go to match a great maritime nation," said the manager of Baltekum Shipyard.

Of course, these numbers do not include the Heixinggen Ocean Trade Company and the number of commercial ships on Zanzibar Island. Together, East African sea vessels do exceed ten thousand, but many of the ships on Zanzibar Island sail under flags of countries like Oman, and the ships of Heixinggen Ocean Trade Company have various identities.

"Yes, exploration of the sea cannot do without ships as tools, and the shipbuilding industry is also part of East Africa’s national strength. You must avoid arrogance and impatience, make progress steadily, overcome challenges, and accumulate valuable experience for the East African shipbuilding industry," Ernst encouraged.

Baltekum Shipyard ranks neither at the top nor the bottom among shipbuilding enterprises in East Africa. As for the leader of the shipbuilding industry in East Africa, it is the Bajamojo Shipyard, while the leader in the field of civilian ships is a pair of shipyards under the Heixinggen Ocean Trade Company.

Thus, much of Baltekum Shipyard’s technology is a result of technology overflowing from the aforementioned companies, and East African shipbuilding technology originates from Europe. Due to another transfer, Baltekum’s technology isn’t very advanced.

"Crown Prince, we also hope to make some progress in this regard, but unfortunately, we’re limited by our capabilities. Our factory has only three technicians, all of whom were recruited from Austria at high cost; the rest are experienced old shipwrights whose knowledge has been passed down through generations. They are adept at maintaining tradition but less so at innovation, which is why tackling technical issues poses a significant challenge for us, although honestly replicating designs lets us barely keep up," Ernst said.

Ernst replied, "You shouldn’t be in a hurry about this. The beginning is always the hardest, and the shipbuilding industry in East Africa hasn’t developed for many years yet. The framework is already in place, which is progress. First, thoroughly grasp the technology you have. When there are more talents in the future, it will no longer be a problem; don’t try to become big overnight."

Talking about the difficulties of the Baltekum Shipyard, the earlier years of establishing the factory were the real challenges, as it started with nothing. While not exactly affluent now, it’s much better off than most shipyards.

Being a state-owned enterprise allows factories like Baltekum to enjoy government funding over the years, resulting in decent development, especially in terms of worker welfare and compensation. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"The shipbuilding industry has undergone immense changes over the last few decades, primarily in propulsion and material technology, so you must also adapt to these changes. As I understand it, sixty percent of your factory’s core equipment is imported from Europe. You can start by tackling simpler things, and even if you can’t fully replicate them, at least understand the principles, and ideally, refine the strengths and weaknesses to fill in your existing gaps."

It is indeed challenging for Baltekum Shipyard to develop its own designs, but the technical barriers aren’t very high nowadays.

For instance, Watt, the improver of the steam engine, was an engineer from a working-class background. While East Africa currently lacks high-level talent, there are still some individuals with secondary education who know relatively modern knowledge.

Many employees at Baltekum Shipyard, aside from skilled shipbuilders, are newly hired staff and apprentices with at least a middle school education, the worst being primary education. If they combine their knowledge with their work, they can identify and solve many problems, albeit with varying probabilities.

Ernst then visited a few more shipyards. The Bajamojo Shipyard encompasses not only marine vessels but also ships for inland river use, as Bajamojo is located at the estuary of the Little Rhine River.

Ernst was particularly interested in a military shipyard affiliated with Bajamojo Shipyard, considered a subsidiary entity of the Bajamojo Shipyard, researching submarines, though there were no finished products yet.

The role of submarines in the military domain is self-evident. It was already the 1880s, a crucial window period for submarine research since other countries didn’t prioritize the significance of submarines.

In this domain, East Africa didn’t start too late, and current prototypes could dive roughly five to six meters. With increased research efforts, would it be possible to achieve a leapfrog development?

Ernst plans to make submarine research independent, as a key project for the East African Navy, by recruiting more talents from the German region, and East Africa also has a natural experimental base.

Soron Lake (Tanganyika) is particularly suitable as a site for submarine research, with an average depth exceeding five hundred meters and a maximum depth of over fourteen hundred seventy meters, second only to Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is a significant nuclear submarine experimental base for the Soviet Union.

Aside from being slightly shallower than Lake Baikal, Soron Lake surpasses Baikal in other conditions, as Baikal relies entirely on the Siberian Railway for external contact while Soron Lake is in the Tanzanian hinterland, where future infrastructure won’t lag. Nearby Kigoma, Bujumbura, and Mbeya are important cities in East Africa, with Mbeya being the current heavy industrial center of East Africa, able to consistently support submarine research.