‘We Are Back’ Greek Shipyards Say After Decades of Pain

ATHENS, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The sound of hammer blows and welding drifted from the Skaramangas Shipyard near Athens last month as workers repaired the bow of a large tanker, while other vessels waited to be fixed in a dry dock nearby.

The activity marks a major turnaround for the shipyard: a year ago, following decades of on-off government ownership, it sat empty, an emblem of the lingering impact of Greece’s devastating 2009-2018 debt crisis.

“Now there is vitality again,” said Theodoros Evagelou, who was sandblasting and painting vessels at the yard. “I couldn’t find a job anywhere.”

The fate of the Skaramangas Shipyard, which was sold by the government to shipping tycoon George Prokopiou last year, is a sign of Greece’s wider rebound from the crisis that has also seen the state sell off bailout stakes in banks, and holdings in a major airport and highway.

The center-rig…