Kvaerner Appeals EC State Aid Ruling

Kvaerner has appealed against a European Commission ruling that it must repay state aid of $44.8 million for alleged over-production at its Warnow shipyard in Germany during 1998. Kvaerner took a provision of $32.4 million - compared to the $43.5 million the Commission is seeking - in the second quarter. Company officials maintain that Kvaerner complied with a technical capacity limit imposed when the yard was acquired in 1992, and was within its rights to boost actual output due to productivity gains.