The affair for the rehabilitation of the sail training ship of the Navy is driving more flowers. Apparently, the Bundeswehr has spent far more than 100,000 euros for fake rivets. Since plates for the hull of steel ships are welded directly during construction today, no rivets are needed anymore.

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The planners of the Navy gave the meanwhile insolvent Elsflether shipyard after SPIEGEL information nevertheless the order to produce a decorative "rivet optics". For this purpose, the shipyard welded specially produced rivet heads for a price of 110 euros on the steel plates of the "Gorch Fock". As more and more land was added to the hull and deck of the ship during the rehabilitation, it was decided to order special bolts with their heads cut off for decoration. That should have lowered the price to about 75 euros per piece.

A Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed on request that several thousand rivets had been installed. Since not all had been welded and accounted for, there was to the total cost "still no conclusive statement".

Due to allegations of corruption and rapidly rising costs, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) had stopped payments to the shipyard. Soon, however, money will flow again. The renovation costs, which have meanwhile increased to 135 million euros, include several controversial items.

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