This paper presents findings of the consequences of the recent Covid 19 pandemic on the shipbuilding industry. Through qualitative interviews with key stakeholder on their experiences, the paper identifies an increased emphasis on contracts as regulative for collaboration. This increased focus on legalism in the shipbuilding industry was already triggered by the recent oil crisis yet escalated to a new level by the rules and regulations imposed by the pandemic. The paper argues that the ramifications of this pandemic cannot be understood without interpreting it in respect to the ongoing market transition the industry was already facing when the pandemic hit the world. The findings of increased formal regulation of collaboration, requires further studies and have implications also for the ETO literature.