Italians turn around Malta shipyard
VLCC ‘Great Lady’ drydocked in the Maltese shipyard last year
The acquisition in June 2010 of the Maltese shipyard by the Italian shiprepairer, Palumbo Group, has significantly enhanced the capabilities of the Naples-based company and will have a big impact on the company’s future business.
The Maltese facilities include a drydock which can accommodate ships up to 300,000dwt and is thought to offer great potential with regard to its location in the centre of the Mediterranean with access to ships en-route between the Suez canal and Gibraltar. The total area of shipyard leased to Palumbo is about 220,000m2, with four drydocks measuring respectively 360m x 62m, 262m x 40m, 216m x 27m and 98m x 35m which can accommodate ships ranging from 20,000dwt to 300,000dwt. In addition, the yard has almost 2,000m of quays for berthing. This, together with the other docks owned by the company in Naples and Messina, the latter having a 268m x 36m graving dock, enables Palumbo to offer a wide choice to shipowners. Palumbo also acquired Malta Superyachts which enables it to repair and build megayachts.
Since June 2010, when it began operating the docks in Malta, Palumbo has carried out work on more than 150 vessels. The repairs ranged from normal docking work to specific operations such as main engine overhauls, turbocharger and governor repairs, and servicing deep well pumps using cryogenic practices on LPG and chemical tankers. Other jobs involved bow thruster dismantling and remounting, electrical motor re-winding and overhaul, main electrical board repairs and a wide range of steel work.
Palumbo plans to invest in the facilities in order to upgrade and improve the site and raise standards of quality while reversing the negative image it says Malta Shipyard acquired before privatisation. The group claims that flexibility and optimisation of working procedures have helped it to survive the recession.
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