Feature 1 | SPANISH MARINE INDUSTRIES Cernaval flies in the face of adversity
Te impact of the economic slowdown has prompted shipbuilding and repair yards across Spain to hunker down to ride out the downturn, but in the south something unusual happened last year: one yard opened up for business.
has bucked the trend and reported solid business in its first year of business. Where others are struggling to find
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work, Cernaval has had to turn away prompt enquiries because it simply has not got the space. Since September last year, the yard has
carried out around 80 jobs, including some 12 contracts that involved substantial steel replacement. A key part of the yard’s success is its
unrivalled location overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, a vital maritime chokepoint through which over 100,000 vessels sail every year. Tat represents an ample market for
yards in the region, which alongside Cernaval include Cammell Laird in Gibraltar, Cádiz in Spain and Lisnave in Portugal. But, Cernaval also benefits from a
business philosophy made possible by the company’s family ownership structure. Te yards owners maintain a hands-on
approach to the business that enables prompt decisions and flexible pricing when pitching for work. Te rates are competitive and aim to
cover costs, working on the basis that once a ship is docked an owner is likely to capitalise on the downtime and carry out other work on the vessel. “We look beyond the immediate job,
where other yards perhaps won’t take that risk,” said commercial director Pablo de Celis. “If you’re going to have a ship in a
dock, then you’re going to have other jobs done.” Cernaval’s drydock lay abandoned for
many years and was originally built to construct gas carriers, a project that never came to fruition. In 2007, the company ploughed €42million into refurbishing the
38 Under repair, the Giovanna at Cernaval’s drydock.
abandoned facility, which is located in the northern end of the bay of Gibraltar. At 400m in length and 50m wide, the
dry dock can easily accommodate two small vessels simultaneously. Astilleros Cernaval is also equipped with a floating dry dock.
Te revamped facility was also fitted
with powerful pumps able to fill or empty the dock in just a few hours, cutting down on docking times. The latest investment paid for a
complete overhaul of both the main dry dock itself and ancillary infrastructure
The Naval Architect November 2009
rivately-owned repair yard Astilleros Cernaval, in Spain’s southern most port of Algeciras,
An aerial view of the Cernaval yard with Gibralter in the background.
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