yard profile Palumbo
cruise repair snowballs after Malta gain
The location and facilities of a shipyard that Palumbo acquired in Malta has helped its cruise repair business gain momentum. It has also carved out a strong role in the ferry sector
ITALIAN shipyard group Palumbo has boosted its cruise shiprepair and conversion business on the back of its acquisition of Malta Shipyards in 2010. The company acquired the 220,000m2
yard from the Maltese government and the new entity, Palumbo Malta Shipyard, was created after the agreement was signed (see PST Autumn 2010). Palumbo also has shipyards in Naples and Messina (Italy). Palumbo has been in the shiprepair
business since 1967, but it is only since it acquired the Malta shipyard that it has really been able to ramp up its cruise ship business. Sales director of the family-owned business, Raffaele Palumbo – son of the company’s president Antonio Palumbo – singled out both the facilities and geography of the yard as being the significant reasons behind the boost: “With excellent facilities and equipment and the strategic position on the main Mediterranean shipping route, Palumbo shipyards is ideal for cruise shiprepairs and refit,” he said. Indeed, the facilities of Palumbo Malta Shipyard are important in capturing cruise shiprepair business as they include seven graving docks, compared with one in Messina and two in Naples. The acquisition has
36 I Passenger Ship Technology I 2nd Quarter 2013
also allowed Palumbo to accommodate much larger cruise ships and ferries, as the Malta yard’s biggest dock can take vessels of up to 362m in length, 62m in breadth and up to 300,000 dwt. In contrast, the largest vessel that Messina can take is 262m in length and 70,000 dwt while Naples, the maximum length and capacity are 120m and 6,000 dwt.
Malta’s overall total berth space
amounts to 865m for shiprepair and conversion, plus another 377m for building superyachts, a new business area that its acquisition has allowed Palumbo to enter. Together, these facilities total 1,242m – significantly more than Naples’ 840m and Messina’s 330m. Mr Palumbo has also found that owning three shipyards is helping to attract and retain cruise shiprepairs and conversions: their strategic position, he said, meant that that the company has been able to create strong networking services to provide complete support for clients.
Competition among shipyards for
cruise repairs and conversions is fiercely competitive, Mr Palumbo observed. “Cruising is the fastest growing sector in the travel industry and increasing numbers of shipyards are looking for a
slice of the action,” he said. Nevertheless, alongside what he described as the company’s yards’ privileged position, Mr Palumbo believes that the company has several strengths that help it win business and give it an edge over the competition. The importance of both ensuring that repair and conversion deadlines are hit and that projects are finished in as a competitive time as possible, are strengths that the shipyard draws on. “A company won’t accept not
receiving its ship the day set for completion of the work,” he said, indicating that investment is focused to achieve that goal. Otherwise, “we would soon be edged out of the market. Our aim remains every time the same with each client: high quality of performed work and reliability.” He said that this was the reason why Palumbo Shipyard
www.passengership.info
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88