The diversity of culture, cuisine and climate has made the western Mediterranean highly attractive cruising grounds for many yachts and superyachts. Exploring ancient cities, dining on the world’s healthiest and freshest dishes while relaxing on golden beaches draws more and more of the world’s most impressive yachts to these beautiful coastlines each year; and with them comes a thriving demand to provide top quality support services for this exquisite flotilla. The question is can the region support this thriving growth market?
Anyone who is even remotely interested in the enjoyment of yachting knows that entwined in their magnificence and splendor is an unending regime of maintenance and upkeep. Yachts, Superyachts and Mega Yachts have a unique appeal, offering never ending pleasure and relaxation but at the same time immensely demanding in terms of care and conservation. As soon as one service is done it is already time to start planning the next project and finding the right shipyard is an important step in ensuring your cherished vessel is perfectly cared for.
With the cost effectiveness of the TPA – Inward Processing system, planning refits and servicing at one of the few authorized custom port shipyards in the Mediterranean is always a smart idea for non european owned boats. In addition to the demand for top quality service and skills along with competitive pricing, the backlog created by the Covid pandemic restrictions has prompted the more savvy owners and captains to get ahead in the game and be more forward thinking about securing their next shipyard visits to guarantee they have their first choice of the TPA authorized venues.
One of the oldest and well known shipyard in the Mediterranean is Astilleros de Mallorca. From its humble beginnings in 1942 at Sa Pedrera, to its current location, to which it moved in 1968 the shipyard has gone from strength to strength. Unfortunately their great success is not all smooth sailing and the shipyard now needs to relocate due to planned improvements for the Port of Palma and the extensive redevelopment of the Paseo Marítimo, where the facility is currently operating. In addition to sourcing a new location, the advancement in superyachts and mega yachts means that the new yard will need investment in bigger and more advanced facilities to accommodate the new demand of super and mega sized boats.
Though many of these mainland facilities are relative newcomers compared to the Balearics facility, having only been operating for a decade or two, these fledgling yards have been able to hit the ground running when it comes to servicing and refitting superyachts. Their later arrival to the market means that their more modern built facilities made it easier for them to keep abreast of new techniques and practices and provide amenities for vessels of larger sizes.
From Varador 2000, on the north coast of Barcelona to MB92 (Marina Barcelona 92) in the Port of Barcelona and on down south to Vilanova Pendennis Shipyard, the Garraf coast the skills and know-how for yacht maintenance are clearly evident in the province. In addition, professional competition has honed the standards and competence of local offerings making it a highly desirable location for refits and servicing. Moreover, competent shipyards are not unique to just the Barcelona coast. In fact the newest addition to this boom industry has a lot to commend it when it comes to a fully rounded, top notch superyacht refit and repair operation.
With a little over 3 years under its operating belt ptw Shipyard (Port Tarraco Works SL) is conveniently located alongside the marina port in the historic port city of Tarragona. Steeped in history dating back to roman times, two hundred years older than its sister city of Barcelona, the area is a beautiful, accessible metropolis and an ideal location for superyachts on a number of levels, due to the many favourable conditions it offers discerning clients.
Situated within walking distance of the city’s numerous hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes this contemporary facility delivers on accessibility and amenities as well as facilities and professionalism. With adjacent airports, motorways, high speed trains, Marina Port Tarraco and public transport connections to and from the facility, ptw Shipyard is one of the most commuter friendly refit and repair facilities in the region making personal visits and crew arrangements effortless and stress free.
Port de Tarragona
Tarragona – Spain
Their customer focused concierge service is available to all visiting owners and crews taking on all local arrangements on their behalf. Their dedication to providing a high caliber customer experience puts this company in the high echelons of superyacht service providers. Their highly trained specialist teams are available on-site in Tarragona or at any location within Spain’s coast making it even easier to avail of their exceptionally skilled experts.
The highly secure and sustainable shipyard boasts 16,000 square meters of hard standing area and 2,100 square meters of fully serviced in-house workshops, serviced with a travel lift for up to 300 tonnes and 20 tonne tender crane all conveniently located alongside a 180m/65m LOA technical quay.
In addition to their extensive facilities, ptw Shipyard is a complete support service offering engineering and mechanics, yacht painting, carpentry and interiors, electronics and systems as well as authorised CAT Marine Power sales and services all under one roof. Their highly qualified and professional project managers are on-hand with help and advice on all matters and the facility is fully authorised for TPA- Inward Processing projects.
There is little doubt that this gem on the southern Catalan coast will attain even greater popularity over the coming years as their location and talented customer-centric team are a winning combination when it comes to attracting shrewd and astute clients. Furthermore the boom in the regional yachting industry has seen an increase in the creation of local support service business and as the province of Tarragona is already well established as an industrial region modern infrastructure is already in place, so any industrial expansion is easily achieved.
For anyone who is currently in the planning phase for their next yacht refit or service project they would do well to include the mainland coast in their research. The shipyard businesses along the golden coastline, despite their competitiveness, are all highly supportive of each other and often collaborate on larger projects to achieve the best results for the superyacht industry in the region. They know that a top class reputation for Catalonia makes good business sense and secures their extensive investment in the yachting industry for the future.
