Barcelona’s 4000t shiplift

This major refit yard in the Spanish port of Barcelona is now investing in a shiplift that will enable it to lift and store large superyachts and other craft for repair and refit work.

With this new expansion of the shipyard the shiplift will be capable of lifting vessels up to 4000 tonnes displacement, a major increase on the current limit of 2000 tonnes. Along with the installation of the shiplift there will be a hard standing area linked to the shiplift that will be able to accommodate up to 12 vessels at one time. These vessels will be moved from the shiplift to their work area by means of a rail transfer system.

The new expansion area for the yard will extend to 20,000 square metres on the Muelle de Catalunya. It will be provided with undercover facilities for the highly specialised painting requirements of superyachts but the yard will also be able to carry out repair and refit work on a wide range of craft with a maximum length up to 105 metres. The yard also has a dry dock that can accommodate the largest yachts in the World making this Spanish port a major refit centre.

This major investment project which was included in the original concession document of 2010 was recently approved by the Board of Directors of the Port of Barcelona. It will give the yard much greater efficiency, flexibility and productivity, together with a significant improvement in the environmental conditions which were the objectives that were set in the design and implementation of this ambitious project. It will create a sound environmental protection zone in the residential areas that are adjacent to Port Vell. It is estimated that the total investment for this expansion project is 45 million euros and is expected to create an additional 250-300 direct jobs in the yard shared between the company and its subcontractors.

MB 92 selected Pearlson Shiplift Corporation of Florida in the USA to supply the shiplift. Pearlson is a company with an established technical team with over 40 years of experience in the lifting and transfer systems for vessels and for the design and engineering of these lifting and transfer systems. The development of other facilities associated with this project as well as port civil engineering work is being done by the technical team of the Port Authority of Barcelona combined with the operational and technical management of MB’92. The construction work is expected to start in the first half of 2016 and it will be completed by the end of 2017.

By Dag Pike