MB92 has today announced that a major milestone has been reached in the construction of the platform, which maintains the refit specialist’s schedule for opening the facility as planned this autumn. Once fully operational, the new facility will cater to superyachts with LOAs up to 115m.

Following the delivery last summer of the main elements of the structure and nine months of engineering work on-site, the Matière-Bardex team have now completed the assembly and moving of the lifting platform to its final position. At 100m in length and 20m wide the platform weighs 1,100 tonnes and required a team of 20 people and three hours to manoeuvre the shiplift structure into place and two days for the installation in the concrete recess.

“This is a key stage in the delivery of the 4300t platform which leaves us well-positioned as we enter the final six months of the project,” comments Mathieu Bauden, MB92 La Ciotat Facilities Director, who has been overseeing the project. “The next important steps are the delivery of the control building, the installation of all energy networks, reception of the transfer system, the cradles and final testing followed by certification by Lloyds this summer.”

“We are all looking forward to the imminent opening of our next facility and this latest accomplishment brings us one step closer,” adds Vincent Escallier, Commercial Director of MB92 La Ciotat. “It’s an extraordinary piece of infrastructure that complements the wide range of lifting options available to clients of our shipyard.”

The platform’s docks have been equipped with a biomimetic solution supplied by the company Seaboost. Based on the complex structure of posedonia seagrass, this solution creates an effective, integrated and safe environment that will encourage the reproduction of local marine species, creating the world’s largest artificial harbour-based fish nursery.

In addition to the nursery, La Ciotat Shipyards, the local port authority, have administered a project that implements numerous environmental measures during the construction phase such as soil decontamination, reuse of materials on-site, installation of a double bubble curtain and anti-sediment curtains to protect cetaceans and water quality.

In recent years much has been made about the rapid growth of the 90m-plus superyacht market and the comparatively slow development of service infrastructure. MB92, however, is one business that has made a series of large infrastructure investments across its two locations and contributed significantly to the development of this market.

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MB92 La Ciotat

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