For many years Malta has been recognised for its VAT schemes, Flag of Registry and maritime heritage, combined with some classic architecture and robust infrastructure. It was the latter that drew me to Valetta Harbour to discover and explore the Melita Marine Group and meet its charming Chairman, Pierre Balzan, for a superb Italian lunch and one or two wonderful suppers.

Pierre, the Chairman
Pierre, the Founder as well as the Chairman of Melita Marine Group, is a real character with not only a deep passion for the sector but also a long-term vision for Malta and the Med, from Melita’s perspective, where his personal network and customer relationships extend over decades. His deep, booming voice and wide beaming smile capture the attention of a room in seconds. Wherever he is in the Melita HQ, his team know he’s in the room and they listen carefully to every word, making sure they interpret his expectations to perfection; after all, Pierre is a true perfectionist. Over the past few decades, he has captured the attention of the market and built a business based on service and quality, driven by his obsession to deliver what his clients want and expect.

Speaking to a few of his long-term clients, it’s immediately apparent that there’s a huge mutual respect and bond that keeps captains coming back for more. What was also evident was his matter of fact approach: “We just get things done – no frills, no gimmicks, just a solid dry dock, a good team and responsive shipyard approach to deliver on a project scope,” explained Balzan. What was both fascinating and surprising was his charming nature with all his team – he really cared and enjoyed introducing them all and telling stories or sharing anecdotes about their background, skills or longevity. They all beamed with pride or chuckled as he explained how valuable they were to him and the company.

Pierre Balzan, founder and Chairman, Melita Marine Group
Image credit: Andy Johansen

The team
Focusing on the team, it was a real pleasure to walk around the dry dock, shipyard and offices meeting various team members. Characters in the shipyard were focused and engaged, happy to say hello for a few minutes, but then went straight back to the task in hand after the initial pleasantries. The office was full of finance people, sales and marketing people, project managers, team leaders and support teams, of all age groups, all smiling and jumping up to say hello and shake hands. Some had been part of Melita’s story for decades, others for a few months, but ultimately there was an aura of passion and dedication that had been indoctrinated by the Chairman.

“We just get things done – no frills, no gimmicks, just a solid dry dock, a good team and responsive shipyard approach to deliver on a project scope.”

When asked about their various roles and what they enjoyed about Melita, their responses echoed sentiments about supporting each other, partnerships with clients, wanting to deliver on time and doing things right. But there was one shared message that emerged from our various conversations that I think will become more of a visible: “Because we care”. The more we chatted, laughed and discussed the future of the market, this care approach became more and more visible. This was first uttered by Pierre’s son, John Balzan, currently being mentored and developed for the future succession plan of the Balzan empire.

Image credit: Andy Johansen

The shipyards
During the whistle-stop tour of Malta and Melita’s facilities, it was good to see the scale and scope of the operation as my perspective had, until then, been very different from the reality. Nothing I had read or seen about Melita had ever given me the impression that this was a significant business serving so many market sectors – power generation, military, energy, commercial marine and obviously yachting – but the more Pierre and I discussed the scope of services and facilities across the Med, it was clear that this is a serious business with serious financial stability and structure. Maybe Pierre had chosen to remain humble and stealthy in his communication to the yacht market, perhaps enjoying being perceived as just a good yachting shipyard in Malta.

The reality was so different from what I expected while walking around a vast hard standing alongside neighbouring commercial facilities, adjacent to vast building and engineering sheds that have so much potential for expansion. This space alone could accommodate possibly 30-plus superyachts on the tarmac, with a couple of mobile lifts in place, and the prospect of growing into a full-service centre with paint sheds, metal work and so much more was evident. This combined with a spectrum of subcontractors and workers across the maritime hub there gave me a clear picture of what the future of Malta looks like.

Another rapid ride across Valetta to its 110-metre-plus floating dry-dock location with a 5,000-ton capacity, perhaps Melita’s most important asset in the business apart from their team, made me realise that there was so much more in progress for the future. Functional, robust and exclusive are my description of this large yacht facility, a dock that is designed to lift almost any member of the big-boat fleet. Yes, it’s a well-used floating platform and has all the scars and blemishes of a dock that is seriously active, but it was the potential of this unique shipyard site that impressed the most.

“By combining our Malta shipyard with our growing presence along the Côte d’Azur, we are bridging two of Europe’s most strategic yachting hubs.”

Slightly hidden from the rest of Malta’s infrastructure, just across the harbour, with a secure gateway and enough dockside space to allow trades and subcontractors to have direct access, you could immediately see the attraction for big-boat captains. The most interesting aspect was the fact that once a 90- or 100-metre yacht is raised in the dock, this Melita facility becomes exclusively the shipyard of one project, with offices, trades, some parking, project management, tender storage and repairs and 24-hour security all focused on one contract at a time. In my opinion, this is a valuable and unique proposition and so much so that, as Pierre explained, some clients come back to secure “their shipyard” slot, where essentially the shipyard belongs to the yacht for the duration of the contract.

While visiting the dock, we were shown a sneak preview of the expansion plans and designs for this facility: a modern, future-proofed office and shipyard facility that definitely raises the game at Melita. Rather than being purely a functional and highly practical engineering company, this planned investment is designed to create a modern Mediterranean service hub, able to compete with the well-known refit brands.

The future
During this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, Melita Marine Group, alongside their regional friends AG Advisory, hosted a huge private party at The Yacht Club de Monaco for their friends, teams and clients. It was here that Pierre and his team were able to announce the formation of Melita Shipyard Services France, which immediately expands its operational coverage from Monaco to Marseille, with new offices and workshops in Biot and Antibes.

This strategic expansion complements Melita Marine Group’s existing network of offices and infrastructure across the Mediterranean, enabling the company to provide France-based yachts with comprehensive mobile shipyard services through its own technical teams across the full spectrum of their on-board skills and competencies.

It is apparent that everyone on the island recognises the value and importance of raising their game and their profile on the yachting stage.

“The South of France expansion marks a defining moment for Melita Marine Group,” said Pierre. “By combining our Malta shipyard with our growing presence along the Côte d’Azur, we are bridging two of Europe’s most strategic yachting hubs. This allows us to serve our clients wherever they cruise, with our own people, standards and commitment to excellence, showing that We Care.”

After reflecting on 48 hours in Valetta Harbour and on the dynamic island of Malta, the key takeaway for me was the energy and passion that exist across this superyacht hub. The weather, the people, the culture and the heritage, combined with its geolocation in the heart of the Mediterranean, make this a wonderful place for captains and crew to spend the end of their season as well as their pre-season to optimise and upgrade their yachts.

Over lunch and dinner in a few of Malta’s excellent restaurants, it was clear it’s not only Pierre’s passion and investment strategy that’s going to make a huge difference to Malta, but also the Maltese Government and other stakeholders who are working on a strategic development programme to ensure that the infrastructure and services on the island are supported and invested in for the future. It is apparent that everyone on the island recognises the value and importance of raising their game and their profile on the yachting stage, and with Pierre as one of the advocates and champions, with his deep, booming voice and elegant charm, I’m confident it’s going to happen.

To watch the short documentary of our whistle-stop tour of Melita Marine visit this link. 

This article first appeared in The Superyacht Report: Refit Focus. With our open-source policy, it is available to all by following this link, so read and download the latest issue and any of our previous issues in our library.

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