By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Marseilles Fos port authority is to complete a €28 million renovation of drydock 10 to provide a base for cruise ship repair and maintenance.
Expected to be completed by June 2015, the renovation work was started earlier this year after more than two years of preparatory studies. As part of the project, the port authority will refurbish the pumps, electrical power system and equipment. In addition, the yard will feature a new 9,100 tonne dock gate, which cost around €13.35 million and was designed to last for around 50 years. The gate will be 87.5m long, 15m wide and 13m high.
The drydock, which was used to repair supertankers between 1975 and 2000, will provide a repair base for cruise ships of up to 360m in length that sail in the Mediterranean. It will be operated by the Mediterranean’s largest ship repairer San Giorgio del Porto, its subsidiary Chantier Naval de Marseille and cruise ship builder Mariotti as part of a 25-year franchise agreement. The group, which signed the franchise contract in June 2013, also has a commercial agreement with the STX France yard in Saint Nazaire.
Last year, Marseilles handled 454 cruise calls by 76 ships from 38 companies, while passenger numbers rose by 31% to a record 1.17 million. Homeporting passengers also increased 17% to 365,000.