Spain’s Balenciaga Shipyard Restarts Work Under AD Ports Ownership
Six months after it was announced that SAFEEN Drydocks, part of the AP Ports Group, was acquiring the Spanish shipyard, Balenciaga restarted work with its first keel laying. The historic yard located in the Basque region of Spain looks to rebuild its operations, focusing on the offshore sector with specialized tugs and support vessels.
The shipyard, which had been known as Astilleros Balenciaga, traces its origins to 1921, reporting that it has built hundreds of vessels, including for the Spanish navy. In recent years, it has focused on the offshore sector before falling into financial difficulties that threatened to close the yard in late 2024.
SAFEEN Drydocks, which is part of AD Ports’ Noatum Maritime, announced in January that it had acquired the Spanish shipbuilder for €11.2 million (US$13.1 million) as part of a strategy to expand its shipbuilding and repair operations and consolidate its position in Spain and the Mediterranean. SAFEEN Drydocks was launched in June 2023 as a joint venture 51 percent owned by AD Ports and working with Premier Marine Engineering Services, which was developing a shipyard at the Khalifa Port.
“Today we celebrate that Balenciaga is back,” said Mikel Jauregi, Minister of Industry, Energy Transition, and Sustainability for the Basque Government. “It’s been a long and arduous journey, but we never gave up.”
The first project is an offshore support tug, one of two offshore tugs that were ordered at the yard. Balenciaga Shipyard reports it has an “active orderbook” that positions it as a “credible and competitive” builder for the European offshore and renewable energy sector. The yard will be targeting further contracts in the offshore wind sector and will look to leverage SAFEEN’s partnership with Masdar, a United Arab Emirates state-owned renewable energy company. Masdar has been increasing its investments in European offshore renewable energy.
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Under its new ownership, the yard reports it will invest in its workforce, facilities, automation, and supply chain. Balenciaga Shipyard has two dry docks, a 105-meter slipway, and a fabrication factory, as well as a cutting plant.
During the keel laying ceremony on July 16, officials referred to it as a “recovery and renewal” of one of the Basque region’s most historic shipbuilding facilities. It also looks to build its position by focusing on other offshore support vessels, tugs, and specialized maritime vessels. In the past, it also built commercial fishing vessels and, most recently, SOVs for companies including North Star Shipping and Edda Wind.
