Palumbo Malta Shipyards Wins Scrubber Retrofits for Corsica Linea

In a highly cyclical and volatile industry, being agile and proactive is key and Palumbo Malta Shipyards is leading the way to position itself as one of the leading European yard. Having just finished the scrubber retrofit of three ro-ro passenger ferries from Minoan Lines (managed by Grimaldi), Palumbo Malta Shipyards has landed a second prestigious contract for another three vessels with a French shipping company – Corsica Linea. 

Retrofits will start from December 2019 and will involve MV Pascal Paoli, MV Jean Nicoli and MV Paglia Orba. All vessels will be retrofitted with Ecospray's made, open loop type scrubber system. Corsica Linea, in its development strategy, is investing a lot of energy and resources in green solutions and scrubber installation will be only the first step to make their ships cleaner and more efficient.

The scrubber market is already booming as ship owners and operators turn to retrofitting to comply with the sulfur limit, and Palumbo Malta Shipyards is investing in expertise and exploiting this opportunity, the IMO regulations have opened up a new niche for company, which was constantly seeking to remain at the top in a highly competitive industry. The shipyard is focusing on a quick turnaround of the job and each of these massive vessels can be refitted within 30 days. 

Other than scrubbers retrofits Palumbo Malta in involved in a series of demanding docking projects. The shipyard is undergoing a substantially important mechanical intervention on a general cargo vessel, where one of its main engines requires a crankshaft replacement and full engine overhaul. Meanwhile, a Golden Union's  292m bulk carrier CIC Paola with a gross tonnage of 94,000 tonnes was accommodated at the yard’s largest dock for two weeks where various works were carried out on fuel pumps, winch and windlass repairs, hull treatment, repairs on oil engine heater, coolers and auxiliary engine fans repairs apart from other works. 

And, for the fifth consecutive year a renowned a Greece's Costamare has entrusted the shipyard with the docking and repairs of three of its vessel fleet of 300m container carriers, last one was MSC Amalfi. The contractual drydock period was respected and the client left the yard happy to have the vessels back on the trade route in time. 

LNG propulsion will also be a big topic in the coming years and the Group’s yards are organizing themselves to be in line to accommodate these types of vessels and deliver the required services to the highest possible safety and quality standards.