MB92 Barcelona is preparing a major expansion of its superyacht refit and repair facilities, with more than €40 million planned for lifting equipment, dock renewal, additional hardstanding and environmental infrastructure.
MB92 Barcelona is preparing a major expansion of its superyacht refit and repair facilities following approval of a ten-year extension to its concession at the Port of Barcelona.
The agreement initially extends the shipyard’s concession to 2050 and provides approximately 4,000 square metres of additional operational space. MB92 intends to invest more than €40 million between 2026 and 2028, with the programme covering new lifting equipment, expanded hardstanding capacity, quay improvements, dry-dock rehabilitation and environmental infrastructure.
The investment is intended to increase the yard’s capacity for yachts in the small and medium-sized superyacht segments while strengthening its ability to undertake increasingly complex refit projects.
A central part of the development will be the installation of a new 680-tonne telescopic Travelift.
The lift will serve five hardstanding positions and will be capable of handling yachts measuring up to approximately 55 metres. This will give MB92 Barcelona additional flexibility for refit, maintenance and repair work involving yachts that do not require the yard’s much larger shiplift or dry-dock infrastructure.
The new arrangement should allow several yachts to be worked on simultaneously while making more efficient use of the expanded land area. It will also strengthen the yard’s ability to accommodate vessels requiring extended periods ashore for painting, engineering work, class surveys or major technical upgrades.
A second 110-tonne electric Travelift is planned for tenders, chase boats and smaller support vessels. These craft have become an increasingly important part of modern superyacht operations, particularly as larger yachts carry more extensive collections of tenders, rescue boats and specialist recreational equipment.
Providing dedicated lifting capacity for these vessels should prevent smaller projects from competing with full-sized yachts for access to the main haul-out infrastructure.
The new investment will supplement rather than replace MB92 Barcelona’s existing heavy-lift and dry-docking capacity.
The yard currently operates a 4,800-tonne shiplift, inaugurated in 2019, which can accommodate yachts up to approximately 115 metres. The system serves multiple hardstanding positions across an extensive operational area.
MB92 Barcelona also operates a 2,000-tonne Syncrolift and a Panamax dry dock measuring approximately 220 metres by 36 metres, allowing it to receive some of the largest yachts in the global fleet.
The new 680-tonne lift will therefore fill an important position between the yard’s smaller lifting equipment and its major shiplift. It should enable MB92 to allocate infrastructure according to the scale of each project rather than using its largest systems for yachts that can be handled more efficiently elsewhere.
The investment reflects a wider change within the refit market. As the global fleet expands, yards require not only sufficient maximum lifting capacity but also a varied range of docks, platforms and hardstanding positions capable of handling several yacht sizes at the same time.
The programme will include rehabilitation of MB92 Barcelona’s 220-metre dry dock together with improvements to the shipyard’s Western Dock, known locally as the Muelle Occidental.
Quayside areas will be extended and reinforced, while existing infrastructure will be renewed to improve access, project logistics and operational efficiency. Further investment is expected in technology intended to support more complex and data-intensive refit work.
Major yacht refits increasingly involve hybrid propulsion systems, battery installations, integrated bridge systems, digital monitoring platforms, advanced communication equipment and significant hotel-system upgrades.
Shipyards must consequently provide much more than lifting and berthing capacity. Projects require reliable power supplies, specialist workshops, secure storage, efficient movement of equipment and close coordination between the yard, yacht crew, surveyors and numerous subcontractors.
MB92 says its international supplier and technical-partner network includes more than 1,700 companies and specialists. This network supports projects undertaken across the group’s facilities in Barcelona, La Ciotat, Golfe-Juan and the Red Sea.
Environmental measures form a significant part of the investment programme.
MB92 Barcelona plans to improve the collection, treatment and reuse of water across the shipyard. Greywater recovered from a nearby leisure centre through the AiguaNova system is expected to be reused for activities including yacht washing, facility cleaning and cooling-tower operation.
New wastewater collection and treatment systems will also be installed to reduce the yard’s reliance on freshwater resources.
The programme additionally includes a study into measures designed to reduce the acoustic impact of shipyard operations.
Noise, water consumption, waste handling and energy demand are increasingly important considerations for large refit facilities operating close to residential and commercial areas. MB92 Barcelona occupies a prominent location near the city and beside one of the Mediterranean’s most active waterfront districts, making environmental management particularly important.
The Barcelona yard already reports that its shore-power infrastructure is supplied by electricity from renewable sources, while its facilities hold management certifications covering quality, environmental performance, occupational safety and energy management.
The concession extension provides MB92 with greater certainty over the future of its Barcelona operation.
Large-scale shipyard projects require significant capital and may take many years to deliver an adequate commercial return. A longer concession period makes investment in docks, workshops, lifting systems and environmental infrastructure more viable because the operator has more time in which to use the completed assets.
MB92 Barcelona managing director Jordi Ariet said the agreement provides the space and long-term certainty required to continue investing in the yard.
The additional capacity and upgraded infrastructure are intended to improve efficiency, raise service quality and allow the company to handle larger and more complex projects.
The initial extension carries the concession to 2050. Further works after 2028, including new buildings, workshops and modernised employee and office facilities, could support an additional five-year extension to 2055.
The agreement therefore establishes a potential multi-stage development programme rather than a single isolated investment.
Barcelona is already one of the principal superyacht service centres in the western Mediterranean.
Its advantages include direct access to major Mediterranean cruising grounds, an international airport, established marine suppliers and a large metropolitan workforce. The presence of MB92 Barcelona and OneOcean Port Vell has also helped the city develop a combined refit, berthing and yacht-support economy.
Competition between Mediterranean refit centres remains strong. Barcelona competes with facilities in Palma, Marseille, La Ciotat, Genoa, Malta and several Italian shipyard centres for major projects.
The size of MB92’s latest commitment demonstrates that remaining competitive requires continuous reinvestment. Yachts are becoming larger and more technically complicated, while owners and managers expect faster project completion, stronger cost control and more detailed environmental reporting.
The investment also follows a period of wider expansion for MB92 Group. The company operates additional yards in La Ciotat and Golfe-Juan in France and has established a repair and maintenance presence in the Red Sea.
The Barcelona programme indicates that the group continues to regard its original Spanish base as a central part of its international refit network.
The €40 million investment will not simply increase the maximum size of yacht that MB92 Barcelona can accommodate. Its greater significance lies in adding operational flexibility, allowing the yard to assign more appropriate infrastructure to different vessel sizes while improving water use, dock condition and project efficiency.
For yacht owners, captains and managers, the expansion should provide additional availability within one of the Mediterranean’s busiest refit locations. For Barcelona, it reinforces the city’s position as a long-term centre for superyacht maintenance, technical employment and specialist marine services.