La Ciotat Shipyards
La Ciotat Shipyards (formerly SEMIDEP-Ciotat) is a publicly owned local company that operates and manages the shipyard site and port of La Ciotat in the Bouches-du-Rhône, France, dedicated to the refit, repair and maintenance of large yachts. Rather than carrying out the works itself, it provides and manages the industrial infrastructure — lifting platforms, a dry dock, a boat hoist, a gantry and 1,500 m of industrial quays — used by resident refit contractors such as MB92 La Ciotat, Monaco Marine and Nautech, alongside some 50 specialist yachting subcontractors on site. The company states that around 150 yachts a year pass through the site, including about 100 over 50 m, representing 8–10% of the world refit market. It also manages the Port-Vieux marina in the town centre.
La Ciotat Shipyards
La Ciotat Shipyards is a société publique locale (local public company) owned by the Département des Bouches-du-Rhône (34.73%), the Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence (34.65%), Région Sud (17.93%) and the Ville de La Ciotat (12.69%). Created as SEMIDEP-Ciotat following the 1994 agreements that saved the historic shipbuilding site, and renamed in 2018, it has repositioned the yard from heavy shipbuilding to large-yacht refit, repair and maintenance. The company manages the industrial site and its lifting operations, letting berths and platforms to resident refit companies and around 50 specialist yachting subcontractors, and states it handles 8–10% of the world refit market with roughly 150 yachts a year, about 100 of them over 50 m.
Services
- Management of shipyard platforms, quays and lifting operations for yacht refit and repair
- Berth and hardstanding reservation for ship repair companies holding a risk-prevention plan with the yard
- Utility connections: shore power (220V/380V, 50Hz, up to 1250 A), potable water, seawater, wastewater, fibre-optic high-speed internet
- Rainwater and hull-washing water collection and treatment before discharge; two reactivated deep-water anchorages in the bay
- 24/7 controlled site access and video surveillance; published public tariff schedule
- Management of the Port-Vieux marina
Facilities
- Atlas megayacht platform (2022): 4,300 t ship lift, 7 dry berths for yachts of 80–115 m (1 public berth, 6 operated by MB92)
- Superyacht platform: ship lift for yachts of 50–80 m up to 2,000 t (berths operated by Monaco Marine, MB92, Nautech)
- Yacht platform: travel lift for 20–45 m vessels under 300 t (11 public berths, 14 MB92)
- Grande Forme dry dock, renovated in 2016, no size or weight limit, leased to MB92 La Ciotat until 2042
- Grand Portique gantry (built 1969), 93 m high, lifting up to 600 t and vessels to 60 m, including multihulls and sailing yachts without unmasting
- 1,500 linear metres of industrial quays, max draught 9 m, high-voltage and fibre connections
- Yachting Village: 20 units, 8,000 m² of industrial workshops
- Port-Vieux marina: 700 wet berths and dry storage
Vessel Types
- Motor yachts and sailing yachts from around 20 m to over 100 m
- Multihulls and vessels with unusual geometry
- Traditional Provençal craft and smaller units at Port-Vieux
Location
- La Ciotat, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, within the Mediterranean yachting "golden triangle"; 12 km from Cassis, 30 km from Marseille, 53 miles from St Tropez, close to Marseille Provence and Le Castellet airports