Cantieri di Pisa, partnership with Mariotti to build megayachts

Creating a new Italian pole for the construction of megayachts from 60 metres upwards. This is the ambitious plan behind the joint venture project set up between Cantieri di Pisa, specialised in the construction and refit of yachts, and T Mariotti, a historic Genoese company that operates in the construction of extra-luxury cruise ships and has been working for years in partnership with Gin (Genoa Ship Industries) and San Giorgio del Porto, an important player in the field of ship repair.

Explaining the project, which will be officially presented at the Monte Carlo Boat Show today, 25 September, is Marco Massabò, ceo of Cantieri di Pisa, which, under his leadership, which began in 2021 (when the company was taken over by Enrico Gennasio, one of the brothers who own the Alfagomma group), have started to grow again, after a long period of crisis. 'Since 2021,' says the manager, 'we have concentrated on refitting and, last year, we managed to clear the accounts. And we have also re-entered the world of yacht construction, with the sale of a 40-metre that is currently under construction and scheduled for delivery in 2027. We closed the nautical year 2023-2024 with 9 million in sales. And soon we will see the results of 2024-2025. Today we have 30 employees, which rises to almost 300 with those of the companies working in the shipyard."

As far as the joint venture is concerned, 'I have known Mariotti's entire staff for years,' says Massabò, 'the president, Marco Bisagno, the ceo, Marco Ghiglione, and Ferdinando Garrè (president of both San Giorgio del Porto and Gin, ndr). And they could only be the ones to support the industrial project that has been developed and on which we have been working for months. The nautical sector, today, is mainly dominated by three large groups that are doing an excellent job; but if you want to enter, as is our intention, the pleasure boat segment, i.e. those over 60 metres, you need structures and know-how".

Cantieri di Pisa, he continues, 'has the right brand but we needed a partner capable of building ships and who also had the right areas. At this point, it was natural to approach T Mariotti, which has suitable areas in Piombino and also in San Giorgio di Nogaro. But since the project is, as I reiterate, industrial and not born out of passion, although driven by solid enthusiasm, there has been a lot of contact between Ghiglione and myself to talk about the future. And the future is a very strong partnership between the two companies, for the construction of yachts from 60 metres upwards".

On the Italian market, Massabò underlines, "Mariotti is the second pole for the construction of cruise ships, after Fincantieri. Therefore, with the brand and capacity of Cantieri di Pisa and the financial strength and know-how of the Genoese group, by presenting ourselves together, we have the possibility of climbing a mountain whose reference point is currently Northern Europe, with the German and Dutch shipyards (historically specialised in the construction of luxury megayachts, ed.)".