Lusben: 6 million works to modernise the refit yards have been completed

Lusben, the yacht refit company owned by the Azimut Benetti Group, is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its foundation, which took place in Viareggio in 1956, and is currently completing a major modernisation project, with a total value of 16 million euros, which began in 2023 and will be completed in 2027; however, over the course of this year, it has carried out three significant projects involving the sites that now make up the company: Viareggio, Livorno and Varazze.

At the start of the summer, a new 720-tonne travel lift was installed in Viareggio (a facility capable of accommodating and handling yachts up to 55 metres in length); in Livorno, meanwhile, on 1 August, the Mediterraneo floating dry dock returned following a refit (carried out at the shipyards in Marseille, managed by the Italian company San Giorgio del Porto), which covered its entire 180-metre length; a length that allows Lusben to work on vessels up to 150 metres. Also in Livorno, work is nearing completion on the new crew lounge, designed to offer a high-quality experience to the crews of boats undergoing repairs whilst they are in the shipyard.

The investment in these three projects, which will be presented to the market during the autumn boat shows, starting with those in Cannes and Monaco, totals 6 million euros. The modernisation plan, however, also encompassed other projects: it included the expansion of the Livorno site, partly through the acquisition of the dock area in May 2022, where refurbishment works have been carried out, bringing the total area to 220,000 square metres, of which 90,000 square metres is shipyard area, with a water area in front of it measuring 130,000 square metres. This development now enables the simultaneous accommodation, on land, of up to three vessels over 100 metres in length, in addition to those already routinely accommodated.

The number of berths available on land has now risen to 32, whilst the number of berths in the water has reached 22. Among the facilities considered most innovative and strategic is an 8.5-metre-deep dry dock for sailing yachts. It is the largest in the Mediterranean and allows for comprehensive maintenance work on boats with a tilting keel of up to 70 metres. In addition to this, there is the recently refurbished floating dock and an enclosed basin, dedicated to work to be carried out whilst the vessel is moored.