Poerio looks to three different geographic areas to expand the Tankoa shipyard

Genoa - There are three geographical areas that Tankoa Yachts is looking at carefully to expand its production capacity: "Genoa, Civitavecchia and Piombino". This was explained by Vincenzo Poerio, CEO of Tankoa Yachts, on the occasion of the Presentation of the new 50-meter explorer superyacht designed by Hot Lab and renamed T500 Tethys.

On this occasion, the experienced engineer at the helm of the shipyard, currently located in Sestri Ponente (Genoa), emphasized his company's interest in expanding its operating facilities to provide breathing space and growth opportunities for a company that is expected to see its turnover rise to 70 million euros this year and then reach 100 million in 2023, thanks to the production of four superyachts every 12 months, according to its business plan.

Speaking of the many areas in need of redevelopment, both available and underutilized, in some Italian ports, Poerio mentioned the former Ilva steelworks in Genoa Cornigliano, which could be used for industrial purposes. However, this will require decisive intervention from the institutions, as "Acciaierie d'Italia's state concession expires in 2066." In short, a broad agreement between the company, the municipality, and the local port authority will be needed.

Another alternative, also in the Ligurian capital, is to share or receive from the nearby Fincantieri shipyard some of the additional square footage that will be created following the relocation of the Sestri Ponente shipyard to the sea. This move will provide new and larger spaces, especially on land. In this case, discussions with the group currently led by CEO Pierroberto Folgiero have been ongoing for a year, but the parties have yet to reach a concrete agreement. It's not even certain they'll reach one, as Tankoa urgently needs new space, and this rush doesn't sit well with Fincantieri's order book, which is fully booked at least until 2025-26, including for its Genoa shipyard.

Then there is the well-known interest in the areas of the port of Civitavecchia which have been occupied so far by the former Privilege shipyard (approximately 100.000 m2) but, also as a result of an appeal to the TAR recently initiated by the Konig group, the timeframe for a reassignment may not be short (provided that it is that area and not another further north that the local port authority will allocate to shipbuilding).

The third option would have been the port of Piombino. This option almost certainly fell through because the area Tankoa had targeted was near the Piombino Industrie Marittime shipyard, where one of the two FSRU vessels (the other is destined for Ravenna) will be moored. Snam will position them to serve as a floating terminal to receive, regasify, and forward liquefied natural gas to the national grid. In this case, the yards to be allocated for the construction of superyachts would initially have amounted to 16.000 square meters, with the possibility of extending to another 60.000 square meters. With the arrival of the floating regasification terminal, not only will Tankoa Yachts not find space, but it's possible (and likely) that Piombino Industrie Marittime (a 50/50 joint venture between the Neri Group of Livorno and Genova Industrie Navali) will also have to give up several square meters of space already granted under concession.

"The first option, the most preferable for production optimization reasons, would be to expand our shipyard in Sestri Ponente, while the 'second-best' solution, which we believe is perhaps more feasible, could be to move to Civitavecchia, even though this would involve two distant production hubs and where it would therefore be more difficult to achieve operational synergies," Poerio explained to SUPER YACHT 24.

Speaking more generally about the current critical situation for superyacht builders, Tankoa's CEO stated that the conflict in Ukraine hasn't directly affected them with regard to the vessels currently under construction, "although it has clearly put a damper on negotiations with both Russian and Ukrainian clients. These two nationalities represent an important catchment area for a shipyard like ours."

Then there's the delicate issue of rising costs for materials and raw materials, a factor that "reduces shipyards' profit margins and requires maximizing efficiency, as well as requiring the greatest possible reduction in errors during construction." Poerio, emphasizing that shipowners are unwilling to accept adjustments to the signed price of new constructions, said he has calculated that the price increases are currently "having an economic impact of 5,5% on the value of the orders the shipyard has underway."

Finally, regarding the growing focus on sustainability, the Genoa-based shipyard's CEO reiterated that alternative fuels to diesel are currently not a viable option, although Poerio believes electric batteries and nuclear propulsion could become viable solutions in the future. However, many critical issues remain to be addressed: from shipowners who prefer not to spend an additional €2 or €3 million for hybrid propulsion ("unless, perhaps, their children ask them to"), to the complexity of having, for example, many additional electrical panels in the engine room, and to more demanding crew training than in the past.

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Tankoa presents the new explorer superyacht designed by Hot Lab