Maxi Dolphin’s CEO has vowed to restart after the shipyard in Erbusco, Italy, was destroyed by fire.
More than 50 firefighters and 13 fire trucks were involved in extinguishing the fire, the cause of which is still to be determined.
The fire destroyed the shipyard building in Erbusco, along with three yachts under construction, an MD80, an MD75 and an MD51 Power.
The fire was contained in the building where it started and there were no injuries.
Clean-up operations are currently underway.
Starting again
In a statement, Maxi Dolphin said the fire had stopped operations and left everyone speechless watching the firefighters fight the flames through the night, but 40 years of history, craftsmanship and passion cannot be stopped by one night.
“The damage is devastating. But thankfully, no one was injured — and that is what matters most,” said the yard.
“Now comes the hard part: clearing, securing and restarting. But we are already looking ahead.
“We have built Maxi Dolphin over almost four decades. We are not going to stop building it now.”
Luca Botter, CEO of Maxi Dolphin, added: “The fire stopped us and it is an immense pain, but we will start again immediately at another site, both for motoboats and sailing boats. We will not stop.”
Maxi Dolphin was founded in 1987 by Vittorio Moretti and builds fully custom sailboats and motorboats, using innovative high-tech materials such as Kevlar or carbon fibre, and state-of-the-art production methods.
Renowned designers
Over the years, the shipyard has worked with many renowed designers including Axel de Beaufort, Botin & Partners, Alejandro Bottino, Luca Brenta, Axel de Beaufort, Bruce Farr, Finot-Conq, Germán Frers, Pierre Frutschi, Harry Miesbauer, Mark Mills, Nauta Design, Ettore Santarelli, Roberto Starkel, Bill Tripp and Guillaume Verdier.
Notable yachts built by the yard include the MD118 Viriella, a 36-metre-long Germán Frers design, the MD67 Shamlor and the MD100 Nomad IV alongside the widely sailed Dolphin 81 of which more than 300 have been built over the years.
The shipyard was also been entrusted with the restoration of the Azzurra 83, the 12 metre S.I. sailed by the first Italian challenge to the 25th America’s Cup held in Newport (USA) in 1983.
In 2016 the yard was acquired by MD Technologies headed by Luca Botter, who has been active in Maxi Dolphin since its founding.
The Erbusco facility covered more than 2,700 square metres of indoors facilities and included equipment dedicated to composite construction, including a 40-metre-long oven.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.
