For decades Malta Drydocks was associated with many things: thousands of jobs, highly skilled workers, the British Navy, State subsidies, union turmoil and militancy. Five years following its closure and privatisation, Ivan Camilleri found a completely different picture behind the Għajn Dwieli gate.

Five years ago Malta Shipyards, or Malta Drydocks, as it had been known for so long, was closed down and a new operator, an Italian company, took over. Five years down the line, the shipyards are registering profits which, although small, signify a clear departure from the past.

Until the closing down of the ship repair facilities, among the largest in the Mediterranean, the company was registering millions in losses every year. It was calculated by experts that over the span of two decades, taxpayers had pumped into the yards’ coffers some €2.3 billion to keep it afloat. This could not continue following Malta’s accession to the EU.

Decisive action was taken, and following the failure of a seven-year restructuring programme, the doors were shut and a privatisation process launched to start afresh.

Today, under the stewardship of a third-generation Italian Palumbo family, the company is already generating some €2 million in annual profits and has injected some €300 million in turnover directly into the Maltese economy since 2010.

“When I came here, the facility was full of problems. Old equipment, demoralised workers, no interest by ship owners and maybe the worst thing, a very bad reputation,” says Antonio Palumbo, the company’s chairman.

“It was like a jewel which had gathered so much dust that you couldn’t recognise it from the black grit blast particles covering the dockyards’ vast area.”

The first thing that strikes you today is the tidiness and general upkeep of the place. The area, so much linked to heavy industry, is kept spic and span, while a museum holding some of the dockyards’ century-old equipment has been put in place.

One of the yards’ massive stores complexes, close to the Senglea side of the facilities, has been turned into a mini-hotel where crews of multimillion-euro super yachts can stay until their vessel is refitted.

But the largest turnaround is not physical. It’s a shift in mentality.

It’s true we are working harder, but we are more satisfied

“Mr Palumbo is fixated about cleanliness and we try to keep the place in an impeccable condition,” says Raymond, a fitter in the machine shop who has been working at the yards for 30 years.

“The situation here has completely changed. We are now working in a more orderly and well-planned organisation, where observing tight deadlines is our daily bible. Before we used to be 400 in this machine shop alone and every person had a specific job to do.

“Many used to be idle for weeks on end, but our salary was guaranteed by the government. Now we are just 18 and we do all that’s necessary, both on land and afloat.

It’s true we are working harder but we are more satisfied,” Raymond adds.

Joe, an engineer who has been working at the shipyards since the late 1980s, says that the atmosphere at his workplace was unrecognisable from a few years ago.

“We are now doing work professionally. No more politics, mass meetings or bickering between the union and the government. We have a job to do and that’s it. The only problem is that we do not find enough skilled Maltese to work here anymore,” he says.

Admitting that skilled workers are not to be found any longer in Malta, Mr Palumbo says there are some 150 Maltese working full-time at the shipyards. However, he recognises that for certain jobs, foreign workers have to be ‘imported’.

“We have also over 100 local suppliers who come here on almost a daily basis to do the work necessary on our client’s vessels. We have calculated that so far, more than €300 million has been injected into the local economy through our activity in five years.”

Since 2010, Palumbo Shipyards has hosted a thousand vessels, from snazzy superyachts to oil rigs.

“Our docks are full for almost 80 per cent of the time and we are working to further increase their use,” Mr Palumbo said.

Millions have been pumped into new facilities, particularly where it comes to the lucrative superyacht business, and there are plans for more new equipment.

“We are looking long term. We have a concession for 30 years and we want to make this facility the best in the Mediterranean. So far we are managing to change how ship owners look at our reputation as this is crucial. Still, we need to work harder and need everyone’s cooperation.”

He says relations with the government are good and that Palumbo is looking forward to further developing its relations with the authorities, as “they are now realising that there is a sound future for this facility and that this is a win-win situation for the Maltese economy”.