It was in 1995 that Michel Ducros, a French businessman, decided to create a yachting marina in Monaco. In fact, as an owner of a Grand Banks yacht, he had been unhappy with his experience as a yachting client on the French coast. With his enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit he envisioned a new concept for delivering services to yachting clients. He started by imposing a radical change in attitude that would position the client at the centre of the business, employees would wear traditional yachting uniforms and he would raise the range of standards in maritime repair. Monaco Marine was born.
The original idea of creating a network of shipyards took shape. Michel Ducros decided that a collection of shipyards was the only way to offer top notch flexibility and quality. With this kind of network he would be able to offer professional and personalised services. At the end of 1997, the first two shipyards situated at Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Beaulieu-sur-Mer complemented the site in Monaco.
In 2002, Monaco Marine acquired the Cogolin site in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Covering an area of 28 000m², the yard is equipped with two Travelifts, a travelling crane, two paint sheds and floating berths. The Group’s strategy was to introduce Monaco Marine’s rigorous standards to these new yards and at the same time retain the exceptional ‘know-how’ the sites had to offer. The yard personnel were kept on and trained thereby retaining their precious experience and enriching it with the Monaco Marine’s own services.
In 2007, Anticipating market trends, the Group decided to move into the superyacht market and opened a new shipyard in La Ciotat. Specialising in yachts of over 40m, this massive site is equipped with a 2000 tonne Yachtlift® as well as a 90m paint shed which means it can refit large vessels under cover. It was at this point that Monaco Marine became the major player for owner’s of any size of yacht, with shipyards serving clients right across the yachting market.
In 2012, Monaco Marine extended its network along the Côte d’Azur by purchasing the shipyard in Antibes. Opposite the Quai des Milliardaires, this site is ideally situated and contributes to the development of top class services at Antibes;- the heart of the French yachting industry.
As demands grew from increasingly large yachts, in 2018 Monaco Marine opened a new service centre for superyachts and multi hulls in La Seyne-Toulon. This site can handle yachts up to 50m which have difficulty finding shipyards that can take them for dry dock work. It also takes into account the wellbeing of yacht crews with specially dedicated areas designed for their comfort. And so Monaco Marine moves into a new niche market by offering new opportunities to owners of catamarans.
Monaco Marine also established a base in Marseille in 2018 in the heart of the city and the Grand Port Maritime. This new venture is only the beginning of a much bigger shipyard. In fact, Monaco Marine plans to have a 6000 tonne yacht lift available for its clients by 2023. And so each shipyard will be specially adapted to a yacht size, covering the entire range of yachts available on the market. Always working within the confines of client security and respect that characterises the Group’s activities.
