A few years after evaluating new sites to expand operations, Tankoa Yachts received the formal go-ahead for a shipyard in Civitavecchia, Italy. Through a city-granted concession, Tankoa Yachts is taking over the Privilege yard. The long-defunct site will undergo significant renovations, eventually seeing yacht construction and launch.
Having decided further yacht construction space was vital, Tankoa, based in Genoa, identified a few potential locations in 2021. The port of Civitavecchia was among them. The shipyard team believed the site would suit hull and superstructure construction, further metalwork, and the joining of hulls and superstructures. (Final outfitting remains the domain of its Genoa facilities.) The port and city of Civitavecchia are outside of Rome, farther down the Mediterranean coast from Genoa. With this, though, the former Privilege yard is still within the primary Italian yacht-building geographic region between Genoa and Livorno.
Tankoa Yachts is taking over the Privilege yard site for even more strategic reasons. “Tasks that have been outsourced until now can be brought in-house, allowing us to have direct control over the quality of the work,” says Guido Orsi, Tankoa’s marketing manager. He adds, “In Civitavecchia, we will begin operations almost immediately on one-third of the available space in the former Privilege area.”
Tankoa Yachts indicates it will initially invest €3 million ($3.3 million) primarily for steel and aluminum work and pre-assembly of yachts to start. Specifically, projects exceeding 131 feet (40 meters) are the focus, with a maximum of four per year. Eventually, it will create a slipway, as well as a basin for launching and haul-outs. Furthermore, the management team will install a yacht hoist capable of accommodating megayachts to 197 feet (60 meters). Currently, a floating drydock is in the port, which Tankoa intends to employ for larger megayachts.
The need to add a slipway is notable. Despite Privilege openings its doors in 2006 to build superyachts exceeding 328 feet (100 meters), its facilities have no water access. The company’s management only received a concession from the state to use the land where it operated.
It was one of several reasons why controversy plagued Privilege’s history. For instance, Privilege’s first project, the 417-foot (127-meter) Privilege One, never launched. Originally, the yard announced a date for 2012. However, only about 60 percent of the structure was complete (below) when a court ordered Privilege’s gates locked in 2015. The yard owed hundreds of millions, so the court ordered the site and the yacht go up for auction. Two auctions in 2016 failed to attract buyers, however. Also in 2016, the CEO was arrested on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy filings, tax crimes, and more. Eventually, in 2018, Royalton Investments bought the yard for €6 million, having also bought the yacht. But, in 2021, the port authority started forfeiture proceedings against it. The company allegedly failed to meet the requirements of the concession that came with the acquisition.
With Tankoa’s takeover of the Privilege yard site, one more potential business line may develop. If the builder is successful in receiving waterfront access for launching and hauling, it may expand into refits.
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