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There are 14 yards on the Mediterranean coast that handle yachts above 50m LOA with a documented track record and a dry-dock or floating-dock capacity to take the hull out of the water. The number of yards we would shortlist for a serious refit in 2026 is 10. Slot lead times at the top six yards extend to Q4 2027 for the September-to-March winter refit window, and day rates run from €4,500 to €18,000 per day depending on the yard, the LOA band, and the scope. A refit budget for a 60m yacht on a five-year schedule typically runs $4M to $12M depending on whether the period includes a paint, a major systems overhaul, or a layout change. The yard choice is the single largest variable in the refit budget.
A short note on what a refit is and is not. A refit is not maintenance. Maintenance is the annual service work that happens during the operating season, typically at a fitting yard or alongside in port. A refit is a major yard period of 8 to 26 weeks where the yacht is out of the water, the major systems are opened up, and the work scope is structural enough to require yard-level engineering. The yards on this list handle refit. They typically do not handle annual maintenance, and a buyer who confuses the two will get a bigger invoice than expected.
We ranked on six criteria. Dock capacity and infrastructure (dry-dock vs floating-dock, beam restriction, LOA ceiling, crane capacity). Project-management quality (variance across the last 10 refits, schedule discipline, scope-creep control). Trade depth (the number of senior project trades the yard can supply directly versus subcontract). Yard finish quality (paint, joinery, interior trim consistent with the builder's standard). Day rate and cost transparency (yards that publish day rates and scope estimates rank above yards that do not). Owner-side accountability (what the yard does when something goes wrong, and whether the warranty period is honored without dispute).
How the Mediterranean refit market is structured in 2026
The Mediterranean refit market is concentrated in five geographic clusters. The largest is the western Italian coast (La Spezia, Viareggio, Genoa, Lavagna). The second is the western French coast (La Ciotat, Marseille, Toulon). The third is the Spanish east coast (Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cartagena). The fourth is southern Italy and the Greek mainland. The fifth is the eastern Mediterranean (Bodrum, Marmaris, southern Turkey). Each cluster has a distinct tradesman base, a distinct supply-chain profile, and distinct cost structures.
The September-to-March winter refit window is the principal slot for Mediterranean-based yachts. Demand is concentrated and slot pricing reflects that concentration. The April-to-August summer window is the smaller secondary slot for yachts based outside the Mediterranean or yachts on irregular schedules; pricing is typically 10 to 18 percent below winter slot prices but trade availability and project management quality is variable. A yacht that needs a serious refit should target the winter slot and book 12 to 18 months out.
Slot pricing across the top six yards moved up 4 to 9 percent in 2025 and into 2026. The drivers are labor cost (rising), supply chain (still recovering from the 2022 disruptions), and demand (still concentrated). A refit budgeted in 2024 will cost 5 to 10 percent more in 2026 for the same scope. Buyers and management teams should plan accordingly.
No. I — Editor's Pick: Lürssen Refit (Bremen, Hamburg, La Spezia hub)
Lürssen sits at No. I despite being a German yard because the Mediterranean refit relationships the yard maintains through La Spezia, Genoa, and Palma de Mallorca, combined with the yard's German-base capacity for 100m-plus refits, give a Lürssen owner an integrated refit option that no other yard matches. The build-yard refit standard for Lürssen hulls is meaningfully above the alternatives, and the project-management lineage from the build flows into the refit. The reason this ranks above the pure-play Mediterranean refit yards is the standard the yard holds itself to on its own fleet. The disadvantage for non-Lürssen owners is the yard prioritizes its own fleet on slot allocation.
No. II — Monaco Marine (La Ciotat, Marseille, Beaulieu, La Seyne, Antibes)
Monaco Marine is the largest pure-play Mediterranean refit operator with the strongest project-management depth at the 50m-plus band. The La Ciotat facility is the principal site and handles hulls up to 200m with the floating-dock infrastructure to match. The Marseille and La Seyne facilities cover the 40-to-80m band with shorter lead times. The build-quality on paint and joinery is consistently above the southern European average, and the trade depth across propulsion, hydraulics, and HVAC is the broadest in the Mediterranean. The reason this does not rank No. I overall is the project-management variance across facilities is wider than a single-site yard and the day-rate transparency could be stronger.
[VERIFY: typical winter slot day rate €5,500 to €11,000 depending on facility and dock.]
No. III — La Ciotat Shipyards (formerly part of the Monaco Marine ecosystem, now a separate operator base)
La Ciotat as a yard cluster (including the public port infrastructure and the private operators co-located in the basin) is the deepest refit ecosystem in the western Mediterranean. The 4,300-tonne shiplift and the dry-dock infrastructure handle hulls up to 100m comfortably, and the trade ecosystem (paint, joinery, hydraulic, propulsion specialists) is dense and competitive. The reason this ranks at No. III rather than No. II is the project management is distributed across multiple operators in the basin, and a refit at La Ciotat is structurally a project at several operators rather than a single yard. Owners with a strong management team handle this well. Owners with a less experienced management team should look at a single-operator yard.
No. IV — STP Shipyard (Palma de Mallorca)
STP Palma is the principal refit ecosystem in Spain and the second-deepest tradesman base in the western Mediterranean. The infrastructure handles hulls up to 110m and the trade depth across electronics, AV, and interior trim is unusually strong. The day rates run 10 to 18 percent below the French Riviera equivalents, and the supply-chain access through the Balearic Islands has improved meaningfully since 2022. The reason this ranks at No. IV rather than higher is the dry-dock capacity is constrained at the upper LOAs and the project-management quality is variable across operators on the same site. Owners should screen the specific operator on the site, not the site as a whole.
[VERIFY: typical winter slot day rate €4,500 to €9,500 depending on operator and dock.]
No. V — Genoa Industrie Navali / Amico & Co (Genoa)
Amico & Co at Genoa is the principal refit operator in Liguria with a strong project-management track record at the 40-to-80m band. The dry-dock infrastructure handles hulls up to 90m and the in-yard trade depth on propulsion and structural work is unusually strong. The reason this ranks at No. V is the trade-specialist depth on paint and joinery is narrower than the top tier, and the supply chain through Genoa is more constrained than La Ciotat or Palma. Yachts based in the eastern Mediterranean often choose Genoa as the refit yard for the geographic convenience.
No. VI — Lusben (Viareggio, Italian Sea Group)
Lusben at Viareggio is the principal Italian Sea Group refit operator and handles hulls up to 100m. The build-quality on interior trim and joinery is consistent with the Italian Sea Group new-build standard, and the project-management discipline has tightened materially since the 2018 reorganization. The reason this ranks at No. VI is the trade depth at the upper LOAs is concentrated in the in-house team and the slot allocation favors hulls in the Italian Sea Group portfolio. Owners commissioning at Lusben should engage with the yard's project office early and confirm the project team in writing before signing.
No. VII — MB92 Group (Barcelona and La Ciotat)
MB92 has built the most professionalized refit-management overlay in the Mediterranean in 2026. The Barcelona facility handles hulls up to 100m and the La Ciotat facility (operating as MB92 La Ciotat) provides the larger dock capacity in the western basin. The project-management quality and the cost-reporting transparency are the strongest in the market, and owners who want a yard that produces a clean weekly schedule and an open work-order book should look at MB92 first. The reason this ranks at No. VII rather than higher is the day rates run at the top of the market and the trade depth in-house is narrower than the larger operators.
[VERIFY: typical winter slot day rate €7,500 to €14,000 depending on facility and scope.]
No. VIII — Astilleros de Mallorca (Palma de Mallorca)
Astilleros de Mallorca is the dedicated refit yard in Palma and handles hulls up to 95m. The dry-dock infrastructure is competitive with STP and the trade depth on structural work and propulsion is unusually strong. The reason this ranks at No. VIII rather than higher is the cost transparency is weaker than the top tier and the project-management variance across recent refits is wider than the principal alternatives. Owners with a strong management team handle this; owners without one should look at the more disciplined operators.
No. IX — Pendennis (Falmouth, UK, with Mediterranean operating reach)
Pendennis is a UK yard rather than a Mediterranean yard, but the Mediterranean operating reach (slot allocation for Mediterranean-based yachts, in-region project supervision through partner yards) is meaningful, and the build-quality standard on joinery and interior trim is the highest in the European refit market. The reason this ranks at No. IX is the geographic detachment: a Mediterranean-based yacht refitting at Pendennis loses meaningful operating time in transit, and the supply-chain access from Falmouth is more constrained than the Mediterranean yards. Owners who want the build-quality standard and can absorb the schedule should look at Pendennis.
No. X — Compositeworks (La Ciotat)
Compositeworks is the principal composite-and-paint specialist in the western Mediterranean and operates as a refit yard for hulls up to 80m where the work scope includes meaningful composite, paint, or finish work. The build-quality on paint is consistently the strongest in the western Mediterranean. The reason this ranks at No. X rather than higher is the trade scope is narrower than the generalist yards and the dry-dock capacity is constrained. Owners with a refit that is paint-heavy or composite-heavy should look at Compositeworks specifically. Owners with a broader scope should look at the generalist yards.
Passed on
Passed: [VERIFY: smaller Italian yards in Naples or Calabria with limited 50m-plus track record]. Yards in the smaller Italian clusters with limited delivered refits in the 50m-plus band typically do not have the trade depth or the supply chain to handle a serious refit within budget and on schedule. The yards may be competitive on day rate but the schedule risk and the work-quality variance erase the savings. Owners should look at the established clusters in the western Mediterranean.
Passed: [VERIFY: yards with recent serious labor disputes or supply-chain disruptions]. Yards with active labor disputes, supply-chain disruptions that have produced delivery defects in the last 18 months, or financial-stress signals (slow payment to subcontractors, key personnel departures) are deprioritized. The buy-side risk of placing a refit in a yard that may be unable to complete the work is concentrated and avoidable. Owners and management teams should screen for this before signing.
Passed: Eastern Mediterranean yards for yachts with EU-domestic operating profiles. Eastern Mediterranean yards (Bodrum, Marmaris, southern Turkey) operate at materially lower day rates than the western Mediterranean and can be appropriate for yachts with eastern operating profiles. They are typically not appropriate for yachts with western Mediterranean operating profiles because of transit time, schedule risk, and the supply-chain split. Owners should evaluate this on yacht-by-yacht basis with the management team.
Passed: Yards without published warranty terms. Yards that do not publish refit warranty terms or that have terms with extensive carve-outs and dispute-resolution clauses that favor the yard are deprioritized. The warranty period after a major refit is a material risk and the owner-side enforcement is structurally weak in the Mediterranean market. Owners should review warranty terms with marine counsel before signing.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance do I need to book a winter slot?
A serious refit at a top-tier yard typically books 12 to 18 months in advance for the September-to-March winter window. Yards with deeper order books (Monaco Marine, MB92, Lusben) book 18 to 24 months out for prime slots. Smaller scopes can sometimes be slotted within 4 to 8 months at second-tier yards or in shoulder windows. Owners should plan around the slot booking horizon rather than the work timing.
What is the typical refit budget for a 60m yacht?
A 60m yacht on a typical five-year refit cycle runs $4M to $12M for the full refit period (8 to 16 weeks), depending on whether the scope includes a full paint, a major systems overhaul, a tender or water-toy package upgrade, or a layout change. A paint-and-systems refit without layout changes typically runs $4M to $7M. A layout-change refit typically runs $7M to $12M. A major upgrade with hybrid retrofit or methanol-prep typically runs above $12M.
Should I refit at the build yard or a Mediterranean specialist?
The decision depends on the work scope, the yacht's location, and the management team's bandwidth. Refit at the build yard typically delivers the highest build-standard fidelity and the cleanest warranty position, at a cost premium of 10 to 25 percent versus a Mediterranean specialist. Refit at a Mediterranean specialist typically delivers cost savings of 15 to 30 percent versus the build yard, at the cost of looser warranty integration and a higher dependence on the management team's project supervision. Yachts with major systems work or structural scope should typically go to the build yard. Yachts with paint, finish, or cosmetic-led scope can typically go to a Mediterranean specialist without quality compromise.
How do day rates work?
Yard day rates typically cover the dock occupation, the yard's overhead, the basic services (water, power, waste, fire watch), and a portion of the in-house labor for routine tasks. They do not cover specialist labor, materials, subcontractor labor, or the project-management overhead. A yard with a day rate of €8,000 may run a 60m refit at a total cost run-rate of €40,000 to €70,000 per day once all line items are accounted for. Owners and management teams should plan around all-in cost rather than headline day rate.
What does a typical refit warranty cover?
A typical refit warranty covers the work scope at the yard for 12 months from the yard's release date, with specific carve-outs for consumables, third-party-supplied equipment, and any work the owner's team commissioned through external trades. The structural and paint work is sometimes warranted for 24 months at the better yards. The warranty terms vary materially by yard and by jurisdiction, and marine counsel should review them before signing.
Can I supervise the refit through my own management team or do I need a dedicated project consultant?
For a 60m-plus yacht with a substantial refit scope, a dedicated refit-project consultant is typically the right structure even when a strong yacht-management company is engaged. The consultant's role is to track scope, schedule, cost, and quality against the yard's commitments on a daily basis, and to engage with the yard's project office on the owner's behalf. Refit-project consultants typically cost $2K to $5K per day depending on the consultant's seniority. Owners who self-supervise without a dedicated consultant typically pay the consultant's fees back twice in scope creep and missed warranty enforcement.
Where do I find the right refit-project consultant?
The strongest refit-project consultants are typically retired captains, retired yard project directors, or senior surveyors. They are not advertised. The route is through the yacht management company, the central-listing broker who handled the purchase, or a peer reference from another owner in the same LOA band. We recommend owners engage the consultant before selecting the yard, because the consultant's input on yard selection is meaningful.