A local ship repair company is entering uncharted waters with a contract for a small cruise liner, opening its doors to the international market for luxury vessels as opposed to only conventional ships.

Cassar Ship Repair’s new contract welcomes the French cruise liner Le Ponant into its floating dock for a two-week job.

The deal for Malta was won against stiff competition from Greece, Italy and France, said the yard’s CEO Andrea Cassar.

The super yacht and small cruise liner business was growing and the company has started to compete on the international niche and luxury market, she said.

Over the past year, it has focused its marketing strategy on attracting the cruise liner market and the Ponant contract was considered a “start”. In fact, Cassar Ship Repair was already working to win another similar contract.

Ms Cassar said the company was constantly investing in the expansion and modernisation of its facilities to meet clients’ demands.

What clinched the deal was the yard’s track record and the flexibility of its workforce, which guaranteed the job would be finished on time, revealed general manager Thaddeus Aquilina and chairman Anthony Cassar.

The mega sailing yacht Le Ponant, part of the worldwide shipping group CMA CGM, is 90 metres long. It arrived last Friday and works, including repairs and cleaning out of tanks and internal modifications, should be completed by November 11 when its passengers would be flying out to board the vessel from Malta.

“Docking the vessel was quite a feat because it needed a particular arrangement due to its hull configuration,” commercial manager Jeanelle Cassar said.

The company has also won the exclusive agency of Thordon bearings, a “prestigious” product in the industry.

It has been working on a wider network of agencies and is now being represented in several countries, including the US, the UK, Germany and Singapore, through long-term contracts with top agents, she added.