Palumbo Group is planning on creating an offshore hub between Malta and Tenerife and strengthening collaboration between the two islands following talks it had with Tenerife's port authority president this week.

Ricardo Melchior Navarro visited the drydocks and super yacht facilities in Cottonera to see the operations in Malta and discuss the possibilities of working together with Palumbo Group, which took ownership of the Santa Cruz shipyard in Tenerife last March.

“This is an important step for us and fits in seamlessly with our philosophy to have a strategic offshore hub for superyachts and cruise liners, further increasing our work and operations of our shipyard here,” group CEO Antonio Palumbo said.

The group has in the past weeks already carried out important servicing works on two cruise liners in its docks — the Mein Schiff II and the Costa neoRiviera — and it is planning on further attracting business locally, while providing international clients a holistic service between its shipyard in Tenerife and that in Malta.

This ties in with the vision of Mr Navarro who recently addressed an important convention, the Seatrade Cruise Med 2016, where he advocated closer cooperation among all stakeholders in the cruise sector, while proposing a better understanding between ports and cities.