Malta - the shipbuilding industry

Abstract

The Maltese shipbuilding industry sector is mainly made up of one major company, namely the Malta Shipyards Limited, which is engaged in the maintenance, repair and alteration of ships. It is considered to be one of the largest dry-docking repair and conversion facilities in the Mediterranean basin. In September 2004, it employed 1,776 salaried workers. This company is a merger of two companies, namely the Malta Dry-docks and the Malta Shipbuilding Company, two parastate companies that were heavily subsidized by the government, and which were dissolved and merged into a new company in November 2003. This newly set up company, which is fully owned by the Government, absorbed around 1,700 persons out of the total workforce of 2,600 from the two entities. The major aim of the restructuring undertaken in both enterprises is to eliminate the need for further reliance on public funds. The plan seeks to eliminate these subsidies by the end of 2008 (This phasing out is in line with the transition period agreed during Malta's accession negotiations). To achieve this aim, a strategic plan was formulated by a tripartite taskforce including management, unions and government.