Spain can now lift a 100-metre yacht, and Palma has tied itself to the lift
The lift itself
The shiplift was supplied by the Pearlson Shiplift Corporation and sits at VMG's yard inside the commercial port of Sagunto, north of Valencia. The lifting platform measures 102 metres by 22 metres and the system is rated at 5,000 tonnes. VMG describes it as the largest yacht-dedicated shiplift drydock in the world, and states a maximum yacht length of 125 metres overall. The announcement of the Mallorcan alliance cited a figure of 115 metres, so the exact ceiling is a question for the yard and not a settled number.
The platform uses Pearlson's continuous structure, which behaves as a single lifting unit and is intended to keep loads even across the length of the hull during haul-out. Once out of the water, boats are moved on self-propelled modular transporters to land-level repair berths across more than 76,000 square metres of hardstanding. Fernando Alcalde, the shipyard manager, called the installation a major milestone in the yard's infrastructure.
Why the Mallorca agreement is the real news
A lift on its own is a piece of equipment. Astilleros de Mallorca signing a strategic agreement with VMG in late April is what turns it into an option an owner can use. Astilleros de Mallorca is the long-established Palma refit house, with the STP yard alongside it offering 1,600-tonne grounding and moorings for yachts up to 120 metres, plus offices at Marina Port Tarraco and IGY Malaga.
The stated effect is that Astilleros de Mallorca can now take work on yachts above 75 metres that Palma alone could not accommodate, and clients can choose which site to run a project at. That is a meaningful difference for an owner. The project team, the trades and the quality control stay with a firm he has dealt with before, while the physical work happens where the hull actually fits.
What it does to the western Mediterranean map
Until now, an owner with a 90-metre yacht wanting a full-service Spanish or French refit had a short list. MB92 in Barcelona and La Ciotat took most of it, with Palma limited by lifting capacity and Genoa and Livorno drawing the Italian-built fleet. A 5,000-tonne lift on the Spanish mainland with 76,800 square metres behind it changes the shape of that list.
Competition on capacity is the only thing that reliably moves refit pricing. Yards quote against the alternative an owner actually has, and for the largest boats there have not been many. Sagunto also sits on a commercial port with heavy-industry infrastructure and road links, which is why steel and paint work tends to be cheaper there than in a marina-based yard on prime waterfront.
The questions to ask before booking
New yards are judged on their third project, not their first. The things worth checking at Sagunto are the depth of the local subcontractor base for joinery and paint, whether the yard will contract on a fixed-price scope with liquidated damages, and how the labour is supplied. Valencia has an industrial workforce. It does not yet have Palma's or Barcelona's density of specialist yacht trades.
The second question is logistics. Sagunto is a working commercial port, which means a yacht shares the approach with cargo traffic and the yard's schedule with its own commercial customers. Owners who value discretion should ask specifically about screening, access control and where the boat sits relative to the public quay. On the paperwork side, Spain remains an EU jurisdiction, so VAT and temporary admission status need to be settled before the boat arrives, not after.