The Italian Sea Group, formerly Nuovi Cantieri Apuania S.p.A., a historic shipyard in Marina di Carrara and current holder of the State concession in the port area, is one of the largest international marine conglomerates specialising in the construction and refit of superyachts.

In order to guarantee the best possible service in line with the constant evolution of the market, both in terms of new constructions and refits, The Italian Sea Group has undertaken the reorganisation and rationalisation of the spaces under concession to significantly increase the usability and productivity of the facilities and infrastructure.

The project, therefore, involved constructing a new dry dock, approximately 144 metres in length and 46 metres in width, with a usable area of approximately 6,500 m² and a depth of -7 m. The aim was twofold: to allow the construction and outfitting of pleasure craft up to 120 metres in length and to provide more space on land for refitting activities.

The engineering design solution, which is standard for deep dry docks, was based on the following operations:

• creating lateral confinement structures building a combination of pile walls integrated with sheet piling;
• the realisation of the foundation bottom cap with a reinforced concrete slab anchored through the use of self-drilling micropiles;
• the construction of reinforced concrete walls that are rigidly connected to the floor slab;
• the building of the reinforced concrete cap beam.

The project also required the implementation of the necessary installations to perform the maritime worksite activities.

It is important to note that a project of this scale and impact has not been undertaken in Italy for over 40 years.