The Barcelona City Council and the Port of the Catalan capital are jointly promoting the creation of the Barcelona Nautical Cluster; a group of companies and public organisations aiming to put the city on the map as a key landmark in the nautical industry.

According to a study carried out by the Fundación para la Navegación Oceanica de Barcelona (FNOB) and the Universidad de Barcelona in 2012, 68 per cent of the 1,175 companies linked to the nautical sector in Catalonia are located in Barcelona.

Through the organisations and companies involved in the joint venture, such as initial promoters of the group, Marina Barcelona 92 (MB92), Marina Port Vell and FNOB, the venture aims to meet its three key objectives of generating high skilled expertise, creating new jobs, and tailoring specialised training to the specific needs of the nautical sector.

Constitution of the Barcelona Nautical Centre is set for December, and will coincide with the annual meeting of AIVP (Association Internationale des Villes et Ports), the world network bringing together the main port cities of the world.

MB92 groups together more than 40 companies exclusively dedicated to the maintenance, refit and repair of superyachts from 35m-195m (115ft-640ft). It is currently undergoing a €50m expansion of the dock, the dry dock and service buildings, and will install a syncrolift platform in 2013.

Marina Port Vell is a public marina and recreational harbour in the Port of Barcelona offering moorings up to 30m (98ft), and will soon invest €30m to accomodate medium and large yachts. The redevelopment is generate around €650m for the city and will create 400 jobs….(http://www.ibinews.com, 24 September 2012)
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