Award-winning Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard (GCCM) is celebrating its’ 23rd anniversary since opening their gates in 2000. Today GCCM has expanded into a 17.5-hectare refit, repair and maintenance yard located just ten nautical miles from the open waters of the Coral Sea.

During this time, the yard has developed a strong reputation within the industry for managing complex superyacht refits and has welcomed several superstar yachts such as M/Y Lady Christine (68m Feadship), Dragonfly (74m Silveryacht), SuRi (63.40m expedition yacht) and Playpen (43m Richmond Yacht).

GCCM has considerable expertise in the management of large-scale refit projects. Extensive refinishing projects completed both in their superyacht sheds and on water, have captured the attention of superyacht captains around the globe and clearly illustrated the depth and breadth of skills available at GCCM.

M/Y Lady Christine was seeking a solution to refinish their hulls and superstructures without the expensive cost of lifting out of the water. Rising to the challenge and drawing on the expertise of the core GCCM team together with onsite tenants, GCCM devised an on-water solution which also met the highest quality of environmental standards.

The project required the construction of numerous floating platforms on which scaffolding could be erected to totally encapsulate the yacht for regulation of the work area’s climate and also to prevent contaminates affecting the surrounds or the waterways. Work continued even through the heaviest rain period experienced in recent years.

“Our ground-breaking yacht refinishing projects have proven that GCCM has the capability and capacity to refit and repaint sizeable yachts in a safe and sustainable way providing owners and captains with far greater options and flexibility for such works in the Southern Hemisphere,” explained GCCM’s CEO, Trenton Gay.

M/Y Mabuhay Lima (27.4m Hargraves) is currently being refitted in Superyacht Shed 59 at GCCM, undertaking structural transformations, various additions and a complete repaint. A five-month project managed by Captain Pete Grocock who says he wouldn’t go anywhere else.

“GCCM is THE yard for a refit needing many different trades. If you are looking for the finest marine contractors, this is where you will find them.” Grocock said. “All these trades are used to working together onsite and are the best of the best at what they do.” he added.

M/Y Playpen Project Manager & Relief Captain Peter Cook also commented saying “Over a six-week period, we completed a large list of works including some intricate and challenging engineering work. The great aspect of completing work at GCCM is the array of contractors from which you can select, the confidence in their work and knowing you have the support of the GCCM team, many of whom are ex-crew and leaders in their field.”

GCCM has also announced plans for its’ Stage II development. This greenfield development will more than double the size of GCCM’s footprint as well as increase its’ lifting capacity by an eye-watering 480% to 1400 tonnes. This year GCCM won the ACREW Best International Superyacht Refit Yard Award as voted by Captains from all over the globe. It’s no wonder GCCM has become an international benchmark gaining a global reputation of superior quality outcomes for superyacht clientele – on time, on budget, on water.

Images supplied by Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard. This story was first published in Superyacht Australia magazine Issue 10.