Things are looking good for the Malta Drydocks with important new contracts in the pipeline, but it is still important for the corporation to secure further work over a long-term time span if it wants become commercially viable.

These were the words of Drydocks Chairman, John Cassar White yesterday, who was asked to comment on the implications of the large contracts which the corporation has managed to win over the past few weeks.

In mid-December, the Drydocks won a Lm2.7 million contract for the conversion of the ‘mt Northia' to a floating production, storage and offloading unit, and then, at the end of the year, clinched another deal, worth Lm3 million, for modernising a British passenger liner.

Asked whether the new contracts would see the Drydocks stay afloat, Mr Cassar White told MaltaToday that the deals certainly marked a positive step forward.

"The financial implications of specific contracts constitute commercially sensitive information," he said. "But in general, on these contracts, MDD will be able to recover its direct labour costs plus a good margin to cover indirect labour costs."

Mr Cassar White added that at present, the Yards' six operating docks are fully occupied.

"The prospects of work for the next five months are very good," he said.

Asked whether he believed that winning these contracts proved the Drydocks could be competitive and might therefore work against it if the government was considering seeking a transition period for EU membership, the Chairman replied that this was a political issue which was "beyond his brief".

"However, in general, MDD needs to establish a pattern of good competitivity spread over a period of time before it can be claimed that it is operating viably," he said.

The Lm2.7 million contract, which was awarded to the Drydocks by Brovig-RDS a UK company based in Norway, marked the corporation's first success in adopting a new strategic approach towards the bidding process in what is a tough, competitive market.

It followed a disappointing period earlier last year when it was revealed that the Drydocks failed to win a contract for repair work on a United States auxiliary vessel of the American Sixth Fleet.

Describing failure in winning any contract as a "sad occasion", Mr Cassar White, at the time, had also highlighted the need for the Drydocks to be competitive in its bidding, adding that the corporation could not afford to miss an opportunity.

"We need to be sharper in our quotations for ship repair work because very often we are given just one chance to win a contract," he said.

Mr Cassar White also made it clear then that the Drydocks would be taking steps to improve the bids that it was putting forward.

"Irrespective of who the client is, Malta Drydocks will be strengthening its commercial department to ensure that our quotes are competitive," he had said.