The Knight & Carver YachtCenter in the US has purchased a yacht dry dock for its refit and repair operations in San Diego, California.
The superyacht dry dock is named ‘Diligence’ and can accommodate yachts of up to 122m (400ft) in length and 30m (100ft) in width. It will be berthed at Knight & Carver’s docks, located on the southeast shores of San Diego Bay. Knight & Carver YachtCenter claims to have the largest lifting capacity (4,000-tonnes) for superyachts and commercial vessels on the US west coast — and one of the largest in the country.
“This is a remarkable milestone in the long and productive history of our company,” says Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of Knight & Carver YachtCenter. “We are now able to attract the world’s largest megayachts to our facility as well as large commercial and military vessels. San Diego now ranks among the world’s best-equipped megayacht repairs centres.”
Knight & Carver will operate the dry dock under an exclusive, long-term lease arrangement with locally based finance group Diligence & Company LLC, along with investment partner Fraser’s Services, a San Diego-based boat repair firm.
Full dry-dock operations are expected to begin by August. Knight & Carver has already secured a commitment for a significant superyacht refit project scheduled for August and is hoping to hire another 100-plus workers over the next few months once the dry dock is under full operation.
