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The south
If a boat, a yacht or a piece of plant is leaving Malta — or arriving — it will probably pass through the Freeport at Birżebbuġa. A tight shrink wrap cover keeps it clean and sealed from the yard to the quay to the other end of the voyage.
Malta Freeport sits at Birżebbuġa, at the southern tip of the island, and handles most of the container traffic moving through Malta. Boats, yachts, vehicles and plant leave on deck or in containers, and the journey is hard on them: road dust on the way to the quay, salt spray and funnel soot on deck, and weeks of sun and condensation at sea.
A boat that arrives at its new home covered in grime and salt has to be cleaned before anyone can use it — and anything that rubbed or flapped during the voyage may need repair. A transport cover is built to stay tight for the whole trip: shrunk hard to the boat, banded to the cradle, with no loose film for the wind to catch at sea or on the road.
Around Birżebbuġa
The usual problems
A transport cover shrunk tight to the hull and banded to the cradle, built to survive wind at sea and arrive clean.
Sealed covers keep condensation, dust and rubbing off the boat inside the container, with vents and desiccant if the voyage is long.
We can wrap at the yard before it goes by road to the quay, so it’s protected for the whole journey, not just the sea leg.
The approach
A transport cover is shrunk tighter than a lay-up cover and banded more heavily, because it has to cope with road speed and wind at sea. We frame over the superstructure so the cover doesn’t bear on windscreens, rails or antennas, and leave the lifting points accessible so the boat can be lifted onto the ship and off again without opening the cover.
We work with whoever is moving the boat — the yard, the transport company, the shipping agent — to fit the cover at the right point in the schedule. Small boats and RIBs going in containers can be wrapped in a couple of hours; larger yachts going on deck usually take a day.
Before we quote
For Freeport shipments we survey at the yard before the road leg, with the shipper’s dates in hand. We measure the vessel, work out the frame, the film area, the vents and the doors — and the number you get back is the number you pay. No provisional sums, no “subject to access”.
Illustrative of a typical export cover. Your own survey happens in Birżebbuġa — or starts from photos, if you’d rather.
Start from your phone
Not every Birżebbuġa job needs a visit to get going. Send a couple of photos and tell us the boat, where she is now, the ship or container date and the destination, and an installer will tell you what’s involved — including when shrink wrap isn’t the right call.
Whole item in frame, plus one close-up of the access side.
WhatsApp or email, with the boat, where she is now, the ship or container date and the destination.
Approach, timescale and a price, in plain English.
Finished covers
Tight, smooth, framed clear of the boat and welded into one skin. This is the standard every Birżebbuġa cover is fitted to.
Questions from Birżebbuġa
Yes. We fit transport covers for boats going on deck or in containers, usually at the yard before the boat goes by road to the Freeport.
A transport cover is shrunk tighter and banded more heavily than a lay-up cover so it stays put at sea. We also keep it clear of anything that could rub through it.
Yes. We leave the lifting points accessible, so the boat can be lifted onto and off the ship without opening the cover.
We can re-cover boats that arrive with a damaged cover, or wrap them for storage once they’re here.
Send a photo, the length and where she is. You’ll get a straight answer on the approach, and a fixed price after the survey.
Quick quote
Tell us what
needs covering.
