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The fire, fanned by a strong tramontane wind and particularly dry conditions, swept through part of the Canet-en-Roussillon and Sainte-Marie-la-Mer areas before reaching the nautical center. Among the companies affected is Catana Group, whose historic facility builds the Bali 5.8 and Catana OC 50 models.
Two of the three buildings were completely destroyed. The assembly lines, several boats under construction, and units ready for delivery were engulfed by the flames. However, the crews on site had been evacuated before the fire reached them. No injuries were reported.
Conserving mussels is changing the outlook
One of the most important issues concerns the third building on the site, which houses the polyester workshop as well as the molds used to manufacture the two models produced in Canet. Firefighters, supported by employees who worked through the night, managed to save this strategic part of the factory.
For a composite shipyard, molds are an essential industrial tool. Preserving them avoids the need to recreate the entire set of tooling, a process that would have significantly delayed the resumption of production.
Industrial capacity spread across multiple sites
While some employees have been placed on partial furlough pending the completion of safety assessments and the securing of the buildings, Catana Group has a significant advantage. The construction company employs approximately 1,300 people across several production facilities in France, Portugal, and Tunisia.
This organizational structure makes it possible to distribute certain activities and limit the impact of the incident on the group?s overall operations. The teams are also working on temporary solutions to relocate some of the administrative and technical services to a location near the Canet site.
Recovery is becoming the priority
The next steps will focus on accurately assessing the damage, cleaning up the site, and gradually resuming operations. Boats that were nearly complete could also be finished in order to ensure the first deliveries.
Although the material losses are significant, several factors allow us to move forward with greater clarity. No employees were injured, the molds were saved, and the group retains a diversified industrial base. All of these factors should now make it easier to organize the resumption of operations at the Canet-en-Roussillon site.
