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The fire at Maxi Dolphin goes beyond the mere loss of three yachts. For a shipyard specializing in semi-custom sailboats and motorboats with a high proportion of composite materials, the destruction of a facility raises questions about business continuity, tooling, scheduling, and the retention of skilled workers. Management has already announced that operations will resume at another location.
A fire that directly affects production
The fire broke out around 10 p.m. on August 24, 2026, in a building at the Maxi Dolphin shipyard in Erbusco, Franciacorta. Firefighters continued to battle the blaze throughout the night, with about 20 crews from Brescia, reinforced by additional resources from Bergamo and Mantua.
The fire remained confined to the original building and did not spread to the neighboring warehouse. No injuries were reported. After the fire was extinguished, operations focused on removing the burned materials, securing the site, and conducting environmental assessments carried out by technicians from Arpa Lombardia.
Three yachts destroyed, including an MD80 that was nearing delivery
The inventory of equipment includes three units located inside the building. These are an MD80, an MD75, and an MD51 Power.
The loss of the MD80 comes at an advanced stage of the program. The yacht was scheduled to leave Erbusco for Marina di Ravenna at the end of September 2026. The fact that departure is so close at hand indicates that the fire has affected work that had already consumed a significant portion of the manufacturing and outfitting hours.
Maxi Dolphin had more than 2,700 m² of covered space in Erbusco. The site included equipment for processing composite materials, including a 40-meter-long oven.
The relocation announced by Maxi Dolphin will therefore have to address several challenges: securing space suitable for the units being produced, securing the necessary resources for the manufacturing processes, and reorganizing the workflow between construction, outfitting, and finishing.
Maxi Dolphin: Nearly 40 Years of Boat Building in Erbusco
The fire occurred at a shipyard founded in 1987 by Vittorio Moretti. Its first project was the maxi yacht Carmen di Bellavista, designed by Bruce Farr.
Over the decades, Maxi Dolphin has built, among others, the Viriella, Nomad IV, and Karma, as well as various semi-custom boats. The shipyard has also produced the Dolphin 81 one-design.
His teams worked on a project of a different kind: the conservation restoration of Azzurra, the 12-meter yacht that represented Italy in the 1983 America's Cup. The yacht is now on display in front of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo.
Since 2016, Maxi Dolphin has been owned by MD Technologies, led by Luca Botter, who has been with the company since its founding.
