Fire at Maxi Dolphin shipyard destroys building and three yachts

A fire has destroyed a production building at the Maxi Dolphin shipyard in Erbusco, northern Italy, along with three yachts that were inside the facility.

The blaze broke out at about 10pm on Monday (24 August 2026), at the shipyard’s Via Gandhi facility in the Franciacorta area of Brescia. Around 20 fire crews from Brescia attended, supported by teams from Bergamo and Mantua, and worked through the night to bring the fire under control.

Firefighters contained the blaze to the building where it started, preventing it from spreading to an adjoining production shed. After extinguishing the fire, crews began removing damaged material and securing the site. No injuries have been reported.

The three yachts lost in the fire were a 27.7-metre MD80 sailing yacht, a 22.86-metre MD75 and a 15.95-metre MD51 Power motor yacht. The MD80 was nearing completion and had been due to leave Erbusco for Marina di Ravenna at the end of September.

The cause of the fire has not been established. Technicians from Arpa Lombardia, the regional environmental protection agency, attended the site to carry out environmental checks.

The fire has caused extensive damage to Maxi Dolphin’s Erbusco operation, which occupied more than 2,700 square metres of indoor space and included composite construction facilities and a 40-metre-long oven.

Despite the damage, the shipyard says it plans to restart production from another location.

‘We will not stop’

In a statement, chief executive Luca Botter says: “The fire stopped us, and it is an immense pain, but we will start again immediately at another site, both for motorboats and sailing boats. We will not stop.”

Maxi Dolphin was founded in 1987 by entrepreneur and sailor Cav. Vittorio Moretti and has built sailing and motor yachts in Erbusco for almost four decades. Its portfolio includes Viriella, Nomad IV and Karma, along with the MD series and Dolphin 81 one-designs.

The yard has also worked on designs by naval architects including Bruce Farr, Germán Frers, Luca Brenta, Guillaume Verdier, Mark Mills, Bill Tripp, Botin & Partners and Alejandro Bottino. Its work has included the conservation and restoration of Azzurra, the 12-Metre class yacht that represented Italy in the America’s Cup in 1983.

The company has been owned by MD Technologies since 2016, with Botter, who has been involved with Maxi Dolphin since its foundation, at its head.