60 years of CRN: How the shipyard established itself and developed further
Sören Gehlhaus
· 25.11.2023
Ancona has been the maritime centre of the northern Adriatic for 2,400 years. In 1959, the harbour city experienced a heyday, not least due to the founding of the University of Marche. Marche stands for Marche, the Italian name for the region that stretches from San Marino in the north to 100 kilometres south of the regional capital of Ancona. A large number of shipyards settled along Via Mattei Enrico at the southern end of the harbour. One of these was Costruzioni e Riparazioni Navali (CRN), founded by Sanzio Nicolini in 1963. Its unique selling point: right from the start, it built yachts out of metal - at a time when its competitors were still launching rows and rows of wooden yachts.
Nicolini expanded the portfolio of fishing boats and tugboats to include hull construction for ships that transport workers quickly to the gas platforms in the Adriatic. At the same time, he specialised in the construction of sports boats with steel and aluminium hulls and superstructures, initially made of wood. The first yacht delivered measured 9.60 metres in length. In the first ten years, there were 32 launches, including several units of the 23 metre long, style-defining SuperConero. The name alludes to the Riviera del Conero around the hill of the same name south of Ancona.
With the 38.40 metre long "Bagheera", a new CRN flagship was launched in 1969, with aluminium decks for the first time and dimensions comparable to today's megayachts. In the 1960s, Lürssen was also still building boats under 50 metres. In the 1970s, Carlo Riva found a partner for the construction of large steel yachts in Sanzio Nicolini. The result was six units, "Vespucci" (30 metres) for the Riva heir himself, who wanted negative windscreens in the style of his legendary tower office in Sarnico. In addition, Roman entrepreneur Giandomenico Palmerini joined CRN in 1973, complementing Nicolini's creative drive with his management skills. Five years later, a coup was landed with the 47.20 metre long "Fath Al Khair" for the Emir of Qatar. Subsequently, the Middle East developed into a major sales market. It was the time of fashion plates, the cosmetic panelling that was intended to create a connection between the decks and a fundamental dynamic.
More customisation at CRN in the 80s
1980 heralded the decade of increasing individualisation. Owners outdid themselves with their custom projects in terms of length and extravagant interior fittings. Jon Bannenberg created bespoke designs for three Greek brothers who had completely different ideas: "Akitou" (52 metres, 1981), "Varmar" (42.8 metres, 1982) and "Vanina" (32.8 metres, 1986), inspired by "Vespucci" and with a children's room made of Swiss stone pine. This growth brought Nicolini closer to a circle of people who supported him. These included Camper & Nicholson founder George Nicholson, who brought CRN many well-known customers. The 47-metre "Awal" was the first CRN with a helipad in 1980, followed shortly afterwards by an order from a passionate owner with discerning tastes: Gianni Agnelli. The then head of the Fiat Group commissioned Gerhard Gilgenast to design the classic lines for the "F 100", which may only measure 32.8 metres between the bowsprit and tender crane at the stern, but is considered one of the first explorers. In keeping with the "Avvocato's" favoured method of locomotion, a helicopter could land on the sundeck, while the foredeck was occupied by a massive mast with a crow's nest. Together with experts from NASA, CRN developed anti-vibration plates for the diesel generators, which formed the hybrid drive with electric motors and batteries. Today, the "F 100" travels the Mediterranean almost unchanged.
In 1986, Terence Disdale designed both the exterior and interior of "Il Vagabondo", whose four decks were connected by a lift for the first time and whose interior volume exceeded the 500-gross-tonne mark. It was the last yacht to come out of the historic plotting hall. There, the entire hull was drawn by hand on the floor on a scale of 1:1 in a large enclosed space. A painstaking process that required extreme precision. The flexible plywood templates were then positioned according to the drawing before the panels were produced that were to be assembled to build the ship.
Adria site becomes the home of the Superyacht Division
The yachts became longer, but the owners and names remained the same, as with the 75-metre Disdale design "Awal" in 1991. In 1999, CRN joined the Ferretti Group, which included Custom Line, Ferretti Yachts, Riva, Pershing, Itama and Mochi, and was joined by Wally in 2019. The first delivery under the new parent company was in 2001 with the 43-metre "Magnifica" from the Nuvolari Lenard studio. In the same year, CRN and Custom Line merged, which meant that GRP boats were now also built in Ancona. The Adria site has since become the home of the superyacht division for the group from Forlì: The 50Metri was built from steel for Riva and the 140 from aluminium for Pershing. CRN is currently welding a Riva 54Metri, the Custom Line Navetta 50 and soon the Pershing 170, which is just over 50 metres long, from the light metal.
The foundation for the ongoing expansion was laid by the purchase of additional capacity. In 2002, CRN acquired the neighbouring shipyard of Mario Morini and grew to 80,000 square metres, where up to fifteen yachts can be built simultaneously. In the mid-2000s, the collaboration with Zuccon International Project began, which resulted in the 54-metre-long "Ability". With the Nuvolari-Lenard design "Azteca", the flagship size grew to 70 metres in 2010. In January 2012, the Weichai Group from China secured a 75 per cent majority stake in the Ferretti Group. Following IPOs in Hong Kong in 2022 and a year later in Milan, Weichai's stake has decreased and new investors have joined the group.
660,000 working hours for CRN colossus "Chopi Chopi"
A total of 660,000 hours of work went into the current flagship, the 80-metre "Chopi Chopi", before it was launched in 2013. Part of this work was carried out by the exterior designers from Zuccon International Project who then took on "Latona" and incorporated features from the SuperConero. The 50 metres challenged the shipyard's own design department with a compendium of avant-garde solutions, from a beach club with a floodable tender garage to a folding balcony that can even be used while sailing. A new building for the 60 engineers from CRN's development department will be constructed in Via Enrico Mattei by the end of 2023. Next year, the renovation work on the offices of the sales, communications and owner teams as well as the accommodation for the crews, some of whom are housed in the shipyard for longer periods, is due to be completed.
In focus: the CO2 emission-free operation of superyachts
N Joy" recently proved that it doesn't always have to be long. At 1880 gross tonnes, the 72-metre yacht is probably the most voluminous format in its length segment. The new flagship of the CRN fleet, which is already under construction, will measure 85 metres. If Costruzioni e Riparazioni Navali enters the Giga business before its 75th birthday, it will have to expand. The largest hall currently only has a capacity of 95 metres. The R&D department is focussing on the CO2 emission-free operation of superyachts, from solar panels to fuel cells. Although 30 square metres of solar panels currently only cover around one percent of the 450 to 500 kilowatts of energy required by a 70 to 80 metre yacht, CRN and its partners are in the process of increasing this percentage with the help of the latest generation of superconductors.
