Yacht Sanitization in La Ciotat
One of the Mediterranean’s big refit centres, where yachts come apart properly.
La Ciotat is a refit town. Yachts arrive for months, not days, and come apart far enough that systems normally buried behind joinery are out in the open. For the air side in particular, there is no better moment in the whole cycle.
The one time the ducts are actually reachable
Most of an air conditioning system is invisible. In a full refit, for a few weeks, it is not.
Duct runs above headlinings, fan coils behind cabin panels, the trunking between decks — during the season all of it is behind finished joinery and reaching it means dismantling a cabin. In a refit those surfaces are already off.
That means the whole system can be assessed rather than sampled: every unit opened, every run looked at, the parts that are genuinely dirty identified instead of guessed at. What comes out of that is a real picture of the air side, which most yachts never have.
The water system benefits too. With sections of pipework already open for other work, the dead legs and the low-flow branches that cause most problems can be found and, where the yard is doing pipework anyway, designed out.
Everything we can treat while you are in La Ciotat
The same six jobs make up almost every visit. On most yachts more than one of them is needed at the same time, which is why we survey first and then plan them into a single stop.
Fresh water system
Tanks, distribution lines and every outlet treated as one network, then checked.
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Legionella testing and remediation
A sampling plan, accredited lab analysis, and treatment across the whole network if a sample comes back positive.
Read moreHVAC and air ducts
Ducts and air handling units opened, cleaned and checked, cabin by cabin.
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Fan coils and air conditioning
Units opened, coils and filters cleaned, condensate trays checked — where the smell on start-up usually comes from.
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Galley hoods and extraction
Filters, hood and the duct run behind it degreased, right up to the fan.
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Odour and mould investigation
Finding where a smell or a damp patch actually starts, instead of covering it.
Read moreSee the full list of services if you are looking for something more specific, such as water sampling, post-refit or charter turnaround work.
Get on the yard’s list early
The trap in a refit is that the work nobody scheduled gets squeezed at the end, when the yard is trying to close up.
Put the air-side survey at the start of the period, while panels are coming off for other trades rather than going back on.
Put the final water treatment and sampling near the end, so the report describes the system as delivered — but book it before the last fortnight, not during it.
From the first call to the report
The sequence is the same whichever berth you are on in La Ciotat. What changes is the timing, and that is planned around the yacht rather than around us.
We look before we quote
A technician goes through the yacht with the crew: which outlets are used daily and which almost never, where the air handling units sit, what the crew has actually noticed.
The visit is planned around you
We fit the work into the window you have — between charters, during a yard period, or over a quiet weekend alongside.
We work alongside
No yard move and no lift. The heavy equipment stays on the quay; only hoses and a small dosing unit come aboard, on protected decks.
You get it in writing
Sampling points, what was done, and the laboratory report where water was analysed. That document is what closes the job.
A clean system is easy to prove when every step is written down. That is what we hand to the captain.
Francesco Colombo
CEO · AirBio Marine, a division of AirBio (Ekonore S.r.l.)
Book a survey at this port
Our own technicians, certified processes
Every intervention is carried out by AirBio technicians employed and trained in house, never subcontracted. We work under certified management systems and close each job with a technical report the captain can file on board.
- ISO 9001Quality
- ISO 14001Environment
- ISO 45001Health & safety
- ISO 16636Pest management
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What a visit looks like
A few moments from the jobs we do on yachts every season: the equipment on the quay, the systems we open and the checks we close with. The same way of working applies in La Ciotat.
Other ports on the same run
If the yacht moves before we get to you, or you are berthed one harbour along, these are the pages for the ports next door.
Toulon
East along the Var coast.
Open
Saint-Tropez
Further east.
Open
Cannes
East, on the Cote d’Azur.
Open
Barcelona
West, across the Golfe du Lion.
OpenThe complete list is on the ports page.
Working in La Ciotat: frequently asked questions
Why is a refit the best time for the air side?
Because the panels are already off. During the season, reaching a fan coil means taking a cabin apart and putting it back; in a refit somebody else has already done that part.
Can you coordinate with the yard and the other trades?
Yes. We work to the yard’s programme, and we would rather fit around the joiners than have them wait for us.
When should the final water sample be taken?
Near the end of the period but not in the last week. The laboratory needs days, and a result that arrives after delivery is no use to anybody.
In refit at La Ciotat?
Tell us the yacht, the yard and the dates of the period. A technician calls you back within 24 hours and fits the work into your programme.
Tell us about the yacht
Yacht length, marina, systems and what you have noticed on board. A technician reads the message and calls you back to plan the survey.
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Where we work
Italian Riviera and Tuscany marinas and yards — Viareggio, La Spezia, Portofino, Genoa, Sanremo, Livorno, Argentario — and other Mediterranean ports on request.
Documented work
Every job ends with a technical report and photos for the yacht's records.