Oral history of the Malta Dockyard: Vince Giuliano

Education-Dockyard school 

(00:30) Went to De La Salle College and St. Michael’s College where he took the dockyard exam but did not get very good results. As his father died when he was very young, he asked his uncle, who worked in the dockyard, for an opinion on how he should proceed. He suggested that, since his marks were not good, he should go with Civil Engineering section. 

Entering the dockyard-Swan Hunter / Bailey / changeovers 

(02:30) In his 4th year, he went to the drawing office for training and eventually applied for a vacancy at the drawing office. As there was only the requirement for one draughtsman, he was not chosen, however they still kept him in the office, so he did not return to work in the trade of a mason. At that time, there was the rundown of the Admiralty yard and the transition to Bailey. So, he applied to work with Bailey as a draughtman, where he was accepted immediately. Most of the workers, at that time, did not want to go with Bailey. 

(05:15) When he started with Bailey, there was a lot of civil works on the extensions of the No.4 and No.5 docks. During the transition, he was responsible to update the dockyard general plan. Which was used as part of the take-over contract between the Admiralty and Bailey. This was a lot of work and he had to go into a lot of detail. There was a lot of attention from the management, which made him proud with the work he was doing.

(06:45) He was then promoted to a leading draughtsman with the civil estimating department. Here they did structural design for all the major civil work in Malta, such as the work for various projects such as the Chatillon factory and the University of Malta roof. In the drawing office, they prepared the design and drawings for fabrication in the steel shops.

(07:45) In 1978/79, there was a vacancy for the position of a production manager on civil work. He was accepted and was involved in projects such as public bathrooms and extending the pre-fab shops and other shops. In 1979 they sent him and an engineer Toledo from the Government department to Kuwait in relation to a reverse osmosis plant. The idea was that the piping systems would be fabricated at the dockyard, and he had to report the requirements for fabrication, etc. In the end, it was not done at the dockyard.

Entering the dockyard-Swan Hunter / Bailey / changeovers 

(09:45) The Marsa Dock - he was involved in the drawings. He with other Malta Government representatives visited Sunderland dockyard to see the design and shipbuilding processes being used there.

Entering the dockyard-Swan Hunter / Bailey / changeovers 

(11:30) The first plan for the Malta Shipbuilding yard was to be done at Menqa in Marsa. After consulting the civil construction records on the site, it was decided that it was not feasible to construct a dock there.

Then there was a proposal to do the dock in South West extension (Marsa Creek) but this was also not a feasible solution. There was another proposal to do an extension of Kalafrana and do the shipbuilding there. There were disagreements between Lorry Sant, who wanted a drydock, and the PM Mintoff, who wanted a slipway. Eventually the decision was to construct the drydock in its present place at Marsa.

Education-Projects 

(14:00) At the end of the 70s there was the tender to extend the breakwater in Kalafrana by Chinese company. There was the problem that the caissons for the break water were done in No.6 dock, which was also being used as a repair dock. His work was to liaise between the Chinese engineers and the dockyard management. On completion, the caissons were towed to Kalafrana. These were positioned and sunk in place and then filled with boulders by trucks. The dolos for the Kalafrana were done there as well.

Education-Projects 

(16:00) The Building of No.6 Dock: There was a lot of rock cut from the Parlatorio wharf. When the site was levelled, the Chinese engineers did curtain grouting which involved drilling of holes at 1m spacing around the area where the dock is to be constructed. They then grouted with material to seal the rock so as to limit the water seepage during the excavation. He remembers that during the grouting process, they noticed some effects up to the Ricasoli area. It was very important to fill all underground empty spaces (such as caves), as the drydock floor had to take very heavy loads from the large tankers to be docked.

(17:30) The Ricasoli Jetty was designed for 100,00 DWT ships. With the increase in the size of ships calling the shipyard after the construction of No.6 dock, this jetty was being damaged. In order to strengthen the Ricasoli jetty, the Chinese engineers proposed to do large ‘dolphins’ with special fenders, which took the full load of the large tankers moored at Ricasoli. 

(21:00) He recalls very good relations with the Chinese delegations that worked with the shipyard. He remembers a certain Mr Zoe, who was the top man at that time. Delegations were usually about 20 persons with one interpreter. In 1989, he went to China. He mentions the following works done/assisted by the Chinese, such as:

Due to a water leakage in Dock No.3, the welders were opposing to work in the wet conditions. The Chinese offered him a solution that used a special material, imported from China, that was pumped into the cement and this material expanded during its drying process, stopping all leaks.

Another problem with No.3 dock, was a structural problem on the dock gate inner-stop facing. The Chinese assisted in the repairs of this. It is to be noted that the docks were designed as an inverted arch. This means that the inverted arch takes the water pressure. One of the stones in actual fact was displaced upwards due to the water pressure. All the old docks (Nos: 1, 2, 3 and 5) in the yard were designed this way.

(24:30) They worked a lot with the Chinese engineers, because they knew they were reliable and they always performed good work. 

Education-Projects 

(27:15) The Dock No.7 (Boat house basin) was fully made by the civil department in the yard. From the design, to the construction and selection of the dock machinery. The dock was designed as an anchored-type. It had 30ft metal rods, with plate reinforcement.

(30:30) The Malta Shipbuilding was made by Appledore, with Dutch engineers. He was in charge of the drawings under the direction of the experts. At first, these experts were against the shipbuilding dock being constructed in the Marsa site as the ground was composed of silt. However, the Malta Government insisted on using this site. In fact, during its construction there were a lot of problems with water seepages.