Malta Drydocks: Johnson Out, Seeking New CEO

Malta Drydocks has issued an international call for applicants for a new chief executive after dismissing the British incumbent a year before his contract expires. Malta Drydocks said it had terminated the contract of Chief Executive Barry Johnson following disappointing financial results for the first five months of this year. "Malta Drydocks will be intensifying its efforts to improve operations because productivity is still low when compared to competitors," the dockyard said. Dockyard officials would not give details on the yard's financial position other than to say that although turnover had increased, revenue from the core ship repair business had dropped by some $1.3 million this year. State assistance to Malta Drydocks last year totaled $87 million in subsidies and debt servicing. The yard's debt currently amounts to $315.5 million. Dockyard officials confirmed that Chairman John Cassar White will have talks with Libyan officials in Tripoli on Friday in a bid to attract more Libyan ship repair work.