Born in 1995 from a deep and concrete family experience in navigation, Teknoship is today a company considered a benchmark in engine maintenance for ferries and passenger ships, with operational hubs in Palermo and Civitavecchia, mobile teams across the Adriatic and Mediterranean, and an offering that covers workshop work and prolonged onboard interventions.
In this interview with SHIPPING ITALY, the president Federico Trani explains how he is leading this development phase, with a vision that combines technical craftsmanship, targeted investments, and attention to training.
Let’s start by telling how Teknoship was born and what were the main stages of its growth?
“It was born in 1995 thanks to my parents, both with a long life in navigation. My father was an engine director and inspector, he worked for Flotta Lauro and Navarma. When that chapter closed, he decided to make his experience on ship engine systems available. We started with an office in Avegno and then with a headquarters in Cagliari, which we use to follow some strategic routes in Southern Sardinia and to support a project related to recreational boating, with the maintenance of tenders used by a local company operating in tourist charter. From there came new bases: Castelsardo, Vado Ligure, Palermo in 2009 and Civitavecchia in 2010. Palermo and Civitavecchia are now our main hubs. We have a strong technical identity and continue to grow with a lean but solid structure.”
How is Teknoship organized today from a technical and operational point of view?
“In Civitavecchia we have two workshops: one dedicated to maintenance and the production of small components, the other to the warehouse and logistics. In Palermo we have a similar structure that also handles some of the more complex work. Then there are the teams that move across the entire Adriatic and Mediterranean area: Brindisi, Durrës, Greece, Piraeus. Sometimes they stay directly on board for prolonged work. It is a very flexible model, which allows for rapid intervention on main engines, auxiliary engines, cooling, turbines, and all the ancillary part, i.e., everything that surrounds the engine and is often not seen, but without which the ship goes nowhere. It is the set of pumps, circuits, turbochargers, hydraulic units, ventilation, and cooling systems that allow the engine to work safely. Every ship has different configurations and requires a lot of practical experience to understand them. It is precisely on this part that Teknoship has built much of its technical identity, because here you cannot improvise: either you know the system or you risk stopping the entire machine.”
What is your work model today and why do you define it as “artisanal”?
“We want to remain an artisanal company in the technical sense of the term. We prefer to do one intervention but do it well, calibrated to the client, rather than doing ten in a hurry. We use modern machines, tech lathes, and new equipment, but we maintain the principle of quality. It is a value passed down to us by my father and that we share with our technical director Marco Calabrese, with us for twenty years.”
What kind of activities do you carry out besides naval maintenance?
“Besides ships, we also work on non-naval engine systems, such as hydroelectric plants. The engine is the engine: the context changes, not the expertise.
“It was a way to expand our technical capacity and maintain a very high level of specialization.”
How have you approached the modernization of the workshops?
“We are purchasing lathes and equipment that lighten the manual workload. Not to replace the technician, but to increase precision and efficiency. We have also modified processes to reduce the use of traditional oils and substances. It’s a slow change, but a necessary one, especially if we want to be ready for new propulsion systems.”
Do you work a lot on Mediterranean ferries? How is this market changing?
“It’s a sector that still has old fleets. Compared to merchant ships or yachting, the energy transition here is arriving more slowly. The ships are dated and it’s not always possible to integrate new solutions. That’s why we are preparing our workshops and our personnel to handle gas, hybrid, or electric engines when they arrive in a more systematic way.”
These days we have seen the arrival of units like the GNV Virgo, the first LNG-powered ferry. Are you already working on alternative propulsion systems or are you still in the preparation phase?
“At the moment, we are mainly preparing our facilities. Before we can talk about actual interventions, we must have workshops and procedures suitable for these new systems. We are making our plants more organized, cleaner, closer to what future technologies will require. Even in daily practices, we are changing habits: using fewer traditional oils, introducing more modern equipment, getting used to maintenance that is different from the past. It’s a slow but necessary process. When the ferry market moves more decisively, we want to be ready, not chasing after others.”
What will be the biggest technical difficulties in the coming years?
“First of all, personnel. Italy is abandoning technical sectors and risks losing skills. Finding qualified people is extremely difficult. Then there is the regulatory issue: a lot of confusion, little clarity, complex approval processes. Finally, the integration of new equipment: gas systems, battery packs, inverters, new-generation turbochargers. Every ship will be a unique case: there is no single solution.”
So internal training becomes central?
“Yes. We must create tomorrow’s technicians ourselves. Give them responsibility, let them really work, allow them to make mistakes. Technology moves fast, but if you don’t have people who know how to use it, it’s useless. Growth comes from human capital.”
What scenario do you foresee for future propulsion?
“There won’t be a single solution. Long routes will tend towards natural gas. Short routes could go hybrid or electric. But the real point is that the ferry market will shrink in numbers: airplanes are changing habits. Maintenance will remain essential, but fleets will be smaller and more technological.”
Shipowners and designers complain about regulatory uncertainty. Do you feel it too?
“Yes. The green transition is full of contradictions. If one says white, the other says black. Incentives exist, but it’s often complicated to access them: too much bureaucracy. For a small business, it’s impossible to navigate. Green technology is useful, but it must be built well, otherwise it risks just being a way to shift the problem. It takes time and clear rules.”
Let’s talk about Teknoship as a company: what are your numbers today?
“We have a turnover of about 12 million.
We have about fifty employees. We aim to grow but without forcing it. The goal is to remain solid and maintain quality. We prefer two excellent technicians over ten improvised ones.”
You have also invested in branding operations and local presence. Why?
“For us, these operations are not marketing for its own sake but a part of our identity. We chose to invest in projects that create relationships, because we believe a company grows better if it participates in the life of the territory. The most important example is the PalaTeknoship: for the next five years we have purchased the naming rights of the former RDS Stadium at Fiumara, in Genoa. It has been active since October and has already hosted important events, including Olly’s concert and, in April, the Harlem Globetrotters for their centenary. It’s an operation that gives visibility but above all ties us to the city and the community that lives in that space.
Then there are sports activities: we are the main partner of Sampdoria Women and the shirt sponsor. We also support the men’s Sampdoria, even though I am a Juventus fan, because it’s not a matter of being a fan but of concrete opportunities to build relationships and support a sector that has a strong social impact. These activities allow us to come into contact with different worlds, expand our network, and tell our story in a more human way.
Finally, we are developing an even broader project: with the family holding company, we will create a center of about 3,300 square meters that will combine dining, fitness, combat sports, medical offices, and community spaces. It will be a social hub, a place to grow skills and relationships. I strongly believe in social interaction: it sets ideas in motion, creates trust, brings out talent. Machines and technology are useful, but without people they don’t work. Our local initiatives serve precisely this purpose: to give value to people and strengthen the company’s identity.”
What is your message to the market in this phase of transition?
“We must invest in people and in the places where people grow. We are creating a social hub with dining, sports, services. It’s not a whim: it’s part of our way of viewing work. Technology changes, but the quality of human work remains the key. If we don’t invest in this, the transition will just be a race chasing after machines.
