Welcome to Dockyard Creek, also known as Porto delle Galere (Port of the Galleys) during the time of the Knights of St John. Overlooked by the fortified cities of Birgu and Isla, this sheltered inlet is one of the safest creeks in the Grand Harbour.

Picture powerful North-Easterly winds, called Gregales, roaring across the sea. These winds were so strong they could cause big problems for ships. But the Porto delle Galere marina was a perfect hideaway, providing safe anchorage and berthing. It wasn’t until the British period, when a breakwater was built, that the entire Grand Harbour became well-protected from these fierce winds.

Porto delle Galere wasn’t just about building and repairing ships. It was also a vibrant trading community, where foreign merchants from far and wide docked their ships to unload and load their cargo. During peaceful times, merchants sailed to and from Sicily, trading goods and stories. But their journeys didn’t stop there. Ships travelled to Marseilles, Naples, Constantinople, Dalmatia, England, Flanders, North Africa, and the Levant. Imagine the exciting mix of spices, fabrics, and treasures arriving at Dockyard Creek! When these merchants arrived, they sold their goods directly in the marketplace, shops, and even taverns.

Picture the lively scenes: bustling markets filled with colourful stalls, shopkeepers calling out to customers, and taverns buzzing with people from all over the world. Some merchants bought or rented houses there, becoming part of the town’s community. They needed food, clothing, and other essentials, which helped the local economy thrive. These new residents formed a special group known as the ‘merchant class’. They were key players in creating a thriving trading community in the urban harbour area. With the influx of foreigners, a variety of retail outlets and artisan workshops sprang up. By the 1700s, Birgu’s trading community was incredibly diverse. In Birgu, you could find all sorts of tradespeople. There were butchers, bakers, tailors, cobblers, barbers, rope-makers, dyers, founders, pastry cooks (known as pastizziere), and confectioners. Highly skilled artisans also made their mark, including silversmiths, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, wig makers, carpenters, and tanners.

But let’s get back to the Order’s shipyard.

The Birgu galley arsenal was specially designed for constructing the strong hulls of new galleys. The knights would have watched the giant wooden skeletons of ships taking shape, with skilled craftsmen working hard to build them. Once the hulls were ready, the ships were floated and moored close to the Birgu arsenal quay, where the rest of the work was completed. The Birgu arsenal built all kinds of ships for the Order, including the grand galley, or capitana, the smaller demigalley, and fast vessels like galleots, brigantines, fregatas, feluccas, and even tiny crafts like caiques and frejgatinas. Not far from Birgu, behind Senglea, there was another shipyard called the civil arsenal. This shipyard was dedicated to private shipbuilding, where locals and merchants could have their own vessels constructed. It was a busy place, adding to the maritime excitement in the area.

The knights of the Order built their galleys and warships using advanced French technology. This meant that the local workers in Birgu learned these sophisticated skills, becoming experts themselves and applying this knowledge to make small boats too.

While the Order had to import most of its materials from overseas, it could count on the local sailmakers to provide top-notch sails made from cotton grown and weaved locally. The Maltese were famous for their know-how in planning and stitching sails that powered these galleys across the sea. Most of the wood for the ships came from Venice, especially during the 18th century. The Order of St John also received timber from the lush forests of Calabria thanks to special privileges granted to them.

To ensure the timber stayed in excellent condition, special wood basins filled with seawater were set up in Bormla, Marsa, and French Creek. This seawater storage helped preserve and protect the wood. Because timber was so valuable, these storage areas were heavily guarded. Watchmen and guards patrolled the basins day and night to prevent theft. Stealing timber was a very serious crime back then, with severe consequences, including the death penalty.

The Order of St John built many of its ships in the Birgu arsenal, but it also ordered vessels from foreign shipyards in places like Messina and Toulon. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Order’s navy mainly consisted of galleys—sleek, oared vessels rowed by galley slaves. These galleys were also equipped with triangular lateen sails for use when the wind was favourable. Early on, the galleys were painted red with white below the waterline, but in 1625, the flagship, or capitana was painted black. In the 16th century, the Order made a significant change to the rowing system of their galleys. They switched from the sensile method, where each oar was handled by a single rower, to the scaloccio method, where multiple rowers worked together on a single oar. This change made the galleys more efficient and easier to manage.

The Order’s fleet reached its peak in 1686 with eight galleys during the magistracy of Grand Master Carafa. However, by 1692, financial difficulties reduced the number of galleys to seven. Despite their excellent manoeuvrability and effectiveness in close combat, galleys had limitations, such as the inability to fire cannons from the sides due to the oars.

As the Ottoman Empire stagnated, new superpowers like Britain and France fought over dominance of the Mediterranean. The role of the Knights of St John in protecting Christendom was not that important anymore, and as a result, the income from corsairing also decreased. The Birgu arsenal shifted its focus from building new ships to repairing and maintaining the existing fleet. When Napoleon arrived in 1798, and the Knights of St John were kicked out of Malta, the future of shipbuilding in Malta began to take a dramatic turn. But that’s another story.

At the turn of the 18th century, the Order introduced new ships-of-the-line called vascelli. These ships were also used in the Maltese ‘Corso,’ a form of lucrative piracy (or corsairing) against the Ottoman Empire and Barbary pirates financed by the Order and the nobility of Malta. This shift marked a decline in the construction of traditional galleys as the Order adapted to new naval technologies and strategies.

Written with reference to:

‘The Evolution of the Porto delle Galere: From the Era of the Order of St. John to the British Colonial Period’ by Luke Galea. (A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History of Art presented to the Department of History of Art, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, 2016).

‘Galley Construction in Malta’ by Joseph Muscat. Published in ‘La Navigation du Savoir : Reseau des Arsenaux Historiques de la Mediterranee’  directeur de publication, Salvatore Giannino ; edition, Sylvie Claval … [et al.] ; traductions, Noe Sardet ; photographies, Philippe Bettini … [et al.]. (pp. 82-87). UNESCO, 2006.