Feature 1 | CRUISE SHIP REPAIR AND REFITS
Grand Bahama consolidates strong cruise market position
Te Bahamas yard has continued to consolidate its position as the repair and refit yard of choice for many USA-based cruise ship operators.
G
rand Bahama Shipyard enjoyed a highly successful 2010 in the cruise sector, docking a total of 23 cruise
liners, up from 21 in 2009. Key customers included the Carnival group’s Carnival, Princess, HAL and Costa Cruises brands; Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises; Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Regent Seven Seas. During 2011 Grand Bahama expects
to handle a similar number of cruise ship projects. Indeed, the company reports that it already has 13 cruise vessels booked in for the first half of 2011, including the Norwegian Sun, Liberty of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Carnival Valor and Regatta. Te average stay of these ships in dock will be 7-10 days, and the main scope of work for the yard includes survey work and basic hull cleaning and painting. Many of these cruise ships have azipod or
equivalent propulsion systems which require extensive inspections during the dockings, for which Grand Bahama has a specialised team of mechanical fitters. According to Peter Luijckx, commercial director: “With the number of cruise ships going into our drydocks, we are by far the leader in this particular field. Tis expertise is also now available to our clients when docking their vessels in other parts of the world.”
enhance capacity, its biggest No. 2 dock has been upgraded recently so that it can handle ships over 300m in length. The yard has also invested in maintenance at its other existing docks to maintain the high quality standards required particularly in the cruise repair and refurbishment business. No further large scale yard infrastructure
Grand Bahama Shipyard docked 23 cruise ships in 2010.
Most cruise ship dockings at Grand
Bahama Shipyard also include internal upgrade projects of one type or another. Tese are either performed by the owners’ own contractors, or by the yard itself. The most challenging of the projects
confirmed so far for 2011 will be the docking of the two Freedom class cruise ships, Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas this Spring. Mr Luijckx said: “Tese are demanding projects because of the size of these ships relative to the drydock. Some modifications have been required to our facilities as a result, but above all we have prepared detailed plans and procedures to mitigate any risks during the docking.” To meet the needs of larger cruise vessels Grand Bahama Shipyard has taken steps to
investments are envisaged in the short to medium term by Grand Bahama Shipyard. Mr Luijckx added: “We believe that providing our clients with the services they are seeking is more important for the long term than focusing on revenue growth.” In this context the company is now working to develop service agreements with a number of suppliers which can offer shiprepair and refurbishment related capabilities not currently available in the Bahamas. Looking forward, cruise ship market
prospects are rated optimistically by the yard. According to Mr Luijckx: “With the growth of the regional cruise fleet we anticipate further growth in our cruise related business. However, our analysis shows that the numbers of ships coming to the yard will remain fairly constant, but growth in revenue will come as a result of the greater size of the typical projects we will be asked to undertake.” SCRT
Sembawang ties up Carnival group business
Sembawang Shipyard has secured a long term contract from Carnival Corporation which will see more cruise ships being docked in Singapore.
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n the last quarter of 2010 Sembawang Shipyard signed a long term deal with the market-leading cruise operator,
Carnival Corporation, to provide shiprepair, refurbishment and upgrading services for vessels operating in the Far East, South East Asia and Australian regions. Tis significant contract will strengthen Sembawang’s position as one of the world’s leading yards as far as
specialised cruise ship work is concerned. The contract commits Carnival to
use Sembawang to undertake all repair, refurbishment and upgrade work on passenger ships operating in these areas. Te exceptions are vessels within the Princess Cruises fleet, which are currently too large for Sembawang Shipyard’s drydocks. Carnival has worked with Sembawang on
several projects in recent years and says the positive experience it had with these projects persuaded the company to enter into this long term partnership arrangement with the yard. Peter Fetten, senior vice president, corporate ship refit, Carnival Corporation adds: “This contract will benefit both organisations in planning and executing drydockings and upgrades in a safe, efficient
Shiprepair and Conversion Technology 1st Quarter 2011
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