Page 11 - 2024 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report

Drydock & Refurb

 The Costa Venezia became the Carnival Venezia.

from the start from logistics and subcontractors and through to New hull coating technology evaluations
the ship arriving.” generally start with a test patch.
2024 will see what he said was a fair range of larger projects. “We monitor that, and if we’re satisfied, we’ll
“We’ve got quite a lot in terms of improving disability ac- trial it on one ship and then put it on a recom-
cess,” Millman explained. “There are also a few larger mid-life mended list of hull coatings going forward. It’s
refit projects where we’re upgrading public areas. Part of some not just about the performance, but the ability
work scopes is just catching up on work we weren’t doing dur- of the coating to be cleaned and its performance
ing the pandemic.” over the period between drydocks.”
Saving Fuel Refining Operations
Energy efficiency updates led at the corporate level are being “It starts with technology, and we trial that as a corporation,
installed across the fleet. and then assess which ship classes may benefit the most. Some
“Fitting variable speed drives to chillers has become a major items are applicable across all classes,” Millman said.
drydock activity,” Millman said. “We are adjusting air-condition- Instrumentation and monitoring equipment is going in too,
ing systems to make them more demand-based, and installing allowing the company to see where energy is being used.
CO2 sensors to understand occupancy levels and then using that “We can assess the energy efficiency of different parts of
to improve the efficiency of the air-conditioning. the ship, and how much power we’re putting into lighting, the
“We’re also looking at our chilled water systems and putting galley, air-conditioning or the laundry area so we can focus on
demand flow systems in so we’re not creating chilled water if the next round of improvements,” Millman said.
we don’t need it.” “What we do is take advantage of technology from land.
Waste heat recovery is another big item, and efforts are also They are generally ahead of maritime, so we can utilize that on
underway to use cold energy that is in the LNG to help chill the ships. HVAC is a practical example where we are following
water or use it for air-conditioning. what is being done on the land side.”
At the same time a number of ships are getting air lubrication
systems should their operating profiles tend to lean toward more Next Fuel
high-speed itineraries. The drydock period is typically used to install “We’re doing a lot of tests with alternative fuels,” Millman said,
air-release units in the hull as well as compressors. Piping, wiring pointing to a 10 MW battery system installed on an AIDA ship.
and commissioning work can be done with the ship in service. “We are evaulating biogas and biofuels, and doing design
In addition is research and development for new hull paints. studies on methanol conversions.
Calling hull paints a continually evolving technology, Millman “We’re looking at a wide range of technology options for our
said the focus was on working with the paint companies to have decarbonization pathway going forward.” 
a more proactive hull cleaning approach in place.

Cruise Industry News: 2024 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report 21