Page 10 - CIN 2019 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report

DRYDOCKS
Strategic Planning
Jens Kohlmann, vice president of asset management at Carnival Maritime
Drydocks for cruise ships have their
own challenges with many variables,
such as the complexity of the projects;
lack of capacity at the yards or suppliers;
the weather – as there are no docks with
roofs; and last, but not least, the logistic the Costa Group and Chantiers Naval de
efforts due to the worldwide operation of
their ships, according to Jens Kohlmann,
vice president of asset management, Car-
nival Maritime in Hamburg.
“We are going to have five ships in dry-
dock during the 2018-2019 season,” he
said. “The Costa Mediterranea, the AIDA-
sol and the AIDAcara in Marseille, and the
Costa Diadema at Fincantieri’s Palermo
yard, in addition to the AIDAluna.” (At
press time, Carnival had not yet finalized
a yard contract for the AIDAluna.)
Four ships are set to follow in the fall: with the shipyard and suppliers prefer-
the conversion of the Costa neoRiviera
to the AIDAmira; the Costa Deliziosa,
Fascinosa and neoRomantica.
“The conversion of the Costa neoRiv-
iera will be our biggest redesign project,”
Kohlmann added.
“The other ships will go into drydock
for technical maintenance as well as vari-
ous technical refits and upgrades, replace-
ment of certain equipment and enhance-
ments of the guest experience.”
22 Cruise Industry News: 2019 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report
Long-Term
“Long-term strategic planning has been
one of our strengths for a long time,” Kohl-
mann continued. “The partnership between
Marseille supports our goal to plan well in
advance. In fact, we have drydock plans in
place for many years to come. It is based
on IMO as well as flag state regulations
and on the planned itineraries of the fleets mann said.
of AIDA, Costa and Costa Asia.”
For each drydock, detailed planning
starts more or less 18 months out, includ-
ing the budgeting phase.
Explained Kohlmann: “Our special-
ized team led by Bernd Bartsch, director
major asset management, begins working
ably between 12 and nine months prior
to define the work to be done, the neces-
sary resources and the scope of supplies
needed. During this phase, we are also
selecting the different contractors. Again,
our long-term planning comes into play as
many of the contractors are well-known,
trusted partners to ensure our high stan-
dards, and provide predictability for both
them and ourselves.
“The cruise brands are included from
the very beginning. When it comes to the
“The key to successfully
manage drydocks is a risk
analysis to determine the
time factor.”
actual work that needs to be done, the
brands define all hotel and hotel-technical
related tasks.”
Varied Workload
Drydocks usually involve a variety of
jobs, including propulsion and technical
systems overhauls as well as accommo-
dations and public space upgrades, Kohl-
The routine maintenance required by
class usually means hull blasting and coat-
ing works, and also tasks that would be
disruptive for the passengers if the ship
was sailing.
He said technical projects and refur-
bishments may include wastewater treat-
ment and ballast water.
There is also maintenance work on
shorepower connections and improve-
ments to the ships’ energy efficiencies.
Other efforts typically focus on up-
grades and refits in the hotel area, includ-
ing staterooms and restaurants, but also
IT upgrades.
Regular drydock intervals are either 30
or 60 months, subject to IMO and Italian
State regulations and the age of the ship.
The average drydock ranges from 10
to 14 days.