The Costa Atlantica was at the Shanghai Huarong Dadong Dockyard in January for an 18-day drydock, marking perhaps the first significant cruise ship refurbishment job taking place at a Chinese shipyard.

Dockyard Director and General Manager Jifeng Wu said that Costa and the yard started talking two years ago, with Carnival Corporation visiting the yard multiple times for observation and evaluation purposes.

The highlight of the Atlantica job was turning a public space into 52 additional ocean-view staterooms.

The work continued as HNA’s Henna arrived for a major drydocking in late January that could last up to two months. Scheduled work includes stateroom renovations and maintenance on the engines and propulsion system.

Established in 1994, the Shanghai-based drydock’s list of investors and owners leads back to China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), which recently signed an MOU with Carnival to explore cruise shipbuilding in China.