Planning for a ship’s next refurbishment generally starts during its current drydocking.

“Planning starts before the last day of the previous drydocking. We have planned maintenance and also identify what needs to be done in the next drydocking,” said Olaf Groeger, managing director at Columbia Cruise Services (CCS).

The company provided full project management services on a number of refurbishment jobs this past autumn, including a trio of overlapping Hapag-Lloyd ships, FTI’s Berlin, and a vessel from Marella (formerly Thomson) Cruises.

He said the company has expertise in everything from high-end interior refurbishment to significant technical work. Two years ago, CCS ran point taking the engines out of a cruise ship for overhauling, and then reinstalling them.

“Each and every project has something different,” Groeger continued. He noted shipowners were more involved on the hotel side, but the technical jobs could be even more challenging.

“No one sees those as important, but it’s a total show stopper if they don’t go as planned,” he commented.

Jobs are getting increasingly dense, with less time to execute work in drydocks. Groeger described the cruise market as booming with more demand than supply.

“With limited ships on the market, there is a lot to do,” he said. “Everyone that has an older ship wants it upgraded and everyone with a newer ship wants to keep it at high standards.”

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