With no shortage of megaship-ready drydocks in Europe, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has bookings from cruise lines out to 2023, according to Rogier van der Laan, product manager cruise.

“There are changes in the market, the ships are getting bigger, and the yards are limited,” said van der Laan, in the 2019 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report by Cruise Industry News.

As a result, Damen has the only convenient yards (Rotterdam and Brest) in the Western Hemisphere that can handle some of the latest megaships. 

This past November, the company’s facility in Brest, France, was the site of a two-week drydock for Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth. The work saw a full paint scrub, pod maintenance, and other various class items, along with the installation of a new exhaust gas cleaning system.

Among earlier 2018 highlights was an 11-day refurbishment on the Breakaway, with the ship delivered back to Norwegian six hours ahead of schedule.

The projects are getting bigger for Damen, and longer in length, as cruise lines take their refit projects to the next level. Thirty days and budgets into the low nine-figure range have become common, as well as the arrival and logistics behind up to 800 containers of supplies.

“Some of our clients started planning for 2019 projects in May 2017,” van der Laan explained. “I am already speaking with clients about  work in 2020 and 2021, especially regarding scrubber installations.”

A recent acquisition of a facility in Curacao means cruise ship drydocking in the Caribbean will make a comeback, with a yard capable of taking small- and medium-sized vessels. Eyeing the luxury and expedition market, two small floating docks were also added.

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Go inside the world of cruise ship drydocking and refurbishment with the 2019 Cruise Industry News Drydocking and Refurbishment Report, presenting a 100-page overview of the $3 billion annual cruise ship drydock and refit market including a full 2019, 2020, 2021 estimated drydocking scheduled based on available data and research.

The report offers interviews with key drydocking executives from cruise lines, suppliers and shipyards, as well as case studies, trend reports and much more.