“Being part of the Wilhelmsen Group, we are part of one of the world’s largest maritime networks and maritime service providers,” Carl Schou, president and CEO of Wilhelmsen Ship Management said, according to the 2022 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report by Cruise Industry News.

“We have a full value chain, which we can offer to our clients … Coming to us as a ship manager, you get a lot more around the ship management service. Our sister company, Wilhelmsen Ships Service, is the world’s largest ship agency. And then we have Wilhelmsen Marine Products, which is one of the world’s largest product companies for the marine industry,” he added.

Speaking in November 2021, Schou said that Wilhelmsen Ship Management had carried out two cruise drydockings in 2021, with another in the pipeline for either Q4 of 2021 or Q1 of 2022. The recent drydock work was mainly related to classification society rules and regulations, according to him.

“Like most cruise vessels, many of these vessels have been in lay up during the pandemic, so a lot of the work is also on the hotel side – kind of beefing up the hotel side and getting it back to a proper standard for the clients,” he explained.

Another 2022 drydock is possibly also on the horizon, he said.

Asked what work the 2022 drydocks will involve, Schou said that “rules and regulations always come first.”

“We have new carbon emission, carbon reduction rules – coming into force. So, there’s going to be a lot of focus and work regarding that,” he noted. “Second, it’s the hotel upgrades. Clients want the best of the best, and the cruise industry is in the forefront always.”

Schou explained that a lot of recent cruise ship drydock work is also around COVID-19.