The MSC Fantasia drydocked in October in Malta for general hotel and technical work, as well as the installation of shore power, said Emilio La Scala, president and managing director for MSC Cruises Management UK.

The company also sent the MSC Bellissima to the Huarun Dadong Dockyard in Shanghai in November.

“This was the first time that any of our fleet has gone into a drydock in China for routine maintenance and repair work,” he said. “The choice of the yard was to make best use of the ship’s deployment in the Far East and the timing is based on her drydock cycle stipulated for class renewal.”

The vessel spent two weeks in drydock, receiving a new hull coating as well as various maintenance and cabin and public area updates ahead of her debut in China in 2024.

Six for 2024

“We will have six cruise vessels going to drydock during 2024. The ships are the Armonia, Opera, Musica, Magnifica, Splendida and Grandiosa,” said La Scala.

All six are drydocking in Malta, where MSC has a stake in the facility.

“Planned work includes periodical hull maintenance and painting, machinery and electrical maintenance, refurbishment of cabins and public areas, plus tests and inspections for class renewal.”

The Musica, Magnifica and Splendida will also be retrofitted for shore power, according to La Scala.

Other efficiency upgrades are targeting LED lighting and HVAC, he said.

More Work

“Our cruise fleet is still relatively young but it is natural that older ships require more maintenance and upgrades to maintain the highest standards,” La Scala explained.

“At times obsolete or limited availability for spare parts means there is a requirement for equipment and component upgrades and in some cases, energy efficiency improvements, such as introduction of LED lighting and other devices, as well as the upgrade of HVAC systems, are also carried out to further reduce emissions.”

Coming out of the pandemic, he said there wasn’t a long to-do list as the company took the opportunity to get work done during warm lay up periods in 2020 and 2021.

La Scala said he has a drydock plan stretching 10 years into the future, set according to classification society rules and regulations. That means ships drydock typically every two to three years or every five years depending on the ship age.

“Our internal policy ensures an average of two stops per ship every five years, although this may be adjusted according to the deployment and itineraries of individual vessels,” he said.

“We book the dry dock availability in five-year time frames because the vast majority of work that needs to be conducted cannot be done when the vessel is in operation.

“Our fundamental approach is to plan far in advance what work needs to be done. This requires detailed planning, hard work, dedication and a paramount attention to detail.”

Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Winter 2023-2024