Located in Lisbon and a good fit for small ships, Naval Rocha was the host for the SeaVenture’s 2023 drydock and worked on the SeaDream II in November, according to Sergio Rodrigues, commercial director, who also said he expects between four and six drydockings in 2024 for ocean and river ships.

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“Our expectations are in line with 2023, and we expect to have even more in 2025 as we are already dealing with two big projects,” he said. “We expect scopes to increase on the project side in 2024 and beyond.”

Among the trends are an increasing focus on sustainability, he said, as they continue to help cruise lines upgrade ships to save fuel, including the continued installation of LED lights.

“One of the advantages of having clients for a long time is the knowledge of the vessels we have,” said Rodrigues. “This can provide some anticipation in technical areas that we know will be needed during the repair even if not mentioned in the work specification.

“We send a team months ahead to visit the vessel to identify the work and prepare resources and materials,” he continued. “We also know that the work volume will increase during the first third of the repair job, so we’ll be ready to scale resources if necessary.”

The keys to a successful drydock for a cruise ship, Rodrigues said, comes down to planning and the quantity and quality of the information, as well as a good relationship with the cruise line and its subcontractors.

“We need to work together as a team with the same goal: the vessel needs to be ready on time, on budget and done with quality work,” Rodrigues said.