Ignacio Galan discusses how Navantia Shiprepairs is building its reputation in Europe’s cruise refit market
By
Rebecca Gibson |
This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2016 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
Located in Cadiz, Spain, Navantia Shiprepairs has swiftly earned an enviable name in the cruise ship refit and repair sector over the past six years.
“We’ve gone from being considered as a rookie player, to being reputed as one of the leading yards for cruise ship repairs and refits in Europe,” says Ignacio Galan, commercial manager at Navantia.
Testament to its growing success, Navantia successfully refitted and repaired 13 cruise ships from ten brands in 2014-2015. These included Pullmantur’s Empress and Sovereign, as well as Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Equinox.
“We also worked on Wind Surf, our first Windstar Cruises vessel, and we’re happy that the cruise line will return with two ships in 2016,” adds Galan. “Likewise, the repairs we completed on Disney Magic have encouraged Disney Cruise Line to dock more ships here this year.”
Another 2015 highlight, says Galan, was installing an exhaust gas cleaning system and major repairs in the Azipods on Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas, as well as engineering, prefabricating and installing a 40-tonne aluminium block on its ship Explorer of the Seas. The refits were part of Navantia’s multi-year agreement to renovate vessels in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s fleet until at least 2018.
“The Explorer of the Seas project was the line’s biggest refit to date, so we had to ensure everything was prepared prior to her arrival,” explains Galan. “Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has always been our major customer and we appreciate that the company chose to trust us with the refit of Splendour of the Seas in 2011 before we’d established ourselves as a leading player in the market. Now that our mutually beneficial business partnership has evolved into more of a friendship, we can intuitively provide the services it expects.”
Five of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s vessels will dock at Navantia this year – including Pullmantur’s Empress and Zenith and Royal Caribbean International’s Rhapsody of the Seas – and the group has already booked projects for 2017 and 2018.
“Navantia will refit a record number of cruise ships in 2016 – we have 14 drydocks scheduled, including five extensive refits, and we are negotiating two more projects,” says Galan. “We’ll be working on Thomson Cruises’ Thomson Discovery, Disney Cruises Line’s Disney Wonder, Semester at Sea’s World Odyssey and The World, the largest private yacht at sea. This January we refitted AIDAcara, our first AIDA Cruises ship, and we hope we’ll soon secure more work from the company.”
Galan believes there are several key factors that have encouraged these operators to dock ships at Navantia. “Our yard is situated close to the Strait of Gibraltar so the ships don’t need to deviate from their routes for repairs when they are sailing from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, or vice versa,” he explains. “We can also accommodate the world’s biggest cruise vessels in our 386m-long dry dock and small- or medium-sized vessels in two additional dry docks. Plus we have a 200,000sqm storage space for containers.”
Navantia will continue to improve these facilities in 2016. “Navantia is focused on actively building and maintaining long-term partnerships with cruise operators so we will continue to learn from each new and returning customer to ensure that the services and facilities we provide can meet, and exceed, their ever-evolving expectations,” says Galan.