By
Michele Witthaus |
Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL) has signed a Favoured Customer Contract (FCC) with Sembcorp Marine’s wholly-owned subsidiary Sembawang Shipyard for ship repair, revitalisation, upgrading and related marine services for its ships cruising in the region.
The agreement will cover two major revitalisations and a further drydock and repair between January 2013 and 2014, worth between S$50 million and S$70 million in total, depending on the scope of repairs and upgrading required.
The long-term maintenance and refit contract was signed in Miami, Florida by Kevin Douglas, VP technical projects and newbuildings for RCCL, Svein Taklo, VP marine operations for Royal Caribbean International and Wong Lee-Lin, executive director of Sembawang Shipyard.
The deal includes repairs, revitalisation and upgrading of ships as well as joint planning, information and experience sharing for issues related to health, safety and environment, logistics management, quality, cost efficiency and on-schedule deliveries.
“The selection of Sembawang Shipyard as our partner in the Far East is in line with Royal Caribbean’s strategy to grow our cruise business in Asia as we see Asia, in particular, China and Singapore as our key markets,” said Douglas. “Sembawang Shipyard is recognised as one of the leading technically competent and efficient repair yards in the world for cruise vessel repair and upgrading. Our recent positive experiences with Sembawang Shipyard, which included the successful revitalisation of Royal Caribbean International’s Rhapsody of the Seas, and our observation of the dedication and commitment shown by the shipyard’s team, convinced Royal Caribbean that we have found the right long-term partner who understands the stringent requirements of our company. As such, we are confident that this newly forged partnership with Sembawang Shipyard will benefit both organisations in the planning and execution of our dry docking and revitalisation work in a safe, timely and cost-effective way.”
Wong Lee-Lin said: “We are honoured to be the be the chosen partner of Royal Caribbean Cruises, a world-class cruise ship owner and operator. Sembawang Shipyard has over the recent few years, focused strongly on the development of our fast-growing niche markets, one of which is the cruise ship repairs/upgrades and conversion market. Since the 1970s, Sembawang has successfully repaired and upgraded more than 150 passenger ships. We have developed a ‘cruise ship culture’ and a workforce with the right attitude, training and experience to successfully deliver cruise ships on schedule and to high quality, health, environment and safety standards. We have worked very well with the Royal Caribbean team on several ships and we are thus delighted with this award from Royal Caribbean. We thank Royal Caribbean for its confidence in Sembawang Shipyard’s ability to meet Royal Caribbean’s high standards. We look forward to a long-term partnership which will deliver visible mutual benefits and continuous improvements to both companies.”
Neeta Lachmandas, assistant chief executive, Business Development Group, Singapore Tourism Board, commented: “We are pleased to learn of the partnership between Royal Caribbean Cruises and Sembawang Shipyard, which is a significant achievement for Singapore’s cruise industry. Establishments like Sembawang Shipyard play a key role in Singapore’s robust cruise industry ecosystem, comprising world-class infrastructure and supporting industries such as ship repair, port and ground handling services. The partnership reinforces our position as the regional homeport of choice, and we look forward to welcoming more cruise vessels from Royal Caribbean Cruises to Asia and Singapore.”