By
Rebecca Gibson |
Since the beginning of the year, Fincantieri has completed several significant cruise ship repair and conversion projects. As one of the principal refit yards in the Mediterranean, the company continues to attract prime cruise refit commissions at its facilities at Palermo and Trieste, maintaining its reputation as a reliable partner in this specialised sector.
Long-term alliances are very important for Fincantieri to maintain its competitive position in the cruise repair and refit market and 2013 has seen several major cruise operators place their ships with the company for refits, repairs and conversions. These include Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises, MSC Cruises, Silversea, Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Line. All are repeat clients.
The most significant 2013 project undertaken at the time of going to press was the conversion of Carnival Destiny, which was transformed to become Carnival Sunshine during extensive works at the company’s Trieste shipyard.
Fincantieri spokesperson Cristiano Musella says that the project is one of the largest of its kind ever undertaken within such a short timescale. “The execution of the Carnival Sunshine project within our Trieste shipyard signifies that there is great trust by major players in the cruise industry in our resources and capabilities. The close proximity of our Monfalcone shipyard to the Trieste drydock was a great advantage, since Monfalcone was the building yard of the former Carnival Destiny.” The 300-ton prefabricated block required for the new forward deck area was in fact constructed at Monfalcone and then placed on a barge and towed to the dock for installation onboard.
“The most technically challenging aspect of this project was the requirement to maintain a stringent work schedule without interfering with the varied work scope of the numerous trades involved. Due to time constraints, several complex activities needed to be carried out simultaneously,” says Musella. To this end, a multi-disciplinary Fincantieri technical team had been working on the project for several months before the arrival of the ship. “They defined specific solutions, provided relevant class approvals and supported the owner’s project management team in their planning and management of tasks during execution of the work.”
In April, Holland America Line’s Noorddam visited Fincantieri’s Palermo shipyard for refit and conversion work. A complete new deck accommodating 25 additional passenger cabins, which had previously been fabricated by the yard, was installed. Other work included the conversion of 40 balcony cabins into duplex cabins. During this period, Noorddam also underwent normal drydocking and repairs, as well as extensive refurbishment work. The project was completed on schedule and the ship departed from Palermo on time. As planned, outfitting work on the new cabins continued during the transit voyage.
In April, Fincantieri also drydocked the cruise ship AIDAaura, owned by Rostock-based AIDA Cruises, at Trieste. The refit was completed in ten days as scheduled.
In addition to the complex list of scheduled works outlined above, Fincantieri also accommodated emergency repairs on the Pullmantur passenger ship Zenith after an engine room fire broke out on 25 June while it was sailing between Ravenna and Venice. Repairs were carried out in early July and sea trials were completed successfully on 19 July.
This article appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2013 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read the full article, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.