Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Azamara Club Cruises have signed a historic multi-million dollar contract with MJM Group, a world-leading fit-out specialist headquartered in Northern Ireland, for the refit of Azamara Pursuit. MJM Group will bring the luxury cruise company’s newest ship to Belfast to manage and complete the full refit before the ships maiden voyage from Southampton.
Larry Pimentel, President and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises travelled to London to announce the new and updated plans for Azamara Pursuit’s refurbishment.
In March 2018 Azamara will take receipt of the vessel in the Bahamas where it will go through statutory class inspection. This includes taking the ship out of the water for a close inspection of the hull and the tail gear. Once the inspection is complete the ship will officially be handed over and set sail for Europe. Once in Europe the ship will go through a complete refurbishment to bring the vessel in line with the renovations introduced on the Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest.
For an in-depth look at the staterooms onboard Azamara Club Cruises visit “A private look inside the staterooms onboard Azamara Quest“.
After her four-month refit Azamara Pursuit will make her maiden voyage from Southampton to the Norwegian fjords.
“This is a wonderful occasion for Azamara Club Cruises. This is the first time any company within Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd has used a UK shipyard for refit works of this scale. We are delighted to come to Northern Ireland with Azamara Pursuit. It will be a truly magnificent sight to see our ship beneath the historic Harland & Wolff cranes which are so synonymous with Belfast’s proud maritime history and we thank MJM Group for helping us make this happen.” – Larry Pimentel, President and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises
The announcement is an unprecedented, potential game changer both for MJM Group and the global cruise ship industry, as it represents the first time a cruise ship owner has awarded complete project management responsibility to an individual organisation.
MJM Group will project manage the docking, berthing and refit of the Azamara Pursuit at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, creating a momentous opportunity for MJM Group to put Northern Ireland, and the UK’s marine industry on the global map.
There are currently 335 ocean going ships which dry-dock on average every two and a half years. It is estimated that the cruise ship industry spends $3bn on dry-docking and ships refurbishments annually with the majority of the works carried out in shipyards in the Caribbean, Europe, USA, Canada and Asia.