Pacific Sun Dry Dock Provides Economic Boost for Brisbane

Brisbane is about to receive a significant economic boost, with P&O Cruises’ Pacific Sun heading to the local Forgacs Cairncross Dockyard in Morningside for scheduled maintenance work and a major refurbishment this weekend.

The 47,000-tonne liner will go into the dry dock late on Saturday (Aug 30) for a 12-day overhaul, and will sail on her next South Pacific cruise on Saturday September 13.

The multi-million dollar dry dock project will involve around 280 tradesmen employed by Forgacs Engineering as well as more than as well as more than 200 P&O Cruises’ contractors, who will work on the internal refurbishment.

The Forgacs’ team will work in shifts around the clock to complete the project, which the company estimates will take about 25,000 hours, encompassing machinery and equipment overhauls as well as piping and electrical work. Painters will also be kept busy, with more than 10,000 litres of paint set to be applied to Pacific Sun as her livery is transformed to a classic all-white look.

Meanwhile, P&O Cruises is using the dry dock as an opportunity to change some interior sections of the ship, with the refurbishment to include the addition of a stunning new adults-only Oasis spa retreat and an ocean-view gym.

Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia which operates P&O Cruises, said the dry dock would make a significant contribution to the Queensland economy in terms of expenditure on labour and materials.

"Earlier this year Access Economics estimated that expenditure when cruise ships are in port is worth $164 million a year to Queensland and $734 million nationally," Ms Sherry said.

"This dry dock work is above and beyond that estimate and further underlines the value of our industry to Queensland."

Forgacs Engineering Global Sales Director George Windram said the company had worked hard to develop its cruise ship business since 2000, with the sector growing to represent 20 per cent of its turnover during that time.

"With the expansion of the Australian cruise industry over the past few years we’ve seen a real opportunity to increase our business, so we’ve invested in the necessary training.

"We’ve also learnt to work alongside cruise companies and accommodate their refurbishment crews while we work on the maintenance side of things, which is very important for the cruise sector."