“All the yards are currently working,” says Luka Hrboka, Head of Sales Department at Palumbo Shipyards. “We are following all the regulations imposed by the government, which are the usual ones – social distancing, disinfection and masks etc.”
He told DryDock; “We are working at reduced capacity,” with the restricted movement of workers, cancelled ship visits, having to quarantine ships arriving with the virus etc, all having an impact. “All the mentioned factors are important for ship repair and are causing the current situation. However, if we need to point out one particular factor which is a major problem for ship owners, that could be the necessary quarantine upon arrival. As one can imagine, 14 days long period is the deal breaker between going to repairs and requesting a postponement from the class.”
He explains that, “over the last month the things are very slowly starting to improve. However, the situation is still very uncertain and, in this moment in time, we have a challenge being able to inform our clients with precise information.”
When it comes to cancellations due to the virus, he told DryDock; The one thing that we have noticed is that lot of projects are getting postponed – fortunately we are not experiencing cancellations. During the start of this situation, we had to turn away a few smaller intervention jobs. They were turned down mainly due to the restrictions concerning movement of personnel.
He concluded by saying; “We are offering standard arrangements to our regular clients, and we are trying to attract new clients by offering them competitive prices.”
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