Ship refit brings dock 300 jobs

The cruise liner will undergo the refit almost immediately

Three hundred temporary jobs are being created at a dock with a £20m cruise liner refit.

Swansea Dry Dock beat off international competition to transform the 446- passenger ship, the Saga Pearl II.

The Saga Shipping contract will see three months of work begin almost immediately to transform the ship into a luxury liner.

A company spokesman said the contract will also enable the dock to compete for future business.

Saga Shipping is part of the Saga Group, a UK company specialising in services, including holidays, for the over-50s. The ship was bought at auction in Gibraltar earlier this year, and is currently called the Astoria.

By the time it has undergone a comprehensive refit, it will be transformed into a luxury liner and renamed the Saga Pearl II.

The dry dock facility will now be opened and refurbished, providing some 300 jobs over a three-month period, enabling it to compete for future business Saga Group

The spokesman said: "The dry dock facility will now be opened and refurbished, providing some 300 jobs over a three-month period, enabling it to compete for future business.

"The Saga Pearl II refit will be the most comprehensive and expensive in the company's history."

It will include the addition of "one of the best libraries afloat" and a new cinema. There will also be a sports deck, including a short tennis court.

The spokesman said a new, state-of-the-art external coating will be applied to enable the ship to travel with greater ease, reduce fuel consumption and lower her carbon footprint.

Saga Group executive chairman Andrew Goodsell said: "I am delighted that we are able to support a British yard and in doing so we will help the regeneration of the Swansea docks."

The main engineering work on the vessel will be carried out by the Harris Pye Group which has won two major contracts over the next five months.

The firm, based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, will work on the complete overhaul of the main engines and other structural work. It will also be responsible for fully equipping a restaurant and lounge, and be involved in the renewal of the crew's cabins.

Chris David, Harris Pye Group's technical director, said: "We are extremely gratified to win these two contracts - one above the water line, the other below".

"It was good news to reopen the dock and see it put to good use, and to create quite a number of temporary new jobs which will run through the difficult Christmas period in an economically-challenged area such as Swansea."