A COMPANY that refurbishes the interiors of some of the world’s most famous cruise liners says it has enjoyed record turnover in the past eight months.

Christchurch-based Atlantic Marine Interiors carried out refits and maintenance to Queen Mary II, Queen Elizabeth, Arcadia, Britannia, Iona, Azura and Ventura during the pandemic.

Chris Head, who founded the company in 2013, said: “Probably the ghostliest sight for us was all of those cruise ships at anchor off the coast of Dorset during the pandemic. But when the green light came for them to start operating again in May, planning started for their return to service, and our workload went off the scale.”

During this period, Atlantic also modernised the historic RMS St Helena to transport the Extreme E electric motorsport team and its cars around the world.

This involved work on the bridge, VIP and owners’ suites, VIP lounge and bar, science laboratory, restaurant and galley and fitting out suites for champion drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button.

The fitting took place in Cammell Lairds Birkenhead Shipyard during the height of the pandemic when Liverpool was under some of the tightest restrictions in the country.

General manager Paul Tedore said. “We may be a small team, but we’ve got well over 100 years of experience between us.

“Our work ethic is intense. Where we’re different from most of our competitors is that our dedicated team is involved in the whole process of every project from conception to completion. This allows us to be flexible and reactive to sudden changes and builds a great working relationship with our clients.”

The company had to juggle two big interior projects aboard two cruise liners at once. 

Mr Head said: “I was managing Azura while Paul was managing Queen Mary. Between us, we had over 100 personnel involving at least 13 different trades – electricians, plumbers, metal workers, laggers, joiners, tilers, decorators, French polishers, stone masons, silicone specialists, wood floor, hard floor and carpet fitters. It was an army of personnel.

“Added to this were all the complications of Covid restrictions which had to be managed so tightly aboard a ship. We were working in the perfect storm. There was not only all of the many Covid issues to contend with, but also a shortage of materials, supply delays with the fallout from Brexit and the issue of delivery drivers.”

Commercial manager Charles Clayton said: “During this period, the team worked in over 4,500 passenger cabins and laid more than 60,000M2 of carpet, hard flooring, and AstroTurf, which is equivalent to about 15 football pitches plus over 1,000M2 of tiling.

“In addition, the team carried out stone repairs and polishing to over 200 granite and marble vanity tops and synthetic stone servery tops.”