Croatian shipbuilder finds his place in China's cruise future

A light mist drifts over the Yangtze River as Marco Rovati stands at the railing of the Adora Flora City, a massive cruise ship docked at CSSC Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., its construction nearing completion. Below him, workers bustle across the shipyard.

Marco Rovati (C) and his colleagues observe a test aboard the Adora Flora City, Shanghai, April 21, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn]

Rovati, a Croatian shipbuilding expert, started in the industry 35 years ago and has since worked in shipyards around the world. Four years ago, he joined a project in Shanghai — helping build cruise ships for Adora Cruises.

At the time, China had not yet built its first large cruise ship. He came anyway.

"It was the will for the challenge that dragged me here," he said. "Helping China's shipbuilding industry develop the cruise market is challenging and rewarding work."

"From the point of view of infrastructure and technological capabilities, I don't see any difficulties in China's shipbuilding," he explained. "Not much that technologically needs to be learned to build them. It's more about integration, organization and attention to detail."

Today, Rovati serves as project manager for the cruise ship team, working alongside young Chinese engineers he has worked with for the past three years. "They have developed quite a lot," he said. "Now they start to be a real cruise ship supervision team."

Speaking about the collaboration with his Chinese colleagues, he explained, "It's nice to have different cultures, exchange ideas, share information for work, and also have some fun outside together."

Marco Rovati during an interview with China.org.cn, Shanghai, April 21, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn]

One of the things Rovati appreciates about working in China is the collaborative spirit across the shipyard. "The organization in the yard is quite different from European yards," he said. "What makes the most visible difference to me is the presence of all the yard departments in all meetings and all inspections."

When it comes to nurturing young engineers, Rovati believes in continuity. "If you have continuity in building these vessels, you can develop a generation of engineers following the technology," he explained. As cruise ships evolve with new fuels and green technologies, he noted, it is important to keep raising young engineers to take on challenges and grow with the industry.

"It's quite a great satisfaction to be part of this process," Rovati said of the Adora Magic City, China's first domestically built large cruise ship. "It's nice to see her now passing by here on the river. But now we have a new 'baby' ready to be delivered." Now, the Adora Flora City is nearly ready to follow. "Every ship leaves you something, because you spent years working on it," he reflected. "These two vessels built here will leave some nice memories for me."

Life outside the shipyard has been just as welcoming. "Shanghai is a lovely place," Rovati said. "I like it very much and feel almost at home." He has settled into the city with ease. The food, in particular, has impressed him. "I cannot say I have had a single bad lunch or dinner. Always good food."

He has also watched the city change — new roads, new railways, a subway line that now goes under the Yangtze River. "That's quite normal for such a big city," he said.

The Adora Flora City docked beside the shipyard in Shanghai, April 21, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn]

As for the future, Rovati is open-ended but hopeful. "At the moment, I don't make too many plans," he said, "but I would like to stay and work on further new projects in China's cruise building industry." He laughed when asked how many more cruise ships he hopes to build. "I don't put on myself a limit. There will come the day when I will have to leave it to younger people."

His contribution has not gone unnoticed. In 2025, he was awarded the Chinese Government Friendship Award, the country's highest honor for foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China's development.

For now, he is happy where he is; his wife, he said, is planning to visit Shanghai this summer. He added that if there are additional projects in the future, he would like to stay longer in Shanghai.

The Yangtze flows on, and so does the work at Waigaoqiao. On board the Adora Flora City, nearly ready to sail, Rovati is already looking ahead — to more ships, more young engineers, and a future he wants to be part of.