Crankshaft replaced right on schedule

The work included changing the aft section, weighing 110tons, of a two-part crankshaft from an eight-cylinder two-stroke low speed engine of the Sulzer RTA 84 type. The main frame, weighing 400tons, had to be lifted to a height of 4m by means of hydraulic jacks, and then the aft part of the crankshaft was lifted and removed outside the engine room into the aft hold by means of skidding. The procedure was reversed to fit the new replacement crankshaft.

Wetering says that the job took five months in all, and the ship was handed back to her owners after sea trials exactly to schedule.