Repair potential in latest German yard changes

There has, as expected, been no word of fresh repair or conversion at Volkswerft in the wake of the still-incomprehensible insolvency of P&S Werften last year. Receivers believe, however, that new investors will soon be found and that could revive repair as well as newbuilding.

The chances are even better at Volkswerft’s more viable former repair and newbuilding partner Peene Werft in Wolgast. It is due to change hands on 1 May after being snapped up by Lürssen for under €20 million. It will now be very interesting to see what use the expanding Bremen-based mega yacht and naval ship specialist – now with seven locations – makes of the flexibility and location of its versatile new Baltic subsidiary.

Peene-Werft has extensive small ship repair as well as newbuild capability and experience, particularly in the naval sector where it has remained busy in naval ship maintenance this year. It has also worked alongside Lürssen on the building of a new Bundesmarine frigate. Whatever Lürssen does with Peene-Werft, it is likely to involve yachts. In the light of its recent expansion there is speculation the firm may now seek to establish a repair base at the eastern extremity of the German Baltic.

Lürssen earlier failed to acquire Blohm + Voss Repair in Hamburg but has meanwhile acquired a yard there after all. It took over Norderwerft, now Norderwerft Repair, and its three docks after insolvent Sietas was split up. Friedrich Lürssen stressed “we will continue to provide repairs for merchant and naval ships and want to expand this business”.

Recent callers at Norderwerft Repair included the 3,661dwt coastal tanker Koesterberg for collision repairs to her bow. Among the vessels docked for overhaul at Lürssen in Bremen was the 110m luxury yacht Dilbar, which the yard built in 2008. The yacht was docked in a 7,500t capacity, 169m x 30m former naval floating dock purchased by Lürssen early last year.

The moves of rival Abu Dhabi Mar (ADM) mirror those of Lürssen. Also into yacht and naval ship building and repair and also in expansive mood, ADM was clearly seeking a Baltic base of its own when it bid unsuccessfully for Peene. Like Lürssen its earlier bid to acquire Blohm + Voss and a Hamburg base failed. Now however ADM has acquired a new facility, in Kiel’s Friedrichsort. The take-over of the insolvent repair and newbuild yard Lindenau at the start of the year creates a three-yard ADM presence in Germany. Privinvest Holding also includes the former HDW Kiel-Gaarden yard, now ADM-Kiel, and Nobiskrug, the group’s central HQ, in Rendsburg on the Kiel Canal.

Bernd Wittorf, group head of refit and repair, told The Motorship the focus at Lindenau would be on the repair of merchant, naval and authority ships and boats while Nobiskrug would handle yachts and naval craft. “Our locations in Friedrichsort and Rendsburg will work closely together. Just where we dock a ship for maintenance will be decided in each case by dock availability at the three locations and on special local capabilities, with customer preferences also being considered”, Mr Wittorf said.

Nobiskrug earlier said the purchase of Lindenau would “strengthen the repair and service activities of the group”. It pledged ADM would “maintain and gradually expand” Lindenau’s strong points and said complementary facilities in the three yards would increase overall efficiency and flexibility. Nobiskrug said there would be joint administration and integrated management and that sounds logical given the yards are so close together, on or near the entrance to the Kiel Canal, the world’s busiest man-made waterway. Some 30,000 vessels use it every year and with Lindenau now more secure as part of a strong group, its already attractive repair potential must surely rise.

Nobiskrug marketing manager Denise Hein said Lindenau had made a “positive” start under ADM and had been “very well booked” in the early part of the year. She said the first ships in for repair or overhaul included not only smaller vessels like the 65.9m police patrol boat Eschwege, the 51.6m paddle steamer Freya, local tugs Holtenau, Kiel and Buelk and regular sailship caller the 50.2m Roald Amundsen, but also bigger merchant ships like the 127.6m, 660TEU container ship Norwave and the 178m tanker Seahawk. The 74m luxury yacht Plan B, completed just last year by ADM-Kiel and Nobiskrug, was also docked at Lindenau and was reportedly staying there until spring for inspection. Ms Hein stressed however that Lindenau dock capacity “will not be blocked by yacht refits” for Nobiskrug but said work could be carried out there when capacity was available.

Yacht work in Rendsburg of late has included the five year class survey of the 73.1m, Nobiskrug-built Siren and the return of the 73.5m Flying Fox completed last year. Reports said both yachts were staying until the spring for overhaul and modifications. At ADM-Kiel meanwhile the 130m Bundesmarine frigate Luebeck was ending a maintenance stay of more than three months in early March.

There has also been change in the ship repair sector in Bremerhaven with the creation of German Dry Docks (GDD) and with it the formalisation of existing co-operation involving three prominent repair yards. The move is seen as a step towards a restructured shipbuilding hub in Bremerhaven.

Since the start of the year repair yard Rickmers Lloyd Dockbetrieb and the Ship Technology Division of Motorenwerke Bremerhaven (MWB) have operated as GDD with a workforce of about 100. MWB’s ship drive and energy technology sectors, employing 145, continue to operate separately.

GDD boasts four docks, two each at Rickmers and MWB. It also has access to two big docks at neighbouring Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven (LWB), with which Rickmers and MWB already co-operate. All three yards are majority-owned by Dieter Petram. “Our targets are increased efficiency, more flexibility, bigger dock capacities and thus better performance at fair market prices”, said Mr Beck.

There was no word from GDD about any new repair orders at its two yards. At LWB however managing director Ruediger Pallentin told The Motorship in late February that his yard was on the verge of signing four new contracts for the spring. He said they covered the overhaul of two passenger ships, the conversion of an oil/gas special vessel and the newbuilding of a specialised offshore ship. Neither were there any technical details available about the apparently ongoing conversion at LWB of two 4,600dwt Island Offshore PSVs, reported to be Island Centurion and Island Captain.

Island Offshore, which earlier confirmed the two 93m by 20m platform supply sister vessels were being converted at LWB said simply they would “commence a seven year firm contract plus options with Schlumberger as well-stimulation vessels in 2013, and will undertake a major mobilisation prior to this”. Mr Pallentin earlier said the ships were being converted into well-services vessels and described the first conversion as a “costly and complex contract” for completion by mid 2013.

In Hamburg, life extension work on two FPSOs at Blohm + Voss Repair was going “according to plan” as The Motorship went to press, according to spokesman Michael Brasse. The 20,800dwt Petrojarl Banff will be completed about May and the 92,000dwt EnQuest Producer by about mid year. Other work was however on the horizon, Mr Brasse indicated late February. It will follow some routine jobs in the early part of the New Year.

The 90m, 5,490dwt trailing suction hopper dredger Shoalway called for routine docking and propeller work while, at the other end of the scale, the 292.2m, 179,078dwt bulker Conches came in for steel works alongside. Both ships stayed less than a week. Sneaking in at the end of a very busy December for B+V Repair, one in which three cruise ships called, was the 77,499gt P&O Cruises liner Oceana for work including thruster and stabiliser overhaul.

B+V told The Motorship that along with docking, cleaning and external hull painting, general repairs and class work, the job also included the overhaul of four thrusters as well as stabilisers and port and starboard tailshaft survey. Appropriately that British work ended the yard’s first year under its new British owner, the UK investment company Star Capital Partners (SCP).

It has also been an interesting start of year for Bremerhavener Dockbetrieb (BREDO) where a trio of Hurtigruten ferries have already undergone routine repair and overhaul.

BREDO MD Dirk Harms told The Motorship the three ships were the 11,384gt ro-pax ferry Nordnorge, the 16,151gt Midnatsol, one of the biggest in the Hurtigruten fleet, and the 11,204gt ro-pax ship Kong Harald.

Mr Harms was appointed BREDO MD at the start of January to succeed Norbert Jurczyk who is retiring this year. Mr Jurczyk was quoted as telling German media the yard was “very proud to dock the Hurtigruten ships and to win the work over stiff competition from Scandinavian rivals”.

He noted that the Norwegian ferries had to sail past some of those competitor yards to reach BREDO. “Once again we were able to convince a customer to accept a longer journey in return for reasonable costs, deadline reliability and a skilled local service network”, he is quoted as saying.

Among other ships in the dock at BREDO this year have been the 35,820dwt oil tanker Nordic Ruth for machinery overhaul and steel repairs and the 100.6m naval tender Donau which was completing a period of routine maintenance and corrosion protection work.

The repair and regular maintenance of small ferries and official workboats remains a life-giving staple for many small yards. High on the list again is Schiffswerft Diedrich which has just tackled yet another engine renewal job.

Docked between January and “at least mid March”, the yard said, was the 42.2m island ferry Langeoog 1V for annual overhaul which local reports said was costing up to €1million. The work also included the installation of two new Mitsubishi main engines of type S12A2-Z3 MPTA W-3 rated at 701kW. It was the second such job in a year and follows the installation of new Scania engines on the 32m Batrum 11 and the four month overhaul of Frisia X, which included her two Volvo Penta main engines.

In other work at Diedrich the 45.65m island ro-ro/landing craft Harle Gatt underwent extensive repairs including rudder replacement after grounding. The yard also docked a string of regular ferry customers for seasonal repair and maintenance, work covering thrusters, rudders, propellers and engines.

Class and engine work on Reederei Cassen Eils’ 68.6m excursion ship Fair Lady was being completed late April at Mützelfeldtwerft in Cuxhaven, where the ship was built.

Technical official Ralf Müller told The Motorship she had been at the yard since last September for class work including overhaul of her main engines, gearing and anchor chains as well as safety checks. He said the no-longer optimum MWM RHS 518 A auxiliaries with BBC generators on Fair Lady were being replaced with two new Sisu diesels of type 74 CTAG with Stamford generators.

Bremen steel shipbuilding facility BVT, on the site of the old Bremer Vulkan Werft, completed an unusual modification job on the 142m, 19,973m³ heavy lift ship EIT Palmina for Combi Lift. The yard modified the cargo hold to enable the transport of 108 transition pieces, each weighing 340t, and 108 mono-piles weighing up to 520t each. The project involved the design and manufacture of a unique and innovative securing system.

Combi Lift’s project director Sune Thorleifson told The Motorship: “we needed to develop a lashing/securing system without using wires or chains, and therefore we installed the grillage which is used for bolting the transition pieces… The tolerance was only 5mm, so we had a few interesting moments.” To comply with lifting limitations, a tailor-made lifting traverse was manufactured using a specially designed hydraulic lifting device.

Praising BVT, Mr Thorleifson added “we were under heavy time pressure, so a turnaround of only five days was very much appreciated”.