Busy time for A&P’s UK drydocks

One of the first of these involved the 2001 built 30,277gt P&O Cruise’s cruiseship Adonia for unscheduled repairs in dry dock. With just four days to carry out the essential work, the yard says it worked round the clock to complete the job a day ahead of schedule.

The 2009 built Seajacks Kraken, a self-propelled jack-up vessel purpose built for installing and maintaining offshore wind turbines,returned to Falmouth in October 2011 for 100tonne blade rack removal and installation of an 80tonne helideck. The blade rack was removed over a four-day period and the helideck lifted into place and welded in position in two days.

Repairs were carried out on the 1998-built 3,511m3 LPG tanker Lady Martine, operated by Star Management Associates in Japan, with full chemist approval and without costly and time-consuming gas freeing operation. Falmouth claims to be one of the few ports in Europe that can offer this service. Work included hull steelwork repairs, auxiliary boiler repairs, mooring winch repairs, cropping and re-tubing, pipe repairs, exhaust gas economiser overhaul and six-bunker tank alarm cabling.

Three vessels owned by Star Reefers, Star Stratos, Star Best and Star Prima, had maintenance carried out during the first few weeks of 2012 including class survey items, rudder and tail shaft clearances, lifeboat testing, paint work and steel repairs.

The RFA landing ship dock vessel Cardigan Bay has been in Falmouth since August 2011 for a five-yearly major refit. Work included upgrade and re-routing of the exhaust system, a full overhaul of three main engines, a full paint job, all decks blasted and coated and removing, overhauling and refitting of both azimuth thrusters.

P&O’s 49,000gt ferry Spirit of Britain, which entered service in June 2010, was in Falmouth over the new year period for maintenance. Work included fresh water tank inserts, the replacement of boiler valves, various pipe repairs and re-rubbering various shell openings. Two other P&O ferries, Pride of Kent and Pride of Calais, are in dock at the end of February and early March for annual docking periods, refits and class surveys.

Busy too at Tyne and Tees yards

A&P reports that a busy period has begun for A&P Tyne with the return visit of the 175m P&O ferry Pride of York, the second ship of a three-ship deal with P&O Ferries secured by the yard for 2012.

While in drydock, Pride of York underwent essential underwater work along with general regulatory annual inspections, repairs to the ships mooring equipment, repairs to the stern ramp and internal ramp system and various other repairs on the 1987-delivered ship. The third vessel, and by far the biggest contract of the three, is the Pride of Bruges which was scheduled to dock on 20 February and stay through to 10 March.

Between the two P&O ferry dockings, the Subsea 7 owned OSV Rockwater 1 was drydocked to have the existing paint coatings removed from the underwater hull and a new paint system applied in addition to other work.

As 2011 drew to a close, A&P Tees yard saw the final Cemex contract for the year completed successfully and on time with the vessel departing for sea prior to the Christmas break.

In January, Hanson Aggregate Marine’s Arco Avon and Arco Humber underwent maintenance while the Tees yard also saw the arrival of the Global Marine’s barge Cable Enterprise which will be alongside for about 60 days while she is mobilised with a newly fabricated deckspread and associated cable reels. PD Ports’s dredger Heortness and Svitzer’s tug Keelby also entered dock for emergency repairs in the period and James Fisher’s tanker Superioirty entered dock for a 12 day repair stop.

During February, work on the Cable Enterprise continued in full swing, along with the Superiority project which, once completed, will be closely followed by a second James Fisher vessel, Asperity. Tees received its third Hanson vessel of the year, the Arco Arun and currently has provisional bookings for three vessels from Gulf Offshore and the return of Marine Scotland’s Scotia.