Wide spectrum of work at German repair yards

The B+V had had, at one point, six ships docked simultaneously in Hamburg. Yard spokesman Michael Brasse told The Motorship “all the docks are full!”.

That was in late April and the line-up he was referring to was not exclusively passenger ships. It also included the 33,500 dwt CMA CMG Brasilia, an indication that B+V is still attracting big boxship and merchant vessel repair despite its imminent change of ownership.

Among the other ships docked or booked in April and May was the 91,000 gt Celebrity Constellation, in the giant Dock 17 for two weeks of stabiliser and bow thruster overhaul and interior furnishings renovation.

She is new to B+V but regulars continue to provide staple work for the yard, the surest indication there is of client satisfaction. The 24,344 gt cruise ship Braemar was in Dock 10 for boiler cleaning, main engine work, stabiliser and bow thruster overhaul and external coating. Another regular was the 43,537 gt cruise ship Balmoral, also in Dock 10 for 10 days of general class and main engine work and overhaul of stabilisers and bow thrusters as well as interior furnishing renovation work.

The 74,500 gt passenger/cruise ship Color Fantasy spent nine days in Dock 11 for general class work and minor rudder repairs. Sister Color Magic was due as The Motorship went to press. Both are regulars.

So too, now, is the 16,144 gt cruise ship Athena which left early May after a week of outer hull and coating improvements as well as general class work. She called last year as well.

Blohm + Voss meanwhile remains in what Michael Brasse described as the “quiet period” of its sale to Abu Dhabi Mar with the deal due for closure in June.

Abu Dhabi Mar is emerging as one of the biggest new players on the German shipbuilding scene. It will not only have an 80% majority holding in B + V, including the repair and conversion sector, but it has also been revealed that it has now also acquired a majority holding in HDW in Kiel. It already owns Nobiskrug Shipyard in Rendsburg.

B + V’s Brasse told The Motorship “probably not a great deal will change – we simply have to wait and see”. However, already B + V Repair’s fine line-up of visitors this year is indication enough of continuing client satisfaction. Hopefully the new owners will do nothing to shake that confidence.

Wide range of work

Not only winter but also the recession appears to have loosened its grip on German shipyards because a wide range of refurbishment and other work has been carried out in the first half of the year.

Late May Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven (LWB) was delivering the 21,000 gt cruise ship Astor to Premicon. Work included the modernisation of 247 cabins and the installation of new suites and balconies as well as the revamping of public areas, including bars, restaurants and the fitness sector. The ship was also getting a fuel-saving silicon coating, a new main engine crankshaft and general repairs and maintenance.

The 12,331 gt cruise ship Alexander von Humboldt left in May after nearly two months at LWB. Work included a new bulbous bow and bulwark, three new watertight shell doors, interior modifications, major tank repairs which included blasting and painting, a range of machinery repairs and the removal and overhaul of one of her bow thruster units.

LWB completed extensive scheduled work on the 44,588 gt Artemis for P&O Cruises. Hull painting below and top of waterline was added to the schedule as well as the steel and pipe repairs, propulsion plant, stabiliser and bow thruster maintenance reported earlier.

Finally, in an indication of some confidence in the future of repair, LWB invested in the extensive renovation of its 25-year-old Floating Dock 111. Steel plates were renewed and hull conservation and painting carried out on the 286m long and 38m wide facility, which is capable of lifting 35,000 tons. The dock overhaul was completed in March.

Recent work at busy LWB neighbour and subsidiary Rickmers-Lloyd Dockbetrieb included the repair and overhaul of the two tugs Fairplay IX and Fairplay XVII. The latter came for repair of damage sustained in a collision with a Hapag-Lloyd container ship in Antwerp while the former called for routine overhaul.

The yard reported it had its “hands full” earlier with 10 ships in for repair at the same time at one point in March. The berths were “fuller than for a long time” said MD Uwe Beck.

He listed the Russian oceanographic vessel Akademik Mstilav Keldysh, DS Blue Ocean, Deltagas, Norrvik, the barge HH 201, the tugs RT Rob and Spüler Hunte, the 1620 TEU container ship Reinbek, the first ship to call in LWB’s renovated dock, and the barges HH 52 and HH 53.

Beck acknowledged that such a workload could only be tackled in co-operation with LWB. He said because of its partner firms, Bremerhaven was a unique location. “It’s an important reason why the economic recession has so far not hit the repair sector as hard as it has other sectors”, he said.

At Volkswerft in Stralsund until June for maintenance and repair was Germany’s biggest SWATH ship, the 72m long and 27.2m wide NATO naval research testing vessel Planet. It was her third visit since she went into operation in 2005. Work included underwater twin hull inspection.

Elsflether Werft carried out class work and underwater painting on the 90m long training sail ship Gorch Fock – the second extensive yard visit for the three-masted old-timer in ten years. This time all the sails and rigging were checked and replaced where necessary.

The SEC Ship Service repair yard in Leer, which operates on the site of the former Jansen Werft, reported good business as it carried out extensive overhaul and class work on the 74m long coaster Emsriff and made ready the passenger ferry Seehund for new local service.

Bredo in Bremerhaven tackled urgent below-water repairs on the 50m Weser ferry Kleinensiel. The yard also overhauled the 62 year old 51.4m museum fire ship Elbe 1 and carried out routine overhaul and class work on the 33 knot Heligoland catamaran ferry Halunder Jet. The job lasted two weeks. Another Heligoland ferry, Lady of Büsum, spent five days in the hall at the Neue Jadewerft in Wilhelmshaven for overhaul and conservation

HDR – Husumer Dock und Reparatur – completed the extensive refit and conversion of the ferry veteran Spiekeroog 1V. Along with new interiors and a bow ramp, the ship’s two MWM-TBD 601-6K diesels, each of 285 kW and developing 10 knots, were overhauled. So too were her two MWM D226-4 generators each of 32kW, her MWM D232 V8, 129 kW auxiliary diesel and her Jastram BU 02 F transverse bow thruster. The hull was sandblasted and repainted.

Finally the inland Meidericher Schiffswerft completed the refit of the 50m mega yacht Anedigmi with the Duisburg branch of MTU carrying out a check of the ship’s two, MTU 1700 hp main engines.

An electronic anti-fouling system was installed on two underwater systems, work was carried out on pipes and fittings, pumps were overhauled, a re-mineralisation plant was built and installed and the entire Evac engine room pipe work system was replaced. Almost all the lighting in the guest and crew areas of the ship was replaced and bridge navigational equipment and safety gear was overhauled, the yard told The Motorship.

Winter hits small yards

Some of Germany’s small ship repair facilities have reported improved dock usage in the wake of a heavy winter which prevented some repair vessels from reaching facilities and others from leaving.

At one point this spring East Frisia’s Diedrich Werft was reporting work under way simultaneously on six ferries or island supply vessels as local ferry operators appeared to be catching up on annual overhaul, repair, conversion or class work after the severe winter.

The 32m island ferry Frisia X was in for repairs, maintenance and class work along with hull conservation. Baltrum 111, also of 32m, called for the same annual seasonal work. The 29.5m ferry Spiekeroog 111 got a new Diesel and main switchboard as well as outer hull conservation and also underwent class work, annual repairs and maintenance. The bigger 42.4m ferry Spiekeroog 1 underwent engine and hydraulic crane work and underwater hull conservation for class renewal. She also got improved deck and floor coverings.

As well as annual repairs, maintenance, conservation and new class work, the 31m Langeoog 1 also underwent saloon renovation carried out by Reuter Innenausbau and parts of the deck were covered.

The 42.2m Langeoog 1V , which carries 800 passengers, underwent diverse repairs and her passenger area was renovated and partially converted to provide new washroom and other facilities. Her owner reportedly invested about 800,000€ in the work. Similar conversion was undertaken early this year on sister ship Langeoog 111.

Some other small North German ship and boatyards have also felt the benefits or otherwise of the severe winter.

The small SSB Oortkaten shipyard near Hamburg, best-known for its ferry newbuildings for Hadag in Hamburg, reported full capacity at one point with seven vessels in the yard.

They included the inland tanker ship Asterode for repair, the Hadag ships Wilhelmsburg, Finkenwerder and Nala, all for general overhaul. Wilhelmsburg also needed a prop change after the existing unit was ruined by ice in Hamburg. Other recent repair and conversion customers included Alster Touristik’s Schleusenwaerter and ATG’s first zero emission ship Alsterwasser.