Decking overhaul
River cruise operator, Viking Cruises, is taking full advantage of an annual deck maintenance programme offered by the Dutch company, Bolidt Synthetic Products & Systems.
A total of 32 vessels – more than half of the Viking Cruises fleet – will have their decking cleaned and renewed at various European ports this winter, with the majority, (18 vessels) being refurbished in Cologne.
Nine more will be refurbished in Vienna, while the remaining five vessels will have work carried out in the French ports of Bordeaux and Rouen, or Mainz and Duisburg in Germany, depending on their cruising itineraries. Bolidt’s own application teams, supported from the company’s main operational base in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht in the Netherlands, have been deployed to all of these locations to carry out the required refurbishment work.
Jacco van Overbeek, director of Bolidt’s Maritime Division, said: “The Viking river cruise vessels are designed for pleasure cruising and there is limited space onboard for cleaning equipment. The crew is also fully occupied with other duties during regular voyages. Consequently, deck cleaning and maintenance is carried out as an intensive programme over the winter, after which the decks look as good as new.”
All of Viking’s river cruise vessels feature extensive decking areas covered by the environmentally-friendly Bolideck Future Teak decking material.
By Jake Frith
