Ferry work keeps Diedrich on top
The repair and maintenance of East Frisian island ferries for regular local customers has been high on the list of works keeping the small German shipyard Diedrich Schiffswerft busy into the spring.
There have been some familiar boats among those in for out-of-season work at the usually well-booked yard on the River Ems inland from the North Sea port of Emden. The latest callers have come not only for routine spruce-ups, but also for important, often class-related, propeller, shaft and rudder inspection and overhaul.
One unusual caller, however, has been the 32.6m workboat Seelöwe up to late March for the installation of a new on-board crane and foundations for owners Lower Saxony Ports. Another unusual visitor was the wind farm tender AHTO-15 which came for work on its bow fenders for owners Baltic Workboats in Estonia.
More familiar customers include the 42.2m x 10m ferry Langeoog IV, owned by the island of Langeoog and built at Diedrich 36 years ago. It spent nearly three weeks at the yard for overhaul including bow thruster, propeller, crankshaft and high-performance rudder inspection as well as nautical equipment checks. The ferry’s Fogtec fire protection plant was also overhauled and hull conservation work carried out prior to DNV-GL survey and sign-off.
Three years ago Diedrich carried out the re-engining of the Langeoog IV which lasted more than three months and involved new engines and the conversion of affected areas.
The work reportedly cost about €1.1 million and involved the replacement of Langeoog IV’s old MWM Diesels – a TBD 602 V 12S and a TBD 602 V 12K of total 1068kW – with two Mitsubishi S12A2-Z3 MPTA W-3 engines each of 701kW. Gearing, muffler and auxiliary replacement work was also undertaken at the same time. Some years prior to that, Diedrich carried out similar re-engining on sister ship Langeoog III installing the same Mitsubishi engines.
Four other island ferries docked at the yard into the spring. Two belong to regular customer AG Reederei Norden Frisia on the island of Norderney.
The 32m x 7.3m Frisia XI came for two weeks of repair and maintenance as well as “diverse inspection work” and for class renewal survey by DNV-GL, Diedrich reported. The owner’s big 61.3m long and 12m wide Frisia V, which carries 1350 passengers, also called for nine days. It got new underwater coating and checks on its Schottel propeller unit and its bow thruster plant as well as DNV-GL inspection.
Finally, the 38.8m x 7.2m ferry Wappen von Borkum belonging to AG Ems also called for routine repairs and for much the same class-renewal related machinery and equipment inspection. And the small 23.4 x 7.7m locally owned ferry Ditzum came for its own repair and overhaul checkup.
By Tom Todd
