Variety in German ship maintenance sector

The 81.8m long and 14.8m wide Russian seismic ship Akademik Lazarevwas docked at Bremerhavener Dockbetrieb (BREDO), reportedly until May. MJ understands the scope of repairs and additional work was still under negotiation as late as March. The 2,833 gt ship is one of four seismic ships with the SMNG Institute in Murmansk. It was towed to Bremerhaven after extensive fire damage off Norway last October.

Fellow SMNG seismic ship, the 83.5m long Akademik Shatskiy, was also in Bremerhaven, moored in the vicinity of Akademik Lazarev. Reports said it was also there for repair, but no details were immediately available.

On Sylt, ferry operator Reederei Adler Schiffe put its entire fleet into yards in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein between November last year and March for pre-season technical maintenance. That’s no mean feat considering Adler has 22 ferries ranging in size from 13.5m to 68.4m.

The owner said the work cost a total €2.5m and said €1.75m alone had been spent on technical upgrades to its high speed 41.9m flagship Adler Expressover the past three years. It also said it had installed passenger feedback terminals on five of its ferries.

The German sea rescue service DGzRS finished a three month overhaul of the 8.5m sea rescue boat Stralsundat its yard in Bremen, installing new equipment including a modern navigation system, radar and chart plotter.

Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder repaired what was described as extensive damage to the 25.2m SWATH pilot tender Duhnen. Bent plates were replaced and welded after the tender was pressed against the side of the container ship Ever Strong in bad weather in the Elbe Estuary.

Another container ship, the 135m feeder Bianca Rambow, was at Hamburg’s Norderwerft for repairs. Reports said its MaK 9M43 8400 kW main engine exploded in Hamina and that Caterpiller in Rostock was delivering a replacement by about the end of May.

Norderwerft was also reportedly expecting the 83.5m Navy fleet service ship Alster inmid-April for three months of general overhaul.

Elsewhere, the former 38m long German customs boat Bremerhavenhas been converted into a 24 hour ROV support and hydrographic workboat for new Danish owners CT Offshore in Odense and renamed Sander 2. Reports said it was chosen for the conversion, which apparently took place at a Danish yard, because of its robust construction.

Sander 2 is driven by three MWM TBD 604 V12 diesels and has three auxiliary engines from Cummings, Deutz and Volvo. It boasts a 70kW Jastram forward thruster two 250kW Schottel pump jets.

By Tom Todd