Dales Marine complete Lord of the Isles
Dales Marine Services has successfully completed a £ 300,000 contract at its Aberdeen facility for general annual maintenance and other work on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, Lord of the Isles, which operates on Scotland’ s west coast.
The vessel was drydocked for 12 days and alongside for six, with the scope of work including general maintenance, blasting the underwater area of the hull using new UHP water jet technology; tailshafts and rudders removed for a new survey and new seals fitted, and the lounge bar and shop refitted, with joinery and carpets the main work. All works were completed on schedule and to budget.The
Lord of the Isles
, which operates out of Oban, was the second Caledonian MacBrayne ferry drydocked with Dales Marine this year and the eighth on which the company has worked in four years since taking over the Aberdeen facility.
The ferry was followed into the dry dock an hour later by the oil industry vessel Great Ship Dipti for Indian owners Great Offshore.
Michael Milne, Dales Marine director and general manager said, ‘With ferry operators seeking to have vessels out of service for as short a period as possible, our 24 hour operation, skilled workforce of around 100 and the largest privately owned dry dock in Scotland provide the ideal combination for this kind of contract.
‘Ferries are just one example of the wide range of ships handled and make a valuable contribution to workload and turnover. We have an excellent relationship with Calmac Ferries, whose superintendents are very proactive in their approach.’
The UHP jetting, using a sub contractor, was a first for Dales Marine, with recycling of waste water making it very cost effective. The method will be used on another two vessels soon.
Dales Marine is currently operating around the clock and has bookings for the drydock as far ahead as the middle of next year.
