Yard Turns Out New Ship for Old
A 36 year old German river passenger vessel has been restored to much of its former glory and modernised during conversion which has seen the retention of its Detroit Diesel engines and much other original machinery.
The 42.7m long and 8.06m wide Stadt Basel was acquired in Switzerland last year by the Werft und Servicezentrum Mittelrhein (WSM ) in Remagen after serving in the Basle river fleet since 1970. WSM sold it on to local river excursion and events firm Zonser Personenschiffahrt, which had it seems long been seeking just such a vessel.
Stadt Basel was then completely modernised, with WSM also carrying out overhaul and small repairs prior to service mainly for special events under her new name Sunrise.
The ship now carries up to 400 passengers and draws 1.5 m. Built by German shipbuilders Gebruder Schloemer in Oldersum, it is driven by two Detroit Diesels of 250kW (340HP).
Yard spokeswoman Betty Vogel told MJ, ‘At the request of the new owners, the main engine and technical plant have been retained in their original 1970 condition for the time being because they are all well maintained and in good running order.’ The external appearance of the ship, however, has been changed by the conversion of the old upper deck salon into a sun deck with elegant stainless steel railings and bronze tinted safety glazing. The ship also has a new interior decor, ‘designed to reflect her original nostalgic charm’ and the galley was completely renovated.
Parallel to Sunrise, WSM has handed over the last three of six 29.5m inland passenger vessels to Reederei Riedel in Berlin.
Spree-Blick 1 and Spree-Blick 11 are 7m wide and carry 120 passengers each. They are driven by 126 kW Volvo diesels and have retractable sunroofs. The third vessel is a floating cafe with no engine of its own.
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