Wilhelmsen Ships Service has assisted with a major vessel-onto-vessel loading operation, that of the transfer of the Oslo-Nesodden ferry, the Prinsen, onto the Beluga Foundation, a 456 ft long heavy lift cargo vessel.
On 26 September the Prinsen fast ferry, which has been running between Nesodden and central Oslo for the last 14 years, was transferred onto the Beluga Foundation to be transported to its new home in Abu Dhabi. The unusual assignment was undertaken by Wilhelmsen Ships Service’s project logistics team.
Several days were spent together with Beluga’s cargo superintendent in planning the operations before the ferry could be moved. Wilhelmsen Ships Service contacted teams of carpenters, welders, stevedores and divers to prepare the ground for the actual loading. After checking the original drawings from the builders, Fjellstrand AS, the best positions for locating the slings under the boat were chosen. The divers examined the underneath of the ferry on the day before the lift to ensure that all corresponded to the drawings.
“On the day, everything went very well,” said Leif T. Kongshaug, the Wilhelmsen Ships Service the project manager responsible for liaising with the Beluga cargo officer. “The divers were able to place the slings at the strongest points, and the ship used its own cranes to position the ferry on board. The boat fitted perfectly onto the wooden cradle on the deck – a credit to the skills of the team of specialist carpenters who constructed it. We were pleased to find that there were strong lashing points along the gunwale, although these did not appear on the Prinsen’s original plans.”
The Prinsen ferry was formerly operated by the Nesodden-Bundefjord Dampskipsselskap AS. She will be used in Abu Dhabi as a personnel supply vessel operating between oil rigs in the Arabian Gulf.
Wilhelmsen Ships Service supplies Unitor marine products, technical services, ships agency services and maritime logistics.
(www.wilhelmsen.com/shipsservice)