Maintenance Program News

For Cheryl “Cherrie” Felder, the path to the maritime industry was both untraditional and seemingly meant to be. After studying African art, she began her career working in a museum in New Orleans before landing a role directing professional rodeo in the Big Easy.“It was a lot of fun, and I learned a whole lot,” Felder said. “But as you may imagine, New Orleans is not a rodeo town. After the third year, the board of directors decided, okay, that's it. No more rodeo.”And that’s when Felder’s doorway to the maritime industry swung open…

New in-depth analysis from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA)’s industry vessel inspection programmes, eCMID and eMISW, reveals ongoing concerns around technical inspections, the controlled entry into confined spaces, cyber security, as well as defects to life-saving appliances.IMCA eCMID System Annual Report 2022/23 analysed the 1,539 reports on vessel inspections undertaken and uploaded to the eCMID database between April 2022 and April 2023, finding common themes of concern.Of the 761 eCMID inspections…

Alka Marine and Acta Marine have teamed up within a joint venture (JV) to purchase a Damen Multicat 2712, operated by Alka Marine.The JV company called Alka Marine International, is incorporated under the French law and registered in Saint Nazaire. The vessel is named Coastal Aurora.Built in 2014, the 27-meter-long vessel is adapted to offshore wind support operations, including anchoring works, subsea structure maintenance, among others. With its 2 x 9.8-ton cranes at 16.5-meter, and a 150-ton winch, the Coastal Aurora has a bollard pull of 34 tons and has a 150-square-meter deck space.

Bahamas-based ship-management group Campbell Shipping has extended its relationship with mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat with an agreement that adds Fleet Care and Fleet Secure Endpoint to its existing 12-vessel Fleet Xpress solution. Campbell Shipping will now be able to carry out remote maintenance, support and repairs, and comprehensive network protection, on top of fast, reliable and extensive global coverage already provided by Fleet Xpress.These performance…

Unsecured openings in the deck of a towing vessel led to its flooding and sinking off the coast of Puerto Rico, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.The agency's latest marine investigation report details the NTSB’s investigation into the December 24, 2020, flooding and sinking of the towing vessel Proassist III near Puerto Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. The towing vessel was transiting northbound off the coast of Puerto Rico when its stern compartments began flooding. The three crewmembers on board were unable to pump out the water and eventually abandoned the vessel.

British oil major BP has filed a decommissioning plan for the removal of the Petrojarl Foinaven FPSO and the recovery of associated mooring systems, the risers and dynamic umbilicals from the Foinaven Field, located 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Shetland in water depths of up to 600 meters.The FPSO and related equipment will be transferred onshore for re-use, recycling or disposal as appropriate. BP last year said that the Petrojarl Foinaven FPSO had to be taken off-station as it had reached end of its 25-year service life, operating in a harsh environment, and now the company has filed the removal plans with the UK authorities.The FPSO is owned by Petrojarl 4 DA (part of the Teekay Corporation group) and is currently chartered by BP under a bareboat charter party.

Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC has delivered a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) to SEMAR (Secretaria de Marina) at the Port of Veracruz in Mexico. The Bahia San Carlos dredger, of the n Easydredge 2700 type, was built from stock at the Krimpen aan de IJssel and Kinderdijk shipyards in the Netherlands. Being built from the stock program allowed Royal IHC to comply with SEMAR’s request for an ultra-short delivery time, the Dutch company said.Following successful sea trials in the North Sea in October…

Since the beginning of May, Royal IHC has been busy replacing the propulsion gearbox mountings on the HNLMS De Ruyter. This work is part of a maintenance program for the Air Defense and Command Frigates (LCF). Royal IHC will replace the mountings on all four LCF-frigates for the Royal Netherlands Navy.Annemieke Selbach, Head of Purchasing at the Royal Netherlands Navy, said, “Royal IHC has taken on an enormously challenging project in the replacement of the mountings on the frigates.

Damen Shiprepair and Conversion (DSC) said it is wrapping up a ship repair and maintenance program involving seven vessels owned by French shipping and logistics giant CMA CGM. The projects took place at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam (DSAm) in the Netherlands and Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque (DSDu) in France, with the last vessel scheduled to leave DSDu later this monthIn a continuous operation running between June and August, DSAm performed back-to-back maintenance and repair works on CMA CGM Cayenne, CMA CGM Saint Laurent and CMA CGM Marseille – identical 190 meter, 2,100 TEU containerships.

German propulsion systems manufacturer Schottel says it has secured a contract with Turkish shipyard Med Marine to provide azimuth thrusters for a powerful new salvage tug ordered by Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). The vessel will be equipped with main and auxiliary propulsion systems from Schottel, achieving a bollard pull of more than 120 tonnes. The Robert Allan RAstar 4200 (MED-A42120) design vessel is considered the largest tugboat on the East African Coast of the Indian Ocean.Recai Hakan Şen…

Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,300-acre multimodal global logistics center in Baltimore, Md., said its dry dock will return to service this week after last being used in 2017. BAE Systems’ Titan dry dock departed is scheduled to arrive in Baltimore and dock at Tradepoint Atlantic’s onsite dry dock to undergo a five-month-long repair and maintenance program starting Thursday.Used in Norfolk, Va. for servicing ships as long as 1,000 feet, BAE Systems' massive Titan dry dock has a 52,534-ton lifting capacity and is one of the world’s largest and most modern floating steel dry docks.

Turkish tugboat builder, towage and pilotage operator Med Marine said it has signed a deal with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to build and deliver a new 42-meter tugboat for the Port of Mombasa.The vessel is scheduled to enter service in East Africa’s largest port in 2021 as part of the KPA’s equipment modernization and maintenance program aiming to enhance efficiency at the port.The vessel design is from the RAstar ASD tug series by Canada’s Robert Allan Ltd. The new RAstar 4200 with a bollard pull of 120 metric tons, ranking it among the most powerful tugs Robert Allan Ltd.

The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in New York Monday to support COVID-19 response efforts in the epicenter of America's coronavirus outbreak.The ship will serve as a referral hospital for non-coronavirus patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals, and will provide a full spectrum of medical care to include general surgeries, critical care and ward care for adults. This will allow local health professionals to focus on treating COVID-19 patients…

Royston completed work to overhaul a high-speed diesel engine on a Pritchard Gordon Tanker.Engineers undertook the 51,000 running hour service on the No.2 generator onboard the 127m length Henrietta PG in Trinidad as part of a planned refurbishment and maintenance program. The Henrietta PG is one of 10 purpose built shallow draft, double hull tankers from 6,200 dwt to 10,600 dwt in the Pritchard Gordon Tankers’ fleet. The company specializes in the transportation of crude oil…

Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, has successfully launched its first offshore pipeline integrity management system (PIMS) in the Iranian oil industry.According to IOOC, the system was launched in order to comply with international and national requirements for the standard, safe and continuous operation of the Salman Oilfield’s gas pipelines with a Norwegian company and the Pipeline Technology Company.The project is dubbed as the first of such projects in the Iranian offshore oil industry, said a report in Iran News.A Pipelines Management System (PMS) provides a clear process, with tasks and responsibilities…

Damen Shipyards Den Helder is preparing Clipper vessel to undertake world tour promotion of UN Sustainable Development Goals.On 28th October, the iconic Clipper Stad Amsterdam arrived early in Den Helder in sunny weather, after a calm voyage from Amsterdam. After watching her arrival, invited guests were given a tour of the vessel by Captain Moritz Kuhlenbäumer, who provided details of the vessel’s forthcoming maintenance program in Den Helder’s historic Willemsoord harbour.The maintenance will prepare Stad Amsterdam for her green ambassadorial role, during which she will sail to seventeen destinations around the world promoting the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals.During the five-month maintenance program…

New work to overhaul engines on an offshore support vessel (OSV) operated by United Offshore Support (UOS), has been completed by Royston.Engineers undertook the 30,000 running hour service on the main propulsion engines onboard the GH Challenger, as part of an extensive refurbishment and maintenance program of critical power plants.The 2009-built, 80m length, 3000 tonne-vessel, which is part of a 11-strong fleet, currently operates in the Caribbean Sea, where it’s supporting…

On July 18, 2019, a press conference was held at the Willemsoord historic harbor in Den Helder. The subject of the meeting was the mid-life maintenance program of the Clipper Stad Amsterdam, scheduled to take place in Den Helder in late 2019 and early 2020.During the maintenance program, Damen Shipyards Den Helder will carry out a scope of work in the former naval dockyard Willemsoord that will increase the efficiency and sustainability of the Damen-built vessel, preparing her…

Power specialist Royston has completed an extensive overhaul of diesel engines on a Britannia Aggregates’ owned and operated dredger, which extracts sand and gravel from the seabed.Engineers undertook the service work onboard the 100m, 3,610 gross tonnage Britannia Beaver, as part of a comprehensive refurbishment and maintenance program of essential power systems.The 1991 built A class dredger, which operates around the south-east coast of the UK, delivers aggregates to Brett-owned wharves around the South East of England…

The evidence and industry subject matter experts both say ‘yes.’In its recently released SAFER SEAS DIGEST, Lessons Learned from Marine Accident Investigations (2017), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports investigating numerous accidents across all modes of transportation where a properly implemented safety management system (SMS) could have prevented injuries, loss of life, or material damage. That document spans analysis of casualties across the full spectrum of all manners of marine craft, blue water and brown, foreign and domestic.Different authorities and subject matter experts (SME) differ on how they might explain a SMS, but it all adds up to one thing. But, what is a Safety Management System?

One of the world's most advanced diving support vessels has undergone a comprehensive power plant refurbishment and maintenance program.Engineers undertook the 30,000 running hour major service on the generator engines on board the 140-meter-long Subsea 7 Seven Atlantic, said power specialist Royston who completed the diesel engines overhaul.The work by Royston saw the Wartsila W7L32 diesel generator No.5 disassembled to install new cylinder heads, air start valves, indicator cocks, injectors and cylinder seals.

New engineering work involving the overhaul of diesel engines on the offshore construction and dive support vessel (DSV) Rever Polaris, has been completed by power specialist Royston.Engineers undertook the DG1 and DG3 24,000 and DG4 36,000 running hours service on the generator engines on board the 113-meter-long vessel at A&P Tyne’s facilities in the North East of England, as part of a comprehensive refurbishment and maintenance program of critical power units.The 1999-built Polaris is part of Rever Offshore’s fleet consisting of specialist offshore support vessels (OSV)…

Diesel electric propulsion is a concept that uses an electrical power generation plant to deliver power to the propulsion unit. Case studies show reductions in fuel and maintenance costs with such systems. Those improvements can be further enhanced by the addition of an energy storage system to the vessel.This case study provides a cost benefit analysis of an energy storage system for a vessel owner using a real-world operational profile and case study. It is not a deep dive into all of the aspects and details of an energy storage system.