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Feature 7 | NORTH AMERICA Busy year for Victoria yard


Victoria Shipyards was kept occupied in 2011 with a mix of commercial and naval repair and conversion jobs.


C


ruise ship work continues to be one of the mainstays of Victoria Shipyards’ business, as evidenced


by a number of projects completed over the past 12 months. Radiance of the Seas was docked for RCCL in late May and June and this included standard cleaning and painting of the underwater hull areas, surveys and overhauls of thruster units and stabilisers. Victoria Shipyards also supported three other major projects in progress on the vessel: assisting ABB with the change out of the port and starboard slewing bearings for the Azipod units, supporting upgrades to passenger spaces and the installation of the Video Wall screen on the upper deck. A 10-day drydocking of Disney Wonder,


for first time client Disney Cruises, was carried out in September. Once again, this focussed on typical underwater docking work, including survey items and the application of Ecospeed coating. Victoria Shipyards also supported a laundry renewal project by cutting an access through the hull to enable large pieces of equipment to be removed and new industrial sized washers, dryers and presses to be loaded onboard. The third cruise ship to visit in 2011


was Holland America’s Oosterdam, which spent nine days alongside Esquimalt Graving Dock’s North Wall during late September and early October. Victoria Shipyards assisted in the conduct of routine maintenance and supported the renewal of miscellaneous pipe work and the refurbishment of lifeboat davits and tenders. More recently the multi-million dollar


drydocking and refit of the Princess Cruise Lines vessel, Sapphire Princess was completed in early 2012, following a three week stay. The scope of work included regular underwater hull maintenance items for LR inspection and the provision of support to the owner during the revitalisation of the interior spaces, including the manufacture and installation of a new video screen on the outside upper deck for poolside viewing.


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that involve the pressure hull come under intense scrutiny. Welders and supervisors worked for months to ensure those requirements were fully met, as proven during the manufacture, installation and welding into position of a major pressure hull insert, with no defects reported. Another challenge has been the process


The Sapphire Princess in dock at Victoria Shipyards, while alongside is the naval frigate HMCS Calgary and two BC Ferries’ vessels.


At 289m in length, and 37.5m wide,


Sapphire Princess is the largest vessel ever to enter Esquimalt Graving Dock, leaving less than 1m of water on each side of the dock. New rolling-style fenders were installed at the entrance of the drydock and intermediate gates to provide added protection during docking and undocking operations. Other significant commercial work


carried out by the yard last year included the drydocking of the Northland Services barge Kuskokwim Trader for ABS class survey and maintenance. Victoria Shipyards completed miscellaneous steel repairs and carried out preparation and painting of the barge as part of this project. Naval support activity is another core


business at Victoria Shipyards. In this sector, work continued on the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMSC Chicoutimi, the first of four extended docking work periods (EDWP) scheduled for completion at the yard’s newly constructed submarine dock. Upwards of 230 people, including key subcontractors, are working together as multi-discipline teams on the overhaul and installation phase of the EDWP. The yard says the teams have faced and overcome many challenges and obstacles on what is a very complex and technically demanding project. One of the specific challenges


highlighted by the yard is the need to work through the myriad of qualification standards that must be met for structural welding on the pressure hull, as any inserts


of replacing the exterior hull tiles, which involves several phases, including blasting and preparing the hull, cutting and shaping tiles, and then affixing and sealing those tiles. All these steps must be done under rigid standards for profile, temperature and humidity and to date over 3000 tiles have been successfully replaced. HMCS Calgary, the first of five


Naval Frigates that will undergo major machinery and equipment repairs, system maintenance and platform upgrades at the yard over the next five years, arrived at Victoria Shipyards in early June for a 12 month Mid-Life Refit (MLR). Some of the major milestones met so far include completion of all docking items and successful undocking on November 22, 2011. All strip-out work for the engineering changes has been completed and work is progressing on installation of seating for the new combat systems equipment and running of new cables and wiring. Overall Victoria Shipyards reports it


enjoyed a very prosperous 2011 and says it looks forward to completing its busiest year ever in 2012, when confirmed work has the shipyard well booked, with an expectation of completing over 1.4 million hours of work. In addition to the continuation of on-going naval and other projects, there is another confirmed cruise booking for Holland America Line’s Zaandam, which is scheduled for October 2012. Te company was also recently awarded


the contract for a major refit on the Navy’s West Coast supply vessel, HMCS Protecteur, which is scheduled to arrive at the shipyard in early March this year, while preparations are well underway for upcoming work on the frigate HMCS Winnipeg, which is due to arrive in June. SRCT


Shiprepair and Conversion Technology 1st Quarter 2012


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