machinery repair
Stern view of the tail end and rudders of Pulmantur’s Zenith
A modified drydock allowed for rudder repair
I
t is almost unheard of for a yard to temporarily modify its drydock bottom to accommodate repairs to a vessel. This, however, is exactly what Gibdock did. Faced with the problem of releasing and removing the cruise ship’s twin rudders ashore with insufficient space to lower them directly to the dock bottom, the yard simply dug two holes in the drydock bottom to allow room for the rudders, then lowered them into the holes. This allowed sufficient room for the rudder neck bushes at the top of the rudder stock to be released. This unorthodox method worked, and the rudders were successfully removed and taken ashore for repair. Pullmantur Zenith arrived in Gibraltar on 7
November for work that had to be completed within tight time constraints. Despite this, she left on schedule on 20 November, en route to Brazil for its next cruise itinerary.
Richard Beards, Gibdock commercial director, commented, “Few repair yards would go to such lengths to remove a vessel’s rudders, but it shows our flexibility and willingness to do whatever is necessary to meet our customers’ requirements. ”The scope of work also included renewing
the four chiller units . To fit the new chiller units, the yard had to cut open both sides of the plating on the ship’s hull and renew almost all the associated PVC and non-PVC pipework. This had to be done to a tight timetable so that the chillers were commissioned and ready for the
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Gibdock dug two holes in a drydock bottom to allow room for the rudders on the 42,255gt, Pullmantur Zenith to be removed
arrival of passengers on board. During a survey, the tank top steel in two compartments was found to be corroded below the
latest contract. “Gibdock has proven that they are able to handle unplanned jobs in a timely manner and we were confident in their ability to deliver on time,” says Mr Sandvik. “Deviation time was also minimal.”
thickness levels allowed by Class, and Gibdock also handled the necessary steel renewal work. Repairs included opening up access in the bottom plating to facilitate the renewal and strengthening of the tank top steel to the satisfaction of class. During tank cleaning for the survey, and shortly before the arrival of the vessel in Gibraltar, the forepeak tank was found to have some old weather damage that was causing corrosion within the forepeak. The shipyard was notified and successfully renewed the corroded steel before the vessel was due to leave the dock. “We were able to float off our blocks early and maintain our schedule without difficulty,” says Jan Sandvik, Pullmantur Cruises’ technical director. “The yard was flexible in adjusting its work pattern to follow our requirements in getting the ship out of the yard on time.” Pullmantur has previously successfully docked several vessels with the yard, and this track record played a part in the yard winning this
Commenting further on the yard’s flexibility in dealing with situations during the docking, Mr Sandvik added, “I was impressed with their proactiveness in solving problems. The yard was open to the rapid changes sometimes needed when things were not going quite as predicted. They also took the time to understand what was needed and to prepare well.” Gibdock says it looks forward to continuing
its close working relationship with Pullmantur Cruises over the coming year. “Pullmantur is a repeat customer and the docking of the Pullmantur Zenith is another vote of confidence in us,” says Mr Beards. “With cruise repair facilities in Barcelona closing down we are demonstrating through projects of this type that we are more than capable of filling the gap.” A week later, Gibdock followed this up with docking
the of Thompson Destiny, owned by
Louis Cruises, which also docked for overhaul and maintenance of main engines and auxiliary machinery and equipment as well as hull painting. This was the third time the owner has docked the
vessel in Gibraltar, and repairs and refurbishment consisted of deck and engine repairs, including routine survey work for classification. MP
Marine Propulsion I February/March 2012 I 89
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