Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 1998)

and transfer of the vessels weight to the towers.

Preparation of the towers took approximately 14 days.

The Stena contract is part of a two-ship deal, with the second ship, Stena Voyager, due to arrive at the yard this spring. In addition to drydocking surveys, Stena Voyager will undergo change-out of gas turbine power plant and water jet propulsion units during its period in drydock.

Modification work at Poland's Gdansk

Shiprepair Yard (GSY-Remontowa) continues with the two sisterships being docked from

Copenhagen-based ferry operator DFDS AS.

The first to arrive was the 21,545 grt passen- ger/car vessel Prince of Scandinavia, which is undergoing general modernization, including hull conversion and construction of additional side displacement tanks, increasing the vessel's stability. Passenger cabins are also being mod- ernized and the ferry has now been equipped with modern life saving equipment. Also included in the work are overhaul and installa- tion of new electrical air conditioning and ven- tilation systems.

General repair work includes blasting and painting, renovation of walls on car decks and main engine work.

Sistership, Princess of Scandinavia, which arrived earlier this year, is undergoing similar work, which is geared to getting the ship in spec with regulations set the Stockholm Convention and SOLAS.

While the privatization of Lithuania's

Western Ship Repair Yard continues, the yard has been busy with some 70 percent of its cur- rent turnover coming from the international market. A total of 130 ships were repaired at the yard during 1997, which is a gradual rise in the numbers over the past seven years. The competitiveness of the yard is seen with steel prices currently being offered around $2.50 to $3 per kg, and labor prices at $14 per hour.

Steel capability is about six to eight tons per day, but during the Al Messilah conversion con- tract (car carrier to livestock carrier), carried out during 1997, a figure of 11 tons per day was achieved.

The yard has already made inroads into the conversion market this year with the lengthening of a Danish general cargo vessel. The first contract for 1998 was for the conversion from a fishing trawler,

Atlantic Challenger, to a seismic survey vessel for Norwegian owners. A similar contract is also being tendered for its sis- tership, Atlantic Horizon.

U.S. boxship operator Sea-Land

Services has booked four of its ships at

Germany's Werft, Bremerhaven, one of the busiest yards in Northern Europe.

The ships involved are the 58,943 dwt

OOCL Innovation, and the 58,869 dwt

Nedlloyd Holland, Sea-Land Performance and Galveston Bay. Each repair opera- tion will take two weeks to complete.

Apart from these four ships, Sea-Land also has another five containerships due to be drydocked in Northern Europe later this year.

During 1997, China's Qingdao Beihai

Shipyard (QBS) carried out repairs to around 125 vessels, and out of this total, 85 per- cent were docked in the yard while it was seek- ing to build an 2,424.6 ft. (800 m). long berth in

Yellow Island, Qingdao. The program is expect- ed to be completed in 1999. The yard has start- ed the year well with two conversions involving the 4,007 dwt Panamanian tanker China

Seaways and a 4,089 dwt Panamanian general cargo vessel. Both ships are being converted to asphalt carriers and are owned by Kobe's

Kyowa Sansho.

Since the arrival of Aker RGI-owned |fir) Talleres Navales del Golfo, S.A. de C. V.

January 1998: Audited by Lloyd's for ISO-9002 and recommended for certification

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