Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2020)

The Shipyard Edition

Read this page in Pdf, Flash or Html5 edition of August 2020 Maritime Reporter Magazine

HEAVY LIFTERS the dredging of the area under the shiplift, installation of sup- Shipping is involved. port piles, the concrete for the piers and yard transfer area, and utilities. “A typical project execution with Bardex providing The Market a turnkey solution is described as follows,” said Miller. “For While the world collectively comes to grips with the ‘new this example, the civil works are completed by others. The normal’ courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic, Miller said civil works order is placed on or about the same time as the that there are a number of areas around the world that have shiplift system.” potential for future investment in shipbuilding and facilities 1. Each shipyard has a unique location, servicing ves- upgrades, some supported by government investment in the sels of various configurations and weights so the design phase form of loans, grants and military related vessel orders. starts with client specific parameters and requirements. Bar- “Bardex has been successful with shipyards expanding their dex prepares the basic system design in collaboration with the capacity to launch and repair the next generation of military client until there is agreement on the shiplift, shipyard, and vessels that are larger and heavier than their predecessors,” transfer system arrangement. The average duration for basic said Miller. “We understand this to be ongoing in the U.S., design is four months. The detail design including engineer- Australia, and South Korea amongst other countries.” ing calculations requires another four months as the client Another area ripe for growth is the megayacht repair sec- specific parameters are applied to the standard equipment de- tor. “These are the next generation of yachts that are larger sign. The piping and electrical arrangement and steel platform and heavier than SuperYachts,” said Miller. “In order for ship are usually unique to the project and so these are new designs. repair companies to compete in this market, they need larger 2. Procurement of long lead items will begin within six shiplift capacity. Even though a yard may have a drydock of months of order and about two months ahead of the conclu- sufficient capacity, yards need the ability to handle multiple sion of detail design, to save time. The total duration for the vessels at any one time. For example, during the yachting off- procurement phase is eight months, with many items being season there is a majority of yachts being repaired and main- received in advance to allow the manufacturing to commence tained. We understand there will be demand for shiplifts in the after four months of procurement. Mediterranean Sea, Florida, and the Carribean.” 3. The equipment manufacture is performed at Bardex Finally, Miller reckons that the IMO 2020 initiatives for ret- facilities in the U.S. and South Korea. Platform fabrication rofitting fuel scrubbers and ballast water treatment systems is subcontracted to a supplier in the vicinity of the yard to may lead to shipyards upgrading to a shiplift system. facilitate transporting of the platform to the site. If there is suf- ficient space at the site, the platform final welding/assembly Case Study can be performed at the site. The manufacturing phase is ap- Bardex’s was recently contacted by a returning client that proximately six months. “Therefore, the equipment and plat- wanted to increase the capacity of its shiplift so they can repair form are ready to ship 16-18 months after contract award,” larger vessels. This project was more involved than other proj- said Miller. “The client should target 16 months for comple- ects because it required the removal of all the existing system tion of the civil works to obtain the minimum project sched- including; lift equipment, structural platform, transfer system, ule. In other words, the civil works will be completed at the piping and electrical as well as building and installing replace- same time as the equipment and platform. It is also desirable ment equipment, increasing the platform capacity, reinforcing to install the piping and electrical systems prior to delivery of the piers, and supplying a control system based on the latest the equipment.” technology. The facility was commissioned in 1996 with a 4. The equipment and platform are installed followed by nominal lift capacity (NLC) of 4,300 metric tons. It consists interconnection of the piping and electrical to the equipment. of a 140m x 22m platform that features dual mode operation,

The duration for installation and commissioning (start-up) is whereby the operator may elect to use a 40 m section of the four months. Acceptance testing consists of functional, syn- lift or the entire 140 m length. The outer 40m of platform lifts chronization, and load testing of the shiplift. Witness testing the smaller vessels reducing wear on the system and energy by an independent third party can be arranged or in the case consumption. The client needed a new NLC of 4,970 metric where the lift is to be classed or certified, Lloyds Register of tons and it was important to change the dual mode configura- 44 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2020

Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.