Damen Completes Thor Facelift

The DP1 jack-up vessel Thor owned by the DEME Group has completed a short stay at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque (DSDu). During her time at the yard her hull was repainted in the new DEME livery and her thrusters inspected.

Measuring 70 metres by 40 metres, she spent four days in one of the yard’s drydocks. A special docking solution was required due to the size of her aft thrusters, which are 3.825 metres high. Standard dock blocks are just 1.80 metres. Fortunately, her design supplied the answer as well as the problem, and her four legs were used to maintain the hull at the height required to keep the thrusters clear of the dock bed while the inspection was conducted. In order to spread the considerable load of each leg, wooden platforms were positioned beneath them to ensure that no damage was done to the dock. Following the successful completion of the assignment, Thor departed for Antwerp.

Carlos de Vliegere, Sales Manager for Belgium, commented: “Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has an excellent relationship with the DEME Group. During 2014 and 2015 we drydocked and repaired 11 vessels for them.”

DSC’s ability to react quickly and deliver fast turnarounds with short lead times is valued by the client, as is the quality of the work. Additional projects that DSC has undertaken in the current year for DEME include a thorough maintenance, repair and survey programme in the spring for the 20,000 tonne fallpipe vessel Flintstone, at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam.

“At Damen we do our utmost best to continue and strengthen our relationship with the DEME group,” added Carlos de Vliegere. “We look forward to receiving the next vessel for drydocking and maintenance at one of our yards.”