USNS Able Exits A&P Tyne
A&P Tyne has completed, within budget and on schedule, the drydocking of a US Navy vessel this summer. The USNS Able - an Ocean Surveillance Vessel - arrived in Tyne on July 26 and was drydocked for 17 days in No. 4 dock at A&P's Wallsend shipyard. Various repair operations were carried out during the drydocking period including rudder repairs, underwater steel renewal and propeller blade polishing. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and ABS attended the ship during the drydocking to carry out regulatory inspections. The vessel is technically operated by Maersk Line, the attending Port Engineer, Everett Branyan, saying, after completion;
"The quality of workmanship and project control was of an excellent standard and the A&P Group will certainly be recommended to both the US Navy and my own company Maersk (A P Moller) for any future work". A&P Tyne's facilities comprise four graving docks - 216.1m x 28.9m; 173.8m x 24.4m; 170.7m x 23.2m and 149.4m x 21.3m.
