Dutch Shipyard Beats the Clock to Fix Dredger
Shipdock Harlingen repairs the 'Amazone', a De Boer Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) to meet owner's next contract deadlne.
"Occasionally a project comes along that sticks in your memory as being truly exceptional”, says Michel Heerschop, project manager at Shipdock Harlingen, referrring to the contract awarded to Shipdock Harlingen by Sliedrecht-based dredging company De Boer for dry-dock work on its TSHD Amazone.
The Amazone was scheduled for a special certification review this year and, additionally, there were many necessary maintenance jobs and modifications to be carried out. There was no room for any delays because the Amazone had to fulfil a contract for dredging operations at Sluiskil in The Netherlands, after which it had to go directly to Dunkirk in France to attend another job.
The main tasks of the initial order were: replacement of the lower hold steel plating, replacement of six bottom doors and twelve bottom door seals, replacement of parts of the tank top and renewal of the engine room bulkhead. Also the renewal of the diffuser and rock grid, and the replacement of the piping and wiring belonging to the three new installed generators were included.
As the project progressed many additional jobs came to light - primarily general steelwork; these extra tasks are usually responsible for delays in the delivery date. It becomes increasingly vital to continually coordinate all tasks and their related planning in order to keep on schedule.
The biggest hurdle was revealed when it became clear that the Amazone’s crew were ordered to also make repairs, which included renewing dredging pipes behind steel plates that had to be replaced by Shipdock personnel. These plates had to be welded, in a closely orchestrated manner in order to allow for the work on the pipelines without safety risks and delays. It was essential that the Shipdock and Amazone crews managed to work tightly together in order to get things done on time. But the mission was accomplished.
