“Winter rush” keeps Lloyd Werft busy

German ship repair and conversion specialist Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, says a “winter rush” on its docks and berths is securing full employment for the shipyard as the year draws to a close.

Among vessels at the yard, or scheduled in, are the 205.46 metre long, 25,518 GT MS Albatros , scheduled to be in the Kaiserdock II for 17 days between November 30 and December 17. It will be fitted with a new bulbous bow to reduce her fuel consumption before leaving for a world cruise. Now owned by Germany’s Phoenix Reisen, the Albatros is well known to Lloyd Werft. In 1983, as the Royal Viking Sea, she was lengthened by 28 m at the yard. Besides the installation of the bulbous bow, a range of repair and maintenance work is scheduled in the time up to December 17th.

Another Phoenix Reisen ship, the 192.5 m, 28,856 gt Amadea, is set to be in the yard for 14 days, between December 4 and 17, also to prepare for a world cruise. The schedule includes the removal and re-installation of her stabilizers for work in the Lloyd workshop as well as the overhaul of her crankshaft plant and steel and coating work.

Considerably more extensive work will be undertaken on the 135.10 m, 12,449 gt Minerva, built at the T. Mariotti Shipyard in Genoa in 1996. The former Alexander von Humboldt, Explorer II and Saga Pearl arrives at Lloyd Werft on December 7 for 83 days and will change her appearance internally as well as externally. She resumes service out of Southampton on February 27, 2012 as a 382 passenger adventure cruise ship for the English travel agency All Leisure.

Arctica Adventure Cruise & Shipping Ltd is introducing a new class of cruising to the U.K. market with Minerva and is investing in greater comfort and more advanced technology.

To save fuel costs, the Minerva is getting a new double crankshaft plant including propellers during her stay in the Kaiserdock I. This change is required in order to allow the installation of a Promas integrated propeller and rudder system developed by Rolls Royce. It is installed between the double propeller and the rudder blades and is designed to optimize water flow patterns below the surface. In addition, the ship is getting a new Voith stern thruster to improve her maneuverability in confined waters. The yard is concentrating on changes above the surface but general maintenance and repair work is also being carried out on the hull below the water-line.

Deck 9 on Minerva is being made bigger and an aluminum superstructure is being added. Deck 8 is also being widened or modified to allow for 20 additional suites with balconies. A further 12 cabins are also being fitted with balconies. Also on Deck 8, Lloyd Werft shipbuilders have work to do in the stern where the deck is being lengthened to offer more space for passengers.

Additionally, the bathrooms in 150 standard cabins are being renovated and six cabins on Deck 5 are giving way to a new Beauty Center and Fitness Area. An on-board sauna is being reconstructed to create more space in the popular Shackleton Bar.

In addition to cruise sector work, Lloyd Werft, the first wind energy installation ship for RWE, is to arrive in Bremerhaven in January after a long sea journey from South Korea. The Victoria Mathias is a self-propelled 100 x 40 m offshore platform and Lloyd Werft will equip her with installations to enable her to carry out work in the RWE offshore wind farm Nordsee Ost off Helgoland.

December 5, 2011