DEME drydocks jack-up at Damen Dunkerque

Thor at Damen Shipyards Dunkerque

JULY 6, 2016 — The DEME Group’s DP1 jack-up vessel Thor has completed a short stay at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque (DSDu), during which her hull was repainted in the new DEME livery and her thrusters inspected.

Measuring 70 m by 40 mm, the jack-up spent four days in one of the shipyard’s drydocks.

A special docking solution was required due to the size of the vessel’s aft thrusters, which are 3.825 m high while standard dock blocks are just 1.80 m high. The vessel’s 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, Damen’s 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 eleven vessels for them.”