By
Rebecca Gibson |
Saga Cruises’ Saga Sapphire has resumed service following a 19-day drydock at the Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam yard.
Taking place in the yard’s biggest dry dock, the refit project included an overhaul of the ship’s lifeboats and their davits, as well as general repair work to the deck steel work, piping, electrical and hydraulic systems.
Damen also replaced the vessel’s two sewage plants and grey water systems, which involved the team going through the hull and engine room bulkhead. The fresh water tanks were also blasted and repainted.
During this phase of the project, Damen provided a drinking water supply from shore and grey water disposal facilities to ensure it could cater for the 425 crew and Saga Cruises’ sub-contractors who stayed onboard the ship throughout the refit.
“We broke the whole project down into a step-by-step programme and the team was headed by four project leaders, each with his own area of responsibility,” said Paul Ippel, area sales manager and project manager at Damen Shiprepair & Conversion. “On a big project like this, comprising 224 planned items that included more than 600 separate tasks, efficient communication is of the essence. “It goes without saying that this includes good communication with the client. It was a complicated and challenging job but it is great to see another cruise ship repair project finished on schedule.”
While in Rotterdam, the ship also underwent a scheduled DNV-GL class survey, which included an inspection of the 12-metre propeller axle.
Saga Sapphire left the yard on 19 December to begin a Christmas cruise from the UK port of Dover to the Canary Islands.
This contract is the latest in a series of back-to-back cruise ship repair projects at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam, including a refit of MSC Cruises’ MS Magnifica.
“Considering the time frame and the age of the vessel, this was a challenging refurbishment project,” said Khalil Benjelloul, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion’s Cruise Vessels product manager. “But we completed the work successfully in the scheduled 19 days. With Damen’s own personnel and subcontractors working to such a tight schedule, an important issue with this project was an efficient interface between tasks.”