MSC Magnifica undergoes succesful drydocking at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam
After a very fast and successful 17-day drydocking the cruise ship MSC Magnifica left Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam (part of Damen Shiprepair & Conversion) for Hamburg on schedule to start her next cruise. Next week (December 2) another cruise vessel will arrive at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam - the 200 m MS Saga Sapphire. In the meantime, Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen recently handled two, 167 m cruise ships, the Astor and Marco Polo, the company said in its press release.
Commenting on the MSC Magnifica project, Marc Derks, Shiprepair Rotterdam Project Manager, comments: “This was an excellent operation, I am very proud of the team. The advance planning and preparation paid off.”
Khalil Benjelloul, Cruise Vessels Product Manager of Damen Shiprepair & Conversion, adds: “Everything went very smoothly, we managed to do this demanding job safely and on schedule, which is vitally important in the cruise industry.”
Built in 2010, the MSC Magnifica is 293 m long and has a capacity for more than 2,500 passengers. She arrived at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam on October 20 and was berthed at the yard’s largest drydock, which is 307 m in length.
Mr Derks stresses that this project had the added challenge that the ship’s 800-strong crew remained on board during the work. “The crew were fantastic and helped us a lot. It was a really great cooperation.”
“Every time the crew members wanted to go into the city, we had to make sure all the safety checks were in place when they were getting on and off but the crew and our team worked very well together,” says Mr Benjelloul.
Damen Shiprepair replaced some 47 tonnes of steel, replaced the rudders, cleaned and painted the vessel. “The rudders were a major job, we sealed off and pressurised the whole area. And fortunately we have a very large machine shop on site, which was invaluable to ensure the rudder renewal remained on schedule. We also worked very closely with the rudder manufacturer Rolls-Royce.
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 32 ship- and repair yards, employing 8.000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 5.000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers approx. 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale value and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including: tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and super yachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of Services, such as maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. To complete, Damen offers a variety of marine components, especially nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
Damen Shiprepair & Conversion
In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion offers a network of 15 repair & conversion yards worldwide, with dry docks ranging up to 420 x 80 metres. Conversion projects range from adapting vessels to today’s requirements and regulations to the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DS&C handles 1,500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.
