#casualty – Cruise Ship Profiles

Carnival Vista’s Propulsion System to be Repaired Using First-Of-Its-Kind ‘Floating Dry Dock’

03_BOKA-Vanguard-loaded-with-Carnival-Vista-for-dry-docking_copyright-Boskalis-1170x658.jpg — Rendering: ©Boskalis

Carnival Cruise Line announced today that Netherlands-based Boskalis, a worldwide leader in marine solutions, will deploy a transport vessel as a first of its kind “floating dry dock” facility to complete the repairs to Carnival Vista’s two azipods, the ship’s main propulsion system. The procedure will entail loading the ship onto the semi-submersible heavy transport vessel, BOKA Vanguard, and then docking the vessel at the Grand Bahama shipyard for the repair work.

A video animation detailing the “floating dry dock” process can be viewed here:

www.vimeo.com/boskalis/vista.

“This groundbreaking procedure made possible by Boskalis is a revolutionary way to ensure Carnival Vista’s repairs are completed in a safe, timely and efficient manner, so the ship can resume her popular seven-day schedule from Galveston later this month,” said Lars Ljoen, executive vice president of marine operations for Carnival Cruise Line.

BOKA Vanguard is expected to arrive in Bahamian waters on Friday, July 5 to prepare for Carnival Vista’s arrival on July 12. The loading, transport and repairs are expected to take approximately 17 days.

About Boka Vanguard

Built in 2012 as Dockwise Vanguard, the Boka Vanguard is designed to lift and transport extremely heavy cargoes of up to 117,000 tonnes and is the largest vessel of its kind ever constructed. It can transport large offshore oil and gas structures, but can also carry other vessels and act as a floating offshore dry dock facility. The Boka Vanguard is unique in that is has an open and flat stern and bow-less deck measuring 275 by 70 metres allowing the vessel to lift and transport cargo’s longer and wider than these deck dimensions.

By filling its ballast tanks, the ship deck is submerged in a controlled manner, allowing it to lift deep draught cargoes. This creates an alternative for dry docking allowing inspections and repairs to be safely and efficiently conducted at a location where traditional dry dock alternatives are not available.

Following the repairs Carnival Vista is expected to return to Galveston in time for her July 27 voyage and continue with year-round seven-day Caribbean itineraries.

To learn more about Carnival Cruise Line, visit Carnival.com. For reservations, contact any travel agent or call 1-800-CARNIVAL in (USA). Carnival can also be found on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

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Oasis of the Seas Involved in Dry Dock Accident at Grand Bahama Shipyard

Around 18:43 local time yesterday Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas was involved in an incident after a crane collapsed on the vessel while she was at the Grand Bahama shipyard having repaired made to her azipods.

oasis_t670 — image shared online of the Oasis of the Seas listing at Grand Bahama Shipyard, April 1, 2019.

According to reports, Royal Caribbean’s 225,000-tonne Oasis of the Seas was in the shipyard’s Dry Dock No. 2 when the accident occurred, leaving at least one large crane toppled on top of the vessel and the cruise ship with a noticeable list to starboard which can been seen in photos and video posted online. It was not immediately clear whether it was the Oasis of the Seas was listing inside the dry dock, or if it was the floating dry dock that was listing.

Eight people are reported to have been injured but thankfully none were believed to be life-threatening, the Grand Bahamas Tribune reported

A video released by Bahamas Press shows the lower part of the crane against the ship hull.

Video – © Bahamas Press via YouTube.

Royal Caribbean issued the following statement shortly after the incident:

“Earlier today, we responded to a site incident at the Grand Bahama Shipyard, where Oasis of the Seas is currently in dry dock.

Shipyard management has informed us of eight injuries, none of them considered life-threatening.

We are aware of damage to the dock structure and to the construction cranes. We are assessing damage to the ship. Drydock is a maintenance procedure and there are no guests oboard the ship.”

Grand Bahama Shipyard’s Dry Dock No. 2, at 300 meters in length by 58.5 meters wide, is the largest of three floating dry docks at the yard. The dock is equipped with four large dock cranes. The Grand Bahama Shipyard is located in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, only about 100 miles east of Miami, Florida.

gbsl_facilites_cruise_label_web — Image showing the layout of shipyard (Courtesy of Grand Bahama Shipyard)

An image was later released showing the collapsed crane laying across the Aqua Theater.

Built in 2009 at STX Shipyard Turku, Finland Oasis of the Seas was the lead ship in Royal Caribbeans Oasis class. With a length of 361.6 m and at 225,282 GRT, and capacity of 6780 guests, she was the world’s largest cruise ship when launched, a title which she held until 2010 when her sister Allure of the Seas was launched.

Royal Caribbean will issue a further statement at 5pm local time today.

Norwegian Maritime Authority issues Press Release on Viking Sky incident

Press Release: Viking Sky

viking-sky-til-kristiansundbh — PHOTO: Erik Johan Landa, Sjøfartsdirektoratet

Throughout the night, the NMA has worked together with the ship’s classification society, Lloyd’s, and the company in order to identify the reason why the Viking Sky suffered power “blackout” at Hustadvika in challenging weather conditions on Saturday 23 March. For the present, our conclusion is that the engine failure was directly caused by low oil pressure.

Last night, the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) granted the company a permit to sail on a single voyage to Kristiansund to have necessary repairs made. Throughout the night, the NMA has worked together with the ship’s classification society, Lloyd’s, and the company in order to identify the reason why the Viking Sky suffered power “blackout” at Hustadvika in challenging weather conditions on Saturday 23 March.

For the present, our conclusion is that the engine failure was directly caused by low oil pressure. The level of lubricating oil in the tanks was within set limits, however relatively low, when the vessel started to cross Hustadvika. The tanks were provided with level alarms, however these had not been triggered at this time. The heavy seas in Hustadvika probably caused movements in the tanks so large that the supply to the lubricating oil pumps stopped. This triggered an alarm indicating a low level of lubrication oil, which in turn shortly thereafter caused an automatic shutdown of the engines.

The NMA has drawn up a general safety notice about ensuring a continuous supply of lubricating oil to engines and other critical systems in poor weather conditions. This should be done in cooperation with the engine supplier and, moreover, be included in the ship’s risk assessments in the safety management system.

Viking Ocean Cruises has made the following statement: “We welcome the prompt and efficient investigation carried out by the NMA and we fully understand and acknowledge their findings. We have inspected the levels on all our sister ships and are now revising our procedures to ensure that this issue could not be repeated. We will continue to work with our partners and the regulatory bodies in supporting them with the ongoing investigations,”

Norwegian Maritime Authority is in a continuous dialogue with the company and classification society, and this cooperation has been successful. We will follow up the ongoing work to rectify damages on vessels. Furthermore, we will continue the constructive dialogue with the classification society, company and the Accident Investigation Board Norway in order to reveal underlying causes and identify appropriate measures.

https://www.sdir.no/en/news/news-from-the-nma/press-release-viking-sky/

Current postion of Viking Sky in Kristiansund (Norway)