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News
Tallinn Shipyard, one of the three BLRT Repair Yards, has installed the first DACS air lubrication system on the DANITA general cargo vessel owned by shipping company Amisco. The DACS air lubrication system is a joint development of the Damen Shipyards Group and the Delft University of Technology.
The Damen Air Cavity System (DACS) is a special system that maintains a carpet of stable thin air cavities over the flat bottom of a ship, achieving a significant reduction in water resistance, leading to a fuel consumption reduction by up to 15%, and, therefore, lower emissions, and increased efficiency.
Sergei Kravtšenko, a Tallinn Shipyard management board member, said that the shipyard team is delighted that Estonian-based shipping company Amisco, their long-standing partner, trusted none other but Tallinn Shipyard with the project. “We are committed to excellence and marine innovations, and years of experience and expertise prepared our seasoned team to handle the project. This cutting-edge technology will definitely enhance vessel performance and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future. We are proud to have been a part of the project.”
Air Lubrication Systems are generally considered low-maintenance compared to other efficiency-improving technologies, providing a reliable and practical solution for long-term use.
With the DACS-equipped Danita, Amisco will achieve the CII rating will achieve the necessary CII rating to continue operating in the Baltic Sea amidst new, stricter emissions regulations. At the same time, the considerable reduction in fuel consumption allows for a rapid return on investment.
News
Marketex Marine, a subsidiary within the BLRT Grupp holding, has built and already shipped new passenger ferry modular sections to its customer – Finnish company Rauma Marine Constructions.
“Until today, various vessels and sections for passenger and cruise ferries have been built at the Klaipėda shipbuilding yard in Lithuania; now, for the first time in our history, we have done that in Tallinn. The modular section construction and painting works were carried out uninterruptedly, despite the weather, over 12 weeks in our workshop and new paint booth, which can fit large structures up to 30 metres high,” explains Fjodor Kvitš, Chair of the Marketex Marine Board
Following the construction and painting completion, the sections were crane-loaded onto a special barge and forwarded to the customer for further assembly of the entire ferry.
The passenger ferry will be 212 metres long and will operate between Australia and the island of Tasmania. The ferry was designed with due consideration of her particularly challenging operation route through Bass Strait. She will be equipped with an LNG hybrid engine and can accommodate up to 1,800 passengers, thus carrying up to 450,000 passengers annually.
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In addition to an exciting programme, this year’s visitors to the Tallinn Maritime Days could expect to see a thoroughly renovated section of the Noblessner Harbour promenade and a magnificent maritime-themed sculpture, “Lessner’s Screw”. The artwork is largely courtesy of the BLRT Grupp holding’s subsidiaries and partners.
The screw propeller was delivered to Tallinn from Turku Repair Yard in Naantali. Both BLRT Grupp’s subsidiaries and partners were involved in the sculpture design and installation project. For instance, Elme Trans handled the transportation and lifting of the screw, whereas Marketex Marine devised and fabricated the sculpture’s stand. Merko Ehitus Eesti, a long-standing Grupp’s partner, designed and built the landmark’s foundation. At the same time, the idea for the sculpture’s centrepiece and lighting was proposed and eventually carried into effect by Volume Design. Other contributors to the project’s success include architectural firm Pluss, design bureau K-Projekt, and designer Asko Künnapp, with Noblessner Arendus overseeing every project stage.
According to Ann Virkus, Head of Marketing at Noblessner Arendus, “Lessner’s Screw “is an authentic bronze ship propeller manufactured at the Alstom Power Elbląg factory. The propeller is unparalleled – nothing like it can be found in Estonia or elsewhere. Weighing 33 tonnes and measuring almost 7.5 metres across, the propeller symbolizes the 106-year-long period (1912-2018) of active shipbuilding at Noblessner. The sculpture’s name is a tribute to Arthur Lessner, one of the Noblessner shipbuilding company co-founders, who established a submarine shipyard with his business partner, Emanuel Nobel, in 1912. The shipyard was named Noblessner after the family names of the two founders.
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On June 26, a delegation from the Green Maritime Business Cluster (Norway) visited BLRT Grupp, intending to enhance collaboration in developing and using environmentally friendly technologies.
The delegation included Rolf Fiskerstrand, President and CEO of Fiskerstrand Holding; Jon-Åge Eidem, Vice President of Optimar AS; Martin Sundgot Hansen, Sales Manager of Ulstein Verft AS; Rune O. Methi, Project Director of East CCI of Norway, and Sandra Saar, General Manager of the Norwegian-Estonian Chamber of Commerce.
During the meeting, the guests and representatives of BLRT Grupp discussed the application of innovative technologies in ship repair and shipbuilding, as well as collaboration between shipyards and the new logistics reality.
Additionally, the delegation was shown the production facilities and introduced to the technical capabilities of the holding, as well as the activities of its subsidiary companies, which have long been successfully operating in the Norwegian market.
“The Norwegian market is strategic for BLRT Grupp companies. We see great potential in expanding collaboration in the field of development and use of environmentally friendly technologies,” said Roman Vinartšuk, Advisor to the Management Board of BLRT Grupp. “The Norwegian maritime cluster is currently the most knowledge-intensive and innovative industry in the country, so the partnership and exchange of knowledge and experience are crucial for the joint innovation journey of companies from both countries, especially in operation, design, construction, equipment supply, and specialized services for shipping, offshore wind energy, and offshore oil and gas production.”
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Marketex Offshore Constructions, a subsidiary of BLRT Grupp, and the Norwegian company Aker Solutions have signed a construction contract for subsea templates for the Yggdrasil project, the next major oil and gas field development in the North Sea.
Marketex Offshore Constructions (MOC) will build nine subsea templates, with production scheduled for 2023 and delivery to the customer planned for 2024 and 2025. These foundations will be the largest subsea structures constructed by MOC to date. The project will require 340,000 hours of welding, assembly, and machining, which will be carried out in the company’s newly equipped production facilities in Tallinn, built specifically for such projects in 2020.
“A subsea foundation is a large steel structure used initially for well-drilling and later as a foundation for other critical subsea equipment. During the equipment installation at sea, everything must fit perfectly. Therefore, many factors were considered when choosing the contractor, including the presence of similar successful complex projects in our portfolio, alongside experience, lead time, quality, and safety requirements,” explains Nadezda Vassiljeva, a member of the Board at Marketex Offshore Constructions.
Yggdrasil (which is the Norse name for the Tree of Life) is operated by Aker BP and is the next major planned oil and gas field development in the North Sea, with estimated hydrocarbon resources of more than 650 million barrels of oil equivalent. This project will set a new modern standard for operating oil and gas fields. The installations in Yggdrasil will be operated remotely and the area will be periodically unmanned. The development of Yggdrasil will utilize shore power, resulting in low levels of CO2 and NOx emissions in the area.
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Our subsidiary Marketex Marine has had a very busy first quarter, with five feed barges launched within three months.
The largest barge, built for our long-term customer Scale AQ, can carry up to 900 tonnes of feed and is the first barge with such an extensive feed capacity. It is intended for offshore installation and has remote-controlled systems.
Also built for Scale AQ was a FRAM 400 series barge with a 400-tonne feed storage capacity. Three such barges will be constructed, and all of them are bound for Norway.
Three barges built for AKVA group will be deployed in Canada. One of the five barges has already been handed over to the customer and delivered to Canada. The second is awaiting shipment soon, and the others will leave for the customer within the next four weeks.
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At the end of March, Eerik Marmei, the Ambassador of Estonia to Latvia, visited the Elme Metall service centre and the Elme Messer Gaas filling station in Riga.
Algerd Andruškevitšus, a member of the Elme Metall Management Board, Maksim Malanjin, CEO of an ELME Metall subsidiary in Latvia and Sergei Vasiljev, CCO at Elme Metall, introduced His Excellency and Signa Millere, a business and investment adviser, to the Elme Metall group’s activities in five countries, its significant projects, and plans for the future. During the conversation, the diplomat noted that Estonia is the second-largest foreign investor in Latvia.
During the tour around the service centre, the guests had a chance to see for themselves the manufacture of long rolled, shaped and tubular steel parts, which are later used for various projects in the field of offshore wind power engineering, shipbuilding and ship repair, for steel structures fabrication et cetera.
The diplomat also visited the next-generation Elme Messer Gaas filling station in Riga, which was put into operation in late summer 2017.
Eerik Marmei, accompanied by Elme Messer Gaas Marketing Director in Riga Vadims Kjasilis, looked around the fully automated station, where the operator only needs to position and connect a cylinder, select a gas blend and press a button. The station was certified in 2018 for producing medical oxygen in cylinders, which is complex and technologically advanced, just like any pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The sophisticated equipment and production process both at the service centre and the filling station produced a rather strong impression on His Excellency. The ambassador was also impressed with the thorough approach to work and working conditions in our companies, so he stayed considerably longer than he had initially planned.
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Quite a number of larger vessels passed through Turku Repair Yard in February, including a tanker managed by the GBS-Shipmanagement GmbH & Co. KG shipping company. Turku Repair Yard had not done any work for GBS-Shipmanagement GmbH & Co. KG before that.
In mid-February, the Seychelles Patriot, a 1A ice-class 189-m long oil product tanker, was docked in a dry dock for another planned 5-year maintenance.
“The Seychelles Patriot tanker is managed by GBS-Shipmanagement GmbH & Co. KG, a German company. We had never worked on any projects with them before that oil product carrier. Since we only received a notification of the forthcoming work and signed a respective document confirming acceptance of the Seychelles Patriot tanker for maintenance shortly before the project commenced, we had to act very quickly to arrange supplies of materials required. On top of that, the oil product tanker maintenance coincided with severe weather conditions, which raised some practical difficulties during hull works, blasting and re-painting. Nevertheless, the shipyard successfully completed both all planned maintenance works and emerging additional ones, in close collaboration with the ship owner and the tanker crew, meeting the contractual deadlines. As a result, the ship left the water area of the yard in early March to proceed with her regular operation. We are hopeful our prompt and proper performance will contribute towards a long-term partnership with this customer,” said Antti Simula, CEO at Turku Repair Yard.
Several more sizeable vessels were admitted to the dry dock in February; two Tallink Grupp’s cruise ferries – the Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony. While dry-docked, the ships were subjected to some upgrades and cleaning of underwater hull sections. Besides, they had thrusters repaired and EnergoProFin, energy-saving devices that can significantly reduce a vessel’s fuel consumption, installed. Further to the maintenance, the passenger areas underwent refurbishment.
In mid-February, the Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony returned to the Helsinki – Stockholm route.
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The Suur Tõll icebreaker, the legendary Estonian museum vessel that had earlier been tugged from the Seaplane Harbour to Tallinn Shipyard, was lifted into dock No 34 for examination and repair at the beginning of March.
As the icebreaker, built in 1914, cannot move independently, she was assisted by tugs from the Alfons Håkans towage company. First, the Tõrvik and Akilles tugboats navigated the floating museum from the Seaplane Harbour, and then a third, the largest one, tug – the Arkturus – took her to Tallinn Shipyard.
According to Aleksei Bogdanov, a Projects/Sales Manager at Tallinn Shipyard, the historical ship will undergo comprehensive repair and dock works – hull cleaning and blasting followed by repainting and will have her hull structures assessed, including thickness measurements and repair of marine valves and the anchor winch.
“Since the historical ship is still afloat and registered in the Ship Register, she shall be inspected and repaired regularly, at ten-year intervals, according to the requirements of the Estonian Transport Administration. However, sadly, there is little hope, if any, that the icebreaking steamer will ever put to sea on her own. That would require massive investments, and, at the end of the day, it would be too great a risk,” commented Urmas Dresen, Head of the Estonian Maritime Museum.
As estimated by Alexey Bogdanov, the museum ship will be released from the dock after the repairs in the last third of March.
We previously had the Suur Tõll 25 years ago to the month, in March 1998.
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The Estonia will celebrate its 105th anniversary of independence on February 24.