Specialists of Kherson shipyard of Smart Maritime Group (SMG, Kherson) are successfully continuing the project to upgrade a series of dry cargo vessels belonging to EemsWerken B.V. (the Netherlands).
Today, four vessels of the Dutch company are on the shipyard's stocks at once. In March, EEMS Spirit and EEMS Stream joined EEMS Servant and EEMS Solar dry cargo ships that entered the shipyard in January.
Operations on the upgrade of EEMS Servant and EEMS Solar are currently in their final stages. On Monday 22 March, EEMS Solar was moved to the launching dock for floating out, to be then followed by EEMS Servant. After completing the outfitting and testing operations, the vessels will be handed over to the customer.
In the meantime, the hull of EEMS Spirit coaster has been cut and the bottom section has been installed. Operations on EEMS Stream have also begun.
It is a reminder that in the course of the upgrade, each vessel is lengthened by an insert by 12 meters and is converted into a two-hold vessel. At the same time, the total volume of the holds increases by more than 700 cubic meters. The shipyard specialists also paint the ships’ ballast tanks, outer skin and cargo holds, lay new piping systems and install new hatch covers. In addition, a free-fall lifeboat is installed in the stern of each vessel. About 190 tons of high-quality metal is used for the upgrade of each vessel.
The maximum deadweight of the vessels is increased by 20% after the upgrade.
As reported earlier, at the end of 2020, SMG signed a contract for the modernization of six vessels of the Dutch EemsWerken B.V. The contract is planned to be fully executed in July of this year. Its value was about UAH 100 million.
The coasters, built in 2010, are designed for coastal transportation of general cargoes. The vessels were built according to a standard design: maximum length – 87.27 metres, width – 11.42 metres, and deadweight – 2,620 tons.
Smart Maritime Group is the largest shipbuilding company in Ukraine combining the shipbuilding assets of Smart-Holding industrial and investment group: Nikolaev and Kherson shipyards. The SMG's production facilities allow the construction of medium-tonnage fully outfitted vessels and comprehensive ship repair operations. The shipyards’ clients are companies from the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and other countries.
In 2020, the Company upgraded and repaired 55 vessels and built two chemical tanker hulls.