The Polish yard Remontowa has consolidated its position as one of Europe’s leading ferry and ro-ro repair yards, with a particularly busy period from the end of 2021 through the first quarter of 2022.
Ro-ro vessels operated by Finnlines have regularly called at Remontowa for many years. At the turn of 2021/2022, four ships in the Finnish company’s fleet, Finnsky, Finnsun, Europalink and Finnpulp, visited the shipyard continuing this trend.
On Europalink, the main item of work was to adapt the vessel to ice class. As a result, a special ice-resistant coating was applied to the hull and the fenders on the sides were replaced. For Finnsun, Remontowa carried out a special survey with maintenance and painting of the hull, while on Finnsky repairs were applied to the propellers, steering gear, thrusters, stabilisers, shaft generators, generator sets and fans.
The fourth vessel, Finnpulp, came in for a class renewal. The bow thruster tunnel underwent repairs, and seals were replaced on two propeller blades and the propeller shaft.
Stena Line also entrusted Remontowa with work to some of its Baltic ferries, with Mecklenburg-Vorpommern being equipped with a ballast water treatment system from Erma First. In addition, maintenance was carried out combined with steel replacement in the ballast tanks. Stena Baltica arrived in Gdańsk having been lengthened by 36m in another shipyard. Remontowa’s task was to prepare the ferry for return to the regular Nynashamn – Ventspils route. This included electrical installations, steel replacements, general maintenance and painting of the hull.
Stena Line also docked the rail ferry Skane, for which the propulsion system was subject to considerable renewal. Cracks on one of the rudder blades also required attention. A major challenge was the work on the ro-ro cargo decks, especially the rail deck. The biggest task was replacing the rails, which involved dismantling them after removing the asphalt from the surface. Before the new rails were laid, Remontowa teams replaced a large amount of steel in the surrounding areas of the ferry.
DFDS ro-ro ships are also regular visitors to Remontowa and in the first quarter of 2022, Optima Seaways and King Seaways, among others, underwent major repairs here. The main task on Optima Seaways was improving the operation of the propulsion system components and the ramps.
Remontowa teams carried out a thorough overhaul and replaced parts of two bow thrusters. Two of the ship’s stabilisers also required a comprehensive overhaul while Remontowa further repaired the propeller blades, which had been damaged following a collision with the seabed.
One of the most important jobs on the King Seaways was installing a ballast water treatment system, and a lot of work was also required to replace the seawater ballast water pipes in the fuel tanks.
Extensive steel replacements included the engine room, passenger decks and galley, where some equipment had to be removed before the actual work could begin. Steel was also replaced on the starboard hull plating.
Other early 2022 visitors have included Polonia, operated by Unity Line, which arrived at Remontowa in mid-January for docking and maintenance repairs, extended by retrofitting the ship with a ballast water treatment system. Shipyard workers also overhauled three tunnel thrusters and repaired the rudder blade.
TT-Line’s Tom Sawyer went through a multi-tasking drydock refurbishment at the turn of the year. This included an overhaul of the propulsion system, the replacement of steel on several decks, cleaning the deck’s surface and maintenance of the hull, stern and bow ramps.
