The Cruise Ship “Marco Polo” at Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen
Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen (DSV), part of Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC), has said farewell to Marco Polo, the 800 passenger cruise ship owned by Global Maritime and operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Launched in 1964 as the Aleksandr Pushkin, she was in for her 10th special survey and general maintenance and refurbishment. The project took around five weeks to complete.
An elegant vessel whose design harks back to an earlier era, the Marco Polo had a full schedule of works during her time at DSV. These included an exterior repainting, interior repairs and maintenance to bring her back up to her usual high standards. Other actions included work on the propellers and propeller shafts, reconditioning the bearings on the main engines and servicing the air-conditioning units and gensets. The life-rafts and other safety equipment were also removed and serviced, the cranes and winches overhauled and various minor steel works performed.
Carlos de Vliegere, Sales Manager area Greece at Damen Shiprepair & Conversion states that Athens based Global Maritime and DSV have been working closely since 2013. “Both Marco Polo and her sister-ship Astor have been coming to Vlissingen regularly to dry dock and undergo inspections and maintenance.”
Marco Polo arrived at Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen on the 3rd of November and departed on the 14th of December.
DSC has recently won a series of maintenance and repair contracts for cruise ships, having gained a reputation for short lead times, flexibility, safety, good communication and high quality work. Bas Loohuis, Commercial Manager Cruise at DSC, stated, “our extensive network of local partners allows us to rapidly source all the equipment and parts necessary for a cruise vessel project. We understand the importance of proper management of the logistics and our project managers are trained to manage the most complicated and challenging cruise vessel projects.”
As well as the works on the Marco Polo and Astor, recent projects by DSC include repair and maintenance contracts on the 3, 220 passenger MSC Magnifica and the 720 passenger Saga Sapphire, both undertaken at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam. In the summer the 1, 250 passenger Magellan also completed a five-week scheduled maintenance stopover at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam while the 4, 100 passenger Norwegian Epic departed Damen Shiprepair Brest on the 17th of October following a three week scheduled refit and maintenance programme.
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 32 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9, 000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 5, 000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 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 values 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 superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has a worldwide network of 15 repair and conversion yards 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. DSC completes around 1, 500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.
