Episode 12 - Skywalkers Removal

Check out the amazing footage of the removal of Skywalkers from Grand Princess. Truly an unforgettable sight!
What happens when a ship goes into dry dock?

Sometimes, pretty dramatic stuff.

As in this week, when an iconic 160-ton chunk of the Grand Princess was sawed off and spirited away by a giant crane.

What Princess Cruises buffs know as Skywalkers Nightclub, perched high above the stern, a dizzying 18 decks over the sea, was sliced away. The structure that some people likened to a race car spoiler and others to a shopping cart handle is no more.

When the Grand Princess debuted in 1998, Skywalkers Nightclub was a curiosity, the AquaTheater or ice rink of its day. Passengers rode elevators to the ship's top deck then hopped onto a moving walkway that whisked them through a long, clear tube to reach the club.

With its floor-to-ceiling glass windows, disc jockey and throbbing music, Skywalkers was the late-night hot spot. Sitting beside the back window and gazing down at the ship's wake far, far below was a giddy experience—even without a cocktail.

But Princess decided to remove the nightclub to improve the ship's fuel efficiency. And so it came off this week, documented in a dramatic video as part of a daily journal the line is keeping of the 24-day dry dock at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas.

It's the biggest transformation of a ship in Princess history. Apart from extracting Skywalkers, workers are adding a piazza-style atrium like that on the newer Princess vessels, a Crown Grill steak house, a sit-down pizzeria, a martini bar and seven suites.

The Grand Princess is also gaining a feature that no other ship in the fleet has: a combination library/tea lounge with a selection of 500 tea blends.

Oh, and in place of Skywalkers is the new One5 Lounge, a nightclub tucked neatly into Deck 15.

The dry dock video journal and photos are at princess.com/granddrydock.Amazing work being done at the Grand Bahama Shipyard.

Episode 11 - The Freeport Rugby Club & Port Lucaya

Martyn ventures off Grand Princess to the Freeport Rugby Club and Port Lucaya to show you what the crew are up to during their time off during the drydock.

Cruise News-Cruise Ship Extreme Makeover: Details on Grand Princess' Massive Refurbishment

Grand Princess on Dry dock at GB Shipyard

by Sue Bryant, Cruise Critic Contributing Editor

Talk about cruise ship plastic surgery. We may not even recognize Grand Princess, the 109,000-ton, 2,600-passengers vessel that splits time between Fort Lauderdale and Southampton, following its massive facelift in April.

That's because during the 24-day refit, which will take place at Freeport's Grand Bahama Shipyard from April 11 to May 4, workers will slice off the ship's distinctive "shopping trolley" handle (pictured), dramatically altering its profile. Below decks, Princess is gutting the atrium to make way for the line's now-signature "Piazza," a multi-purpose venue that didn't exist when the ship debuted in 1998. The ship will also gain new restaurants, suites, lounges and a combination tea room/library.

Here are the details on the multi-million dollar refurbishment, which the line is calling its biggest ever:

The entire Deck 18 (the ship's distinctive shopping cart handle), which currently houses Skywalkers Nightclub, will be removed. A new nightclub, One5 (a clue to its location) will be fitted on Deck 15 in the area currently used as a conference room. The reason for such dramatic surgery? To improve the operational performance of the ship and increase its fuel efficiency. The new lounge will resemble a chic urban nightclub, with a backlit bar and modern decor.

The atrium will be refashioned into Princess' signature "Piazza," with an International Cafe serving coffees, pastries and sandwiches; and a Vines wine bar, a popular feature on the larger and newer Princess ships. Vines will serve over 30 wines by the glass as well as tapas and sushi. Passengers will also be able to buy wine at a wine shop here.

Alfredo's, an open-kitchen pizzeria is also being added. It's named after Princess' master executive chef, Alfredo Marzi.

The current Promenade Lounge and Bar on Deck 7 will become Crooners, the popular, 1950's-style martini bar featured on the line's newer ships.

The Limelight shop on Deck 7 will become a dual purpose tea lounge and library, serving custom-blended specialty teas in association with the Mighty Leaf Tea Company. A "tea sommelier" -- which sounds very grand -- will help passengers blend their teas. The current library will be absorbed into the changes to the atrium on Deck 5.
The Crown Grill, a classic steakhouse, will replace the current Sterling Steakhouse. It will also have an open kitchen, serving fresh beef and seafood, including lobsters, which are kept live onboard.

Also part of the renovation will be the addition of 10 new suites; a remodeled casino, boutiques, an art gallery; and enhancements to the Horizon Court, Lotus Spa, and wedding chapel.

Because Grand Princess cruises out of Southampton during summer, British passengers will be among the first to experience the vessel, post-op. The ship will arrive in Southampton on May 21 and sail the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and the Norwegian coast all summer.


Interested in other cruise ship refurbs on tap for 2011 and beyond? Check out our newly updated chart.

Shipyard docks its largest cruise liner

Despite a recent incident involving one of the dry docks at the Grand Bahama Shipyard, the company is forging ahead, and is currently working on a new project – undertaking scheduled repairs to the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship.
On Saturday, the company experienced a mishap which caused some equipment to be damaged, but was later corrected.
Yesterday, Senior Vice President of Operations Reuben Byrd explained that during the torrential rains on Friday, one of the employees left some tanks open on the dry dock.
"We got a lot of water in there and once the water rose to a certain level, the dock started to, not sink, go down in the water a little bit," he said.
A few welding machines and light towers were submerged, the value of which Byrd estimated to be in the range of $5,000 – $7,000.
There was a ship on the dock at the time and as a safety precaution the crew was removed from the vessel.
Byrd shared that after some calculations, workers were eventually able to bring the dock back up, and that it was back to its regular operational standard.
"It was human error and it was a mishap, but it won't happen again. It was one of those things that should have never happened," he said.
Meanwhile, the Liberty of the Seas docked at the shipyard on Sunday and will depart on Saturday.
The ship, which is 1,112 feet long and holds 3,600 passengers, qualifies as the largest cruise ship to be docked at the facility to date. Up until last year when the Oasis of the Seas was introduced, it was the largest cruise ship in the world.
Several modifications had to be made to the shipyard, Byrd noted, in order to prepare for the large vessel, which is the first of its class to ever be docked in The Bahamas or anywhere in the hemisphere. "We had to do some alterations to the yard and do some modifications to the dry dock in order to accept it," he said.
"We actually spent, in order to dock this ship... one and a half million dollars in a new pumping facility to adequately supply cooling water and fire water – pressure for it." The company also had to make modifications to a barge, install mooring points and build a south ramp.
"We've made those modifications and now we're capable of bringing in larger vessels here than have ever been brought in," he said. The work was worth it, as the Liberty of the Seas project brought approximately $1.6 million in revenue to the company.
Byrd said, the company is experiencing a heavier workload this year than it has in the past, and he credits that in part, to the revival of the economies of countries.
In 2010, the facility docked some 23 cruise ships, and already has 24 booked for this year.
"We're able to experience additional revenue by keeping the dock booked. Right now we're experiencing something that we haven't experienced and most yards don't experience. We are currently booked we've got two gaps but one is no more than 16 days, in all three drydock schedules into June right now, which in the repair business is quite a feat," he said.

Dry dock collapses causing $5,000 of damage

FREEPORT - The dry dock at the Grand Bahama Shipyard collapsed early Saturday morning, resulting in the loss of equipment estimated at some $5,000.
The Tribune received reports that sometime around 5am, Dry Dock One had sunk into the water, however, a shipyard official said it did not sink.
The Tribune contacted Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes on Sunday, but he was not aware of the incident and said he would make some calls into it.
Rueben Byrd, senior vice-president of operations at the shipyard said that there was a trim problem and the dock fell and was partly submerged in the water.
Mr Byrd reported that there were no injuries. However, he said about $5,000 worth of equipment on the dock was damaged by the water.
He said the dock is not damaged.
"We had a trim problem and we are in the process of correcting it.
"The dock is stable and everything is fine," he said
"It did not sink, it was submerged a little bit at one end. The trim on the dock was not adjusted correctly and it fell down.
"We have corrected it and we are in process of bringing it back up slowly.
"The reason it is not up completely yet is because we are undocking and docking other vessels at this time and we don't have the personnel to deal with it," he said.
Mr Byrd said the shipyard is conducting an investigation into the incident.
The Grand Bahama Shipyard has three dry docks. The facility can handle some of the largest vessels in the world.
In 2001, the facility acquired its second dry dock - the largest in the Western Hemisphere - at a cost of a third dock was acquired towards the end of 2008.
The ship repair facility opened in 1999.

Shipyard to bring in new batch of apprentices

The Grand Bahama Shipyard will soon welcome a new batch of participants in its Apprenticeship Training Program, and has introduced some new components to the curriculum.

The program has been running since 2004 and has resulted in the training of scores of young Bahamians who are now full-time employees at the company.

Director of Workforce Development at the Shipyard Joseph Darville explained that there were approximately 140 applicants for the training program this year.

Of that number, 35 were interviewed and eight – seven males and one female – were selected.

With the addition of the new participants, there will be a total of 41 students in the program.

The company will welcome the new participants and celebrate the graduation of the outgoing class during a special ceremony on Friday, September 24 at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Outten Convention Centre.

Pointing out that maritime industry and, consequently, the need for a skilled local workforce at the shipyard, is growing rapidly, Darville said the company remains committed to training young Bahamians.

"We are investing a tremendous amount of money in the Apprenticeship Training Program, adding a definite academic component to that so in addition to the regular five trades that they will normally do, they will continue beyond the high school level, to the college level in math, English, physics and technical drawing," said Darville.

The Apprenticeship program is a four year program, which exposes apprentices to both theory and practical elements, both at the company site and at The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute.

In the first year of the program, the apprentices learn five major trades – pipe fitting, welding, electrical installation, mechanical installation and fabrication – and also take classes like workplace communication and drafting at BTVI.

The next three years of their training takes place at the Shipyard, where they are placed in a specific department to fine-tune their skills.

GB Shipyard is 'world's premier ship repair facility'

FREEPORT, GRAND BAHAMA- The Grand Bahama Shipyard ranks as the "premier" ship repair facility in the world, according to a company executive who revealed that the shipyard is booked up for the next two years.

Mick Holding, chief financial officer, said the shipyard has grown significantly in 10 years.

"In the space of a short 10-year period, we have become one of the premier ship repair yards in the world, and by far, the largest cruise-ship repair yard in the world," he said.

Mr Holding was speaking at the graduation ceremony held at the shipyard for 33 newly-trained scaffolders.

He noted that the shipyard in Freeport repairs more cruise ships than any other shipyard.

"And we probably have repaired more than the others put together in any one 12-month period," he added.

Mr Holding said that by the end of this year they would have repaired 20 cruise ships. He also reported that there are already bookings for 22 cruise ships in 2011, and 23 cruise ships booked for 2012.

The shipyard was opened in 1999 as Lloyd Berth, with operations commencing in 2000. In 2001, the first dry dock was acquired and the name was changed to GB Shipyard.

In December 2001, a second dry dock - the largest in the Western Hemisphere - was acquired. As business grew, a third dry dock was acquired towards the end of 2008.

Mr Holding indicated that with the growth in workload there has been a commensurate growth in the workforce.

Just over 700 persons are currently employed at the facility. Of that, 333 are considered permanent workers, 275 of which are Bahamians.

Mr Holding said the remaining workforce has been traditionally comprised of expatriate workers.

This working group, he said, is a flexible workforce that can be expanded and contracted based on workloads at any one point in time.

According to Mr Holding, the shipyard sold 143,000 man hours in January; it dipped to 86,000 in February; and back up to 128,000 in April.

"Our workload does vary greatly from month to month ... and we have accommodated these fluctuations by employing expatriate contract workers.

"However, I have said for a long time that given equivalent spill levels, I would rather recruit contract workers as and when needed from Grand Bahama, rather than the Philippines or Romania," he said.

Mr Holding said they have started discussions towards the end of last year with the principals of a local company, Clear Blue Maritime Agency Limited, to become the shipyard's provider of local contract labour.

Donjon lifts cruise ship module

Freeport, Grand Bahama- Donjon Marine, Co., Inc. recently carried out a heavy lift operation on Grand Bahama Island for Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited.

The Donjon tug Mary Alice and derrick-barge Chesapeake 1000 assisted the shipyard with the lifting, transport and placement of a 375 ton prefabricated module for the Holland America Lines cruise ship Rotterdam.

Donjon and its subcontractor, PCCI (Alexandria, VA), worked with shipyard engineers to design a custom lifting frame and rigging arrangement to reduce module deflection during the operation.

Project Manager and Donjon VP Steve Newes said, "This job involved both technical and scheduling challenges. We are quite proud of the service provided."
ORIGINAL ARTICLE SOURCE

Super Yacht Yards Sign Co-operation Agreement

Two superyacht service yards in Grand Bahama to work closely together




Bradford Marine Bahamas and the Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited have signed a Mega-Yacht Service Agreement that will enable haul outs and below-the-water line services in Freeport for the world's largest superyachts.

Under the new service agreement, both companies will work together to provide service to the largest of superyachts. With 600 metres of deepwater docks, yachts will clear customs and immigration and be prepared for haul outWith easy port access, a 10 metre depth, a 1,200-tonne floating dry dock, and a 150-tonne Travelift, Bradford Marine Bahamas’ shipyard in Freeport, on the island of Grand Bahama is able to service superyachts of all types. In addition, they provide towing, salvage, and vessel brokerage services throughout the Bahamas

Paul Engle, company President, said, “We are very pleased about our mega-yacht service agreement and the ability to expand both of our companies' capabilities and our businesses. It's a much-needed service that previously was unavailable in South Florida and the Bahamas. Using both companies' resources and workforces gives us a large labour force with all trades to provide the finest service to these vessels."

Grand Bahama Shipyard is a commercial, deepwater shipyard facility located in Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. With their 27,600-, 55,000-, and 87,500-tonne dry docks, they have the ability to haul out and provide bottom-related services for large commercial vessels.

Peter Luijckx, Vice President of the commercial department at company, said, "This agreement will enable us to expand by providing services to the world's largest pleasure craft."
ARTICLE SOURCE

Mighty Servant 3 returns to Dockwise fleet after 20-month repair

Offshore staff



HAMILTON, Bermuda -- The Mighty Servant 3 has rejoined the Dockwise fleet following repairs at the Grand Bahama Shipyard.

The entire vessel was rebuilt beginning with the steel hull. The repair project, which began in January 2008, included the installation of new machinery, electrical systems, and equipment.

The two Wärtsilä (W12V38A) engines were extracted from the vessel locally, fully dismantled, and later shipped in parts to Wärtsilä Netherland's workshop in Zwolle.

The vessel’s accommodations block was extended by inserting an additional layer to house up to 50 persons including crewmembers, visiting clients, and personnel. All interior elements were also updated.

As part of the Dockwise fleet, Mighty Servant 3 will perform transport, installation, and logistical management projects, the company says

“This is a reinstatement project in a magnitude that has never been performed before -- no one has ever taken a vessel submerged in 50 m (164 ft) of seawater for five months and brought her back to service,” says Eugène van Dodeweerd, manager fleet supervision quality and safety for Dockwise Shipping.