Longest and heaviest ship in the largest dock.

In August, Atlantic Star – one of the largest con-ro ships in the world – entered the Remontowa S.A. shipyard. It is one of five representatives of the G4 series, built in China between 2015 and 2017, which is an example of the largest ships of this type operating in ocean shipping. However, the Atlantic Star has set a record. She is the longest and the heaviest ship ever lifted in the largest floating dock of the Remontowa yard. The overall length of the ship is 296 m, width – 37.60 m and weight – 37 170 tonnes (without ballast). For comparison – the previous „record-breaking” ship docked here in 2017 – a Danish container ship – was „only” 293.18 m long and 32.18 m wide. In the Remontowa shipyard, the ships 300 metres long have already been repairedat quays. The challenge for the shipyard was to dock this ship, for which six months earlier a detailed preparation had begun. The dockmasters, supported by the knowledge of the shipyard’s general designer, developed a precise procedure for the safe placing and lifting of the ship in the shipyard’s largest floating dock. In addition to the standard technical analyses, the FEM (Finite Element Method) calculations were also carried out, which made it possible to determine very precisely the tensions affecting both the structure of the dock and the keel blocks, as well as the ship itself. The results of the analyses and the construction of the ship itself required very precise preparation of the substructure with a levelling tolerance of +/-5 mm and positioning the ship with a tolerance of +/- 10 mm, which was a great challenge given the size of the Atlantic Star. Such restrictive boundary conditions were then checked by the shipyard’s measurement services and the results of the analysis were approved by the Polish Register of Shipping. Finally, the ship was positioned with zero tolerance!

Calculations and simulations carried out several months in advance have ensured that the drydocking operation for the repair of such a large ship is completely safe. The Atlantic Star called at the yard for a standard dock and maintenance repair, including work on the steering system, replacement of sections of outboard pipelines, maintenance and painting work, overhauls of bottom-board fittings, as well as the scope of steel replacements.

Once the project was successfully completed ,the ship left the dock and shipyard safely in late August.

The ship is owned by the Italian GrimaldiGroup of Naples and operated by ACL. TheG4 ships, like their predecessors in the G3 series, are employed on the North Atlantic line, connecting northern Europe with North America.This is not the first visit of a ship owned by this shipowner, to the Remontowa shipyard. Over the last two years it hasrepaired and retrofitted with scrubbers a total of 11 container/ro-ro carriers, belonging to the Grande Lagos and Grande Marocco series.