The Viking Star cruise ship, belonging to Wilhelmsen Ship Management, entered the Tallinn passenger port – Vanasadam – on the 30th of July, and stayed there for a longer time than was foreseen by the tourist cruise program. According to the official statement by the ship owner, the fault was caused by the loss of engine power, and the cruise was cancelled due to the need of urgent ship repair. The ship repair works lasted five days and were carried out by a subsidiary of BLRT Grupp – Tallinn Shipyard. Upon completion of the repair works, Wilhelmsen Ship Management added Tallinn Shipyard to their list of approved partners, which can be a powerful impulse for starting an important and interesting cooperation.
"On Sunday, August 2, I received information that the Viking Start cruise ship was stranded in Tallinn. After receiving a request to provide a free dock for urgent repair works, I redirected the request to Gabriel Avanesov, Tallinn Shipyard Sales and Marketing Director," described Igor Shelaev, Tallinn Shipyard Director of Service. "Later on we were provided with detailed information about the nature of the damage. It was initially planned to transport the ship to the dry dock of our shipyard in Finland, but later on decided against this idea."
The next day, the fleet manager from the Wilhelmsen company in Norway and representatives of the Italian yard Fincantieri where Viking Star was built, were already on board the ship. In the general meeting held on Monday, August 3, it was decided to refuse the ship docking and do all repair works directly where the ship stranded. On the same day, representatives of the German company that supplied the spare parts during the shipbuilding, went on board the ship.
Specialists of Tallinn Shipyard together with representatives of the German supplier and Italian Fincantieri replaced the faulty transformers, which had caused the damage. As a result, the repair works were completed in the shortest possible time, on August 7, and the ship could then leave the dock.
"The representatives of Wilhelmsen Ship Management thanked Tallinn Shipyard for the efficiently executed ship repair work and declared Tallinn Shipyard a reliable partner for further cooperation," noted Igor Shelaev.
He also explained that such defects on cruise ships appear very rarely. This case and the competence of BLRT Grupp workers have opened one more door for us in establishing a trusting relationship with the large vessel operator. "We offer solutions based on the individual needs of our customers, even in extreme situations. We repeatedly have to change our schedule in order to assist our partners on time. We are used to working efficiently, consistently and professionally, regardless of the scale and complexity of the work. This allows our company to keep its good reputation," acknowledges Igor Shelaev.
Thanks to the successful progress of the repair works, Wilhelmsen Ship Management added Tallinn Shipyard to the list of approved contractors. This was a momentous event for us, as the shipyard in Turku has a suitable suitable for servicing the large fleet of Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
The list of our potential projects includes the scheduled maintenance of the ferries of Wilhelmsen Ship Management's subsidiary Viking River Cruises, which at the beginning of its activities operated small river vessels but is now expanding the scope of its operations. In the spring of 2015, one passenger ferry was floated out – the aforementioned cruise ship Viking Star. In 2016, it is planned to complete the construction of two more ships – Viking Sea and Viking Sky – which will operate in the Baltic Sea region, and therefore will pass technical inspection in the most convenient place for them and will be repaired in our docks.
