Damen Shiprepair Oskarshamnsvarvet (DSO) has won a public tender for the contract to undertake a lifetime extension project on the passenger ferry Waxholm II. Built in 1983, the 35.5 metre ferry carries up to 350 passengers and is operated by Waxholms Ångfartygs AB (Waxholmsbolaget), the public body responsible for public transport by boat in the Greater Stockholm region. She is owned by Region Stockholm, the regional authority.
Waxholm II is scheduled to arrive at DSO on April 1st 2019 and will spend three months there before returning to service on July 3rd 2019. The works, which will bring the ferry up to the latest standards of safety, comfort and performance, will include the refurbishment of the passenger areas, the refit of the wheelhouse, the renewal of the generator and main switchboard, a major overhaul of the gearboxes and the renewal of the aluminium bulkheads on the saloon deck. With such a wide variety of activities going on at the same time, managing the many trades working across all the decks will require precise scheduling.
DSO has had a good relationship with Waxholmsbolaget and Region Stockholm over the years, and between 2013 and 2015 performed even more extensive works on Waxholm I, a sister ship to Waxholm II, and upgraded the two fast ferries Roslagen and Skärgården. Other ferries from the 25-vessel fleet of Waxholmsbolaget have also used the yard for repairs and maintenance and, in the early 1990s, DSO built five fast ferries for the same client.
Since that period, contract awards based on personal relationships have had to give way to transparent public tendering, a change that DSO welcomes, and the yard was pleased to win this latest tender by both meeting the challenging terms of the contract and offering the most competitive price.
“The three-month deadline will be tight,” says Flip van der Waal, managing director of DSO. “We have some serious challenges ahead of us regarding both the timescale and the budget, but we are confident that, with detailed planning before the Waxholm II arrives at the yard and first-class project management while she is here, we will deliver a rejuvenated vessel that will serve her passengers and crew well for many years to come.”