North Sea Fisheries’ vessel, ‘FD 283 Trui van Hinte’, was berthed alongside the fishing quay in the harbour of Harlingen, in the north of the Netherlands, when she was struck by a container vessel. As a result of the collision, the 40 x 9 metre fishing vessel had a hole ripped into her shell plating, causing the fish hold to flood.

North Sea Fisheries generally take their vessels to Damen Shipyards Den Helder for maintenance work. However, on this occasion, the damage to ‘Trui van Hinte’ was such that she could not sail. Thankfully, as Damen Shiprepair & Conversion consists of a network of ship repair facilities located at key points along the northwestern European coastline, the client was able to have the required work carried out on their vessel at Damen Shiprepair Harlingen.

The damage incurred by the vessel required the yard to carry out plating repairs and renewal of a range of on board equipment and facilities, including cables, fixed ballast (concrete and steel), concrete floor, panelling and insulation, scale ice machine and cooling installations and rigging material.

Frank Seinen, Managing Director of Damen Shiprepair Harlingen, takes up the story. “The renewal of the fixed ballast was a very challenging job. During investigation, water was found behind the shell plating and fixed ballast. Chopping out the ballast took place in the summer, at temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius, over a 3-week period. In this aspect we worked closely with the client, whose crew were also actively involved in this part of the work.”

He explains that establishing a timeframe for the project was also initially a challenge, as the extent of the damage was not known until after the inspection. “In the end it took 3 months, which, considering the scale of the damage, represents a quick turnaround. Once we had established a timeframe for completion, we were able to carry out all the work on time and on budget.

Of course, we were helped in this by the close cooperation with the owners of the vessel. The client was very positive about the stay at our yard and very happy with the performance of the vessel following the work, but most of all they were just happy they could go fishing again!”