On 22 September 2015, Teekay Shipping’s LNG Tanker, ‘Polar Spirit’, arrived at Damen Shiprepair Brest for a refit. The vessel is one of only three in the world to have an IHI Containment system. Another is the ‘Arctic Spirit’, which docked at the yard back in 2013.

Work included steel repairs and repainting of the ballast water tanks. The top funnel was renewed along with the boiler exhaust and vert line. In order to meet Panama Canal requirements, additional bollards were added both fore and aft and the deck frame was strengthened.

Refit work included tail shaft, propeller and rudder. A thorough engine inspection was carried out along with repairs to pumps, valves, coolers and HP turbine. The entire hull was cleaned by robots before repainting and the front accommodation was also repainted.

The entire scope of work was carried out in just 24 days, on-time and on-budget, and ‘Polar Spirit’ sailed out from the yard on 15 October. The yard’s dedicated Project Manager to the ‘Polar Spirit’, says there were a number of factors contributing to make the project such a success.

“There was good cooperation across all the departments involved with ‘Polar Spirit’. One of the key things was the creation of a cell dedicated exclusively to work on this project. One element of this that really had a positive impact, was the inclusion of a dedicated estimator, who not only made the initial quotation, but also served as a cost-controller throughout the project to ensure we remained thoroughly on target with the budget. Of course, it also helped that the personnel at the yard are skilled in LNG tankers and have had prior experience with cryogenic systems.”