Maiden Voyage Cargo: a River Steamer

Press release // 10. January 2010

Heavy Lift Dock Ship MS “COMBI DOCK IV” on Course for Rotterdam after Naming Ceremony at Lloyd Werft Shipyard – Plans to Continue Cooperation – Appeal to Banks and Political Leadership

Shipping company owner Peter Harren said it proudly: The building of four specialized heavy lift vessels at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven was “a grand achievement.” At the same time, Harren backed up the hope that Rüdiger Pallentin, Managing Director of the Lloyd Werft shipyard had expressed when the last of this construction series was delivered, underlining: “I am fairly certain that there will be no more than a brief pause in our cooperation.” At the Danish/German joint venture K/S Combi Lift, plans are being considered to build two additional heavy lift dock ships as soon as sufficient financing has been secured. In the meantime, MS “COMBI DOCK IV” (162.50 meters in length, 17,341 GRTs) is taking its first special cargo on board in Rotterdam.

Shipping company owners Finn Poulsen (Korsør) and Peter Harren (Bremen) have no doubt at all that world-wide market demand for heavy lift and project cargo shipping supports a continuation of the Combi Dock series. MS “COMBI DOCK IV” left on its maiden voyage on the very day after the naming ceremony en route to Rotterdam where it will load a river cruise vessel destined for Le Havre. A project cargo in West Africa is already waiting for it as its second job.

With the four dock ships built at Lloyd Werft within two years, K/S Combi Lift has gained wide open access to an attractive specialized global market. The three predecessor vessels are very successfully deployed across the world and the fourth – and for now last – ship in the series is part of the same success story. This grew from an idea that originated with Harren & Partner and K/S Combi Lift and was realized in cooperation with Lloyd Werft.

During the naming ceremony, Peter Harren of the Harren & Partner shipping company reminded everyone that awarding the contract to Lloyd Werft had not been a foregone conclusion and recalled discussions in China and South Korea. But candidates there were only interested in a 20 ship series. “This, consequently, eliminated all newbuilding shipyards. We were lucky to land finally at Lloyd Werft,“ Harren recalled, summing up his conclusion by noting that the successful realization of the four contracts for four very specialized dock ships with their complex design concept had demonstrated “that it is possible to build ships in Germany.” It is “a real pleasure to launch and operate these ships,” he added, praising the work of the Lloyd Werft shipyard and its partners and noting as an example that MS “COMBI DOCK III” had just recently taken a submarine destined for South Korea on board in Malaysia.

With the building of these four dock ships, which are the first of their kind in the world, Lloyd Werft “demonstrated the quality it offers as a conversion shipyard,” was the conclusion drawn by Werner Lüken. At the same time, the Lloyd Werft Chairman recalled the special challenge of turning the design concept for the “COMBI DOCK II” almost “entirely inside out” while the construction was underway to make it an offshore specialist fitted with a helicopter platform and a moonpool for diving missions. “A newbuilding shipyard could not have accomplished this in the time available,” he emphasized, pointing out that “we believe that by doing so, we have offered a decisive demonstration of our ability to build specialized vessels that is very much the envy of other shipyards in Germany and beyond.”

Conditions in the ship building and shipping industries “are anything but good,” Lüken observed.  So Lloyd Werft is very proud of the successful delivery of the four Combi Dock vessels “that have enabled us further to expand our successful niche market strategy built around ship repair, ship conversions and ship completions for specialized vessels.”

Werner Lüken: Germany’s shipbuilding industry cannot be allowed to loose its capabilities

But speaking also as Chairman of the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association (Verband für Schiffbau und Meerestechnik; VSM), Werner Lüken reiterated his general view that “in the face of the massive Asian competition and its strategy of ship-building capacity expansion unchecked even by the financial crisis as well as enormous government support for shipyards in China and South Korea” shipbuilding in Germany could only look for a future “in niche segments.” In this effort, innovative, technology-intensive, environmentally sound, fuel efficient and low-maintenance construction must offset the higher newbuilding cost within just a few years. Lüken views the building of specialized transport vessels for the offshore industry, as well as vessels for the navy and for public agencies or of mega yachts as another area of opportunity for German shipbuilding.

Werner Lüken noted that this segment would be narrower than the field for shipbuilding in Germany until now: “We will undergo further contraction in our industry this year and must take care not to loose even more of our capabilities,” because the German maritime industry as a whole still has “a certain system-wide relevance” for the nation, allowing Germany to remain an export leader. But this also means “that banks must enable shipping companies and shipyards to finance shipbuilding in Germany,” Werner Lüken warned.

The fact that China and South Korea, after displacing Germany as the world’s leading exporter, are about to take over its leading role in the area of ship financing “cannot be a welcome development,” Lüken warned, demanding that “the political leadership and the banks counteract this at all costs.” Basel II failed to prevent the crisis in the financial markets, “and so it is not an appropriate means of finding a way out of the crisis.”

Editors please note: We will be happy to provide you with current images in digital format upon request. Please contact Ms. Edda Zacharias by phone +49 (0) 471/478-318 or via e-mail at info@lloydwerft.com.

Seven Seas Navigator emerges from the drydock

Press release // 03. Januar 2010

Seven Seas Navigator emerges from the drydock

WRITTEN BY TEIJO NIEMELÄ    
SUNDAY, 03 JANUARY 2010

Regent Seven Seas Cruises' 490-guest Seven Seas Navigator debuted in Port Everglades at the end of December fresh from a comprehensive, stem-to-stern 50-day transformation. Considered one of the most luxurious ships afloat, the intimate, all-suite vessel sports a sophisticated new décor, with rich fabrics and furnishings, much like those found in an elegant estate home. The drydock was carried out at the Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany."The makeover of Seven Seas Navigator gives the ship a stunning new look and feel," stated Mark Conroy, the line's President. "Along with the new Canyon Ranch SpaClub, I'm sure our loyal repeat guests will love the new dining options, including La Veranda, Prime 7 and the Patio Grill, as well as the redecorated main dining room."Highlights at a Glance:– Prime 7 – a new restaurant – features a rich palette of green and gold, with supple leather seating, granite and burnished woods.

The menu features prime-aged steaks and chops as well as poultry and fresh seafood.– Compass Rose – the ship's main dining room – has undergone a dramatic update with new window treatments, carpets and plush cranberry and camel armchairs. New signature china, silver and glassware complete the redesign.– La Veranda, with both indoor and al fresco seating, replaced Portofino's restaurant. New furniture, carpeting and draperies create an elegant ambiance. Food stations have been redesigned and enhanced for guests to enjoy lavish breakfast and lunch buffets. In the evening diners select from a menu of regionally themed specialties. – A new Pool Grill features a hot and cold buffet, panini sandwich station and coffee and dessert area in addition to a state-of-the-art barbecue grill.

The Pool Bar, at the other end of the pool deck, was expanded and enhanced with a new ice cream station, fully equipped with machines for milkshakes and frappes. – Stars Lounge (pictured at right) received a masterful makeover. A ruby-red carpet running the length of the entryway sets the stage for this glamorous club with furnishings that exude a classic Hollywood elegance. – Galileo's sports bold new interiors, window coverings and a sleek new bar area. An outdoor lounge has been added with stylish sofas and chaises overlooking the sea. – Navigator Lounge features rich hues of cappuccino, camel and navy accented by apple-green. The card room and library were redecorated and all public spaces throughout the ship were refreshed.

Four Specialized Vessels in Two Years

Press release // 04. Januar 2010

On 8 January, Lloyd Werft will deliver MS “Combi Dock IV” as the fourth and last newbuilt vessel for Combi Lift.

This is the fourth and last in the series of vessels newly built for K/S Combi Lift within two years, which the shipyard Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH will deliver this Friday (8 January 2010): MS “Combi Dock IV” represents the completion, for now, of the cooperation between the Danish/German joint venture Combi Lift – a joint venture of the shipping companies J. Poulsen Shipping A/S (Korsør) and Harren & Partner (Bremen) – and the Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH.  “This was a wonderful example of cooperation, which we would not have missed for anything, and which we will hopefully be able to continue," was the conclusion for Lloyd Werft drawn by Managing Director Rüdiger Pallentin, who added with great satisfaction that to date all three of the specialized vessels delivered since 22 December 2007 had performed “faultlessly and without a hitch” on the international markets. Number four will now follow on Friday with a naming ceremony at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven scheduled for 4 p.m.

Even in Bremerhaven, with its rich tradition as a ship-building location, ship naming ceremonies have become a rare event. This will make this Friday’s naming of the 162.30 meter dock ship "Combi Dock IV” by godmother Maria Poulsen, wife of the Danish shipping company partner Peter Poulsen all the more interesting. In just two years, Lloyd Werft will have delivered four complex specialized vessels to Combi Lift – a joint venture of the shipping companies Harren & Partner and J. Poulsen Shipping, A.S. “One ship every six month,” underlined Rüdiger Pallentin, noting again that the Combi Dock vessels represent the largest single order that the shipyard had ever been awarded by a German shipping company.

For the Combi Dock series, Lloyd Werft focussed again on ship completion, thus following an approach that has proven its worth over the years. It arranged for all four hulls to be built at the Crist yard in Gdansk, Poland, then completed the fittings in Bremerhaven – adhering to the principle, which will hold especially true in the future, that Lloyd Werft will not and does not intend to be a newbuilding shipyard. That the often praised flexibility of Lloyd Werft was demanded most of all for the Combi Dock series was also demonstrated during the construction of “Combi Dock II.” As it was being built in 2008, the “standard” dock ship in this series unexpectedly became a very specialized and complex offshore vessel for deployment in the Gulf of Mexico. Combi Lift entered into a long-term charter agreement with Mexican partners.

In addition to the “Combi Dock” features, the vessel was outfitted with a helicopter platform on the fore ship, a moon pool for diving missions, housing containers on the deck as well as specialized equipment for off-shore missions, and was ready to be named as MS "Blue Giant" on 1 August 2008. To quote Lloyd Werft Managing Director Werner Lüken: “A newbuilding shipyard could not have demonstrated such flexibility in so short a time." In Bremerhaven, critical elements of the building design were “completely turned inside out for offshore missions,” noted Rüdiger Pallentin, praising the work of his colleagues and the cooperation with the shipping company owners.

Combi Lift will use the newly built vessels "Combi Dock I,” “Combi Dock III,” and now “Combi Dock IV” to extend its dominant position in the area of universally deployable ships for high-standard project cargo shipping – a concept that was developed by Harren & Partner and successfully implemented together with Lloyd Werft. With the four newly built vessels, Combi Lift makes a particular mark on the world-wide project market, in which there were no ships with a performance profile that could compare to that of the "Combi Dock" series. This also applies, above all, to the Heavy Lift market with its high-performance requirements.

The new design concept allows the dock ships not only to accommodate complete ships up to a draft of 4.50 meters and a length of 130 meters on the flush deck in lowered position, but also extremely heavy cargo. The trump card of the new specialized vessels is their versatility, which is enhanced by two high-performance cranes that are capable of lifting up to 700 TS when used in a tandem operation. In addition, a third cargo crane can lift another 200 TS. The sternramp of the Combi vessels is also built for extremely high loads, capable of withstanding weights of up to 700 tons to be driven over it. This also created a requirement for the semi-submersible cargo deck to withstand a load of 16 TS per M2.

With the delivery of “Combi Dock IV,” Lloyd Werft also demonstrates above all, that the market for specialized vessels, with the most sophisticated technical requirements, remains a trump card that it continues to hold as one of the world’s leading shipbuilders. In combination with flexibility, adherence to deadlines and more than 150 years of expertise in the shipbuilding market, these are quality and performance characteristics that serve as valuable building blocks for the future, especially during the global shipbuilding crisis.



MS “Combi Dock IV” - Main particulars:

Length overall: 162.30 m
Length between perpendiculars: 147.60 m
Breadth molded: 25.40 m
Draft: 6.60 m
Docking draft: 11.00 m
Service speed: 16 knots
Gross tonnage (GRT): 17,341

Class: GL100 A5 E IW BWM-S,
Multi Purpose Dry Cargo Ship
Cargo hold dimensions: 130 m x 18 m x 10.20 m
Tweendeck adjustable to two different heights: 6.00 m / 4.70 m
Cranes: 2 x 350 TS; 1 x 200 TS Liebherr
Main engine: 2 x 4,480 kw MAN 8L32/44 CR

Editors please note: Editorial staff is cordially invited to the naming ceremony for MS “Combi Dock IV” at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven (Outfitting Pier) on Friday, 8 January 2010 at 4:00 p.m.

Images in digital format are available upon request by calling +49-(0)471- 478-318 (Ms. Zacharias) or at info@lloydwerft.com.