Here is a marine problem to tease the brain. How do you lift a 133,500-ton cruise ship that is nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower is high? This modern cruise ship is over 1000 feet long and 158 feet wide and needed to be dry-docked to repair its troublesome Azipod electric propolution system. The Carnival Vista had been transported to the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport Grand Bahamas for the repairs.
In 2009 it was determined that one of the four Azipods used to propel the massive liner had problems with the bearings. An Azipod is a giant strut that looks similar to the base of an outboard motor attached to the hull. It is an electric motor that drives a giant propeller and also turns like a rudder. The bearings related to the rudder were the issue. There are four on the Vista. While the ship was never in danger, the two defective Azipods reduced its top speed. In July of 2019 it was determined the ship must be taken out of the water for the repairs.
Robert McGillivray, Nov 10, 2023, writing is Cruisehive about Azipod drive system problem wrote this, ” Although it has been a system that has brought increased fuel efficiency and maneuverability, it has come at a cost. At the core of the issues that we’ve seen since 2016 with the Vista-class cruise ships lie in the Azipod drive system that has been installed onboard. The Azipod propulsion system, used in many modern cruise ships, not just the Vista-class vessels, offers several benefits alongside certain challenges. This system involves placing the ship’s propellers and motors in external pods beneath the hull, which can rotate independently. One of the main advantages of the Azipod system is its enhanced maneuverability. The pods can turn in any direction, allowing ships to navigate tighter spaces and dock more easily. Additionally, Azipods are more fuel-efficient.” Being all electric the ships emissions are reduced as well.
The engineers at Carnival awarded the 50 million dollar job to a company named Royal Boskalis located at Westminster in the Netherlands. To lift the second largest ship in the Carnival fleet they planned to used the Boka Vanguard which is the world’s largest semi-submersible ship and is capable of lifting extremely heavy cargos in what is a massive floating dry dock that is also a massive ship. The Boka-Vanguard is the world’s largest semi-submersible ship and is able to lift and trans port extremely heavy cargoes It has been used to transport large offshore oil and gas rigs, massive concrete caissons as well vessels as large as the Carnival Vista. The Vista is longer than the Boka.
The Boka Vanguard is the world’s largest semi-submersible ship. It is designed to life and to transport extremely heavy cargoes in a dry and safety manner. The vessel does not look at all like a ship. It is a massive floating platform 902.23 feet long and 229.65 feet wide. The open deck allows it to lift and transport cargos that are longer and wider than its deck. A ship can be dry-docked on the Boka for repairs and to move it from one place to another. There is a video of the actual lifting are some video of the lifting of the Vista. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm2cAs445wU.
The Boka Vanguard is truly an amazing vessel. The Project Cargo Journal Author: Adnan Bajic reported, “Boskalis has secured a new record-breaking contract for its flagship heavy transport vessel, Boka Vanguard. The giant semi-submersible ship will transport a 91,000-tonne FPSO from China to Brazil. “With the new contract, the Boka Vanguard is breaking its 90,000-tonne record which was set last year, also transporting an FPSO. The Boka Vanguard is the only vessel in the world capable of such transports because of its unique, bowless design.
The contract is one of several heavy transport contracts with a total value of EUR 120 million, the Dutch offshore contractor has recently secured. The company was also awarded an FPSO transportation form China to the North Sea, which will take place in 2021, and the transportation of two Floating Production Systems from Singapore to the Gulf of Mexico in the period 2021-2022. Additionally, Boskalis secured a contract for the transportation of various large LNG modules from a fabrication yard in China to Russia. The contract ties up the two high-end open-stern heavy transport vessels Blue Marlin and Black Marlin commencing Q2 2021.These contracts were signed in the third and fourth quarter of 2019 with each quarter accounting for half of the total contract value of EUR 120 million.” (160 million dollars}
In this age of super cruise ships, the 220 million dollars to build the Boka was a wise investment. It is a modern maritime marvel. With fees of 50 million dollars or 160 million for a job it would seem the Boka Vanguard is also a valuable needed asset for the maritime industry.