The provincial government is still negotiating with Damen Shipyards over who will carry the costs associated with the time the ferry has been out of service since starting on the Fogo Island-Change Islands run at the end of 2015.
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The unsettled costs include, but are not limited to: emergency flights for ferry users (plane and helicopter); berthing fees; extra crew costs and about half a million dollars for a required refit of the MV Capt. Earl Winsor.
For now, Damen Shipyards has completed required modifications to the Veteran and agreed to do the same — without charge — to the Legionnaire, before that ferry is delivered from Europe.
The builder has extended the warranty period for the Veteran by an extra year from its original in-service date, to December 2017.
The Veteran is scheduled to return to regular service Wednesday.
In April, the roughly $50-million ferry was removed from service due to a failed port thruster. Damen and its contractor Rolls Royce set about determining a root cause, examining the ship’s propulsion system in detail and finding a lubrication problem and failed bearing from a lack of proper lubrication.
“A range of improvements have been made to the stern thrusters and the bearing lubrication process to prevent future issues,” said Transportation Minister Al Hawkins, offering a statement before taking questions, while seated alongside a Damen representative at Confederation Building Monday.
There are new lubrication lines, valves and stabilization measures on the Veteran now, plus the companies are installing additional oversight as the ferry re-starts operations — with personnel on board for immediate technical support and new sensors in place, to allow monitoring of the vessel by experts at the Rolls Royce marine thruster facility in Finland.
“Damen has been responsive and dedicated to addressing the issues and getting the vessel back in service,” the minister said. “They have assured us they are satisfied that all the actions to address the issue with the vessel have been explored and that the work completed will help ensure greater reliability in the future.”
An apology was offered from Damen Shipyards to local ferry users, before responding to the more technical questions of the day.
“As we see it right now, it was a mechanical failure in the system of the thruster, built by Rolls Royce,” said Jan van Hogerwou, general manager for North America with Damen.
On who might be ultimately to blame for the province’s latest ferry woes, he offered the company’s support for Rolls Royce, highlighting that corporation’s response to the issue to date. “Rolls Royce is doing a fantastic job. I have to applaud them for that,” he said, before pointing to their ability to offer support services in St. John’s.
On the related costs, Hawkins had no overall figure on what the province is looking to cover, as some costs are still being determined.
He could not say when all of the bills would be settled.
The provincial government is still negotiating with Damen Shipyards over who will carry the costs associated with the time the ferry has been out of service since starting on the Fogo Island-Change Islands run at the end of 2015.
RELATED STORIES
MV Veteran scheduled to return to service July 6
Province, Damen negotiate over ferries
The unsettled costs include, but are not limited to: emergency flights for ferry users (plane and helicopter); berthing fees; extra crew costs and about half a million dollars for a required refit of the MV Capt. Earl Winsor.
For now, Damen Shipyards has completed required modifications to the Veteran and agreed to do the same — without charge — to the Legionnaire, before that ferry is delivered from Europe.
The builder has extended the warranty period for the Veteran by an extra year from its original in-service date, to December 2017.
The Veteran is scheduled to return to regular service Wednesday.
In April, the roughly $50-million ferry was removed from service due to a failed port thruster. Damen and its contractor Rolls Royce set about determining a root cause, examining the ship’s propulsion system in detail and finding a lubrication problem and failed bearing from a lack of proper lubrication.
“A range of improvements have been made to the stern thrusters and the bearing lubrication process to prevent future issues,” said Transportation Minister Al Hawkins, offering a statement before taking questions, while seated alongside a Damen representative at Confederation Building Monday.
There are new lubrication lines, valves and stabilization measures on the Veteran now, plus the companies are installing additional oversight as the ferry re-starts operations — with personnel on board for immediate technical support and new sensors in place, to allow monitoring of the vessel by experts at the Rolls Royce marine thruster facility in Finland.
“Damen has been responsive and dedicated to addressing the issues and getting the vessel back in service,” the minister said. “They have assured us they are satisfied that all the actions to address the issue with the vessel have been explored and that the work completed will help ensure greater reliability in the future.”
An apology was offered from Damen Shipyards to local ferry users, before responding to the more technical questions of the day.
“As we see it right now, it was a mechanical failure in the system of the thruster, built by Rolls Royce,” said Jan van Hogerwou, general manager for North America with Damen.
On who might be ultimately to blame for the province’s latest ferry woes, he offered the company’s support for Rolls Royce, highlighting that corporation’s response to the issue to date. “Rolls Royce is doing a fantastic job. I have to applaud them for that,” he said, before pointing to their ability to offer support services in St. John’s.
On the related costs, Hawkins had no overall figure on what the province is looking to cover, as some costs are still being determined.
He could not say when all of the bills would be settled.
