Norwegian longliner Veidar, which suffered a devastating fire on board last winter, is back at sea following a major refit carried out at Vard Søviknes.
Now it’s heading for the Barents Sea to get back to fishing for cod and haddock, something owner Sindre Dyb has been looking forward to for a long time.
In addition to the factory deck being completely gutted by the fire, there was also smoke damage to other areas of the vessel. This has meant a very extensive rebuild, extending to the wheelhouse, cabins, foredeck, shelterdeck, lockers and areas of the fishroom.
Optimar has produced and installed a completely new factory deck for producing H&G groundfish, designed to make handling a variety of sizes and species easier and more efficient, and providing Veidar with a 55-tonne per day throughput capacity.
‘It’s fantastic to be back at sea,’ said Sindre Johan Dyb, one of Veidar’s three owners, during the final round of testing and commissioning being carried out in Tromsø.
‘It’s fantastic to be back doing what we like best,’ he said, commenting that when it came to choosing a shipyard to carry out the rebuild, the choice went to Vard.
‘Vard was the preferred shipyard to take on this job based on their experience and implementation plan,’ he said and added that he has every reason to be satisfied with the quality of work carried out at Vard Søviknes.
‘The repair of Veidar is in line with Vard’s strategy and commitment to renewable energy and the green transition,’ said the yard’s SVP Aftersales Wilhelm Eggesbø.
‘We have used our core competence and long experience in design and construction of advanced vessels to meet Veidar’s needs in the market. The project also demonstrates Vard’s strength with our fully integrated value chain.’
A new aftersales department has been established to expand the company’s services and support to shipowners through a vessel’s entire working lifetime, with Wilhelm Eggesbø heading this department.
‘Ship repair and conversions have been provided by our Norwegian shipyards since the very beginning. We have the expertise, knowledge, and experience to take care of our customers’ needs in the green and technological transition, and throughout the entire ship’s lifetime. I am looking forward to working together with Wilhelm and his team in this important and exciting market,’ said Erik Hellan Sandnes, COO for Vard’s offshore and specialised vessels business area.
‘Wilhelm is motivated and ready to lead the aftersales department,’ he said.
‘Vard offer both the technology and solutions that gives our customers operational advantages and the greenest and most sustainable solutions for their vessels. When performing either maintenance or conversions we look for the most sustainable solutions to meet our customer’s needs.’
