"EDT Hercules" leaves the shipyard

"La Naval" from Sestao (Spain) last ship 

Time elapses very quickly, more than we usually realize. Yesterday we saw the departure of "La Naval" shipyard's last ship, built there and named "EDT Hercules", and she is the last because there is no one behind to build ... until they get new contracts. This situation is similar to that which occurred about 8 years ago, when this historic shipyard, "La Naval", changed ownership from public Izar to private Construcciones Naval del Norte (CNN).

By that date, October 2006, the LNG gas carrier "Bilbao Knutsen" was launched,  and I put in my other blog a brief post on the launching, with a beautiful night photograph taken by my daughter Natalia. She was the last Izar ship but it was not the last "La Naval" ship, that continued building many ships, some very important.

"EDT Jane" goes to sea

On last October 11th the ship "Jane EDT", designed for support of marine platforms, left La Naval's (Sestao, Spain) fitting-out quay, and run down the river for sea trials before delivery to her owner, the Cypriot group EDT.

 In my blog post on 26/07/2013 I reported the launch of sister ship "EDT Hercules", whose delivery is foreseen in next spring and showed their main features that I will not repeat here, just to remember that both sister ships came from a renegotiation of their contract with CNN Group (Construcciones Navales del Norte) from that the owner got with the former Astilleros de Sevilla, that suspended its activity.

These vessels for EDT are the last two in the current portfolio of La Naval, which, according to my information, is awaiting confirmation for one or several new contracts currently under negotiation. I hope and wish that this will happen soon and I can continue reporting on the activities of this historic shipyard whom I'm bound to from unforgettable experiences and professionals memories after sharing so many years working in their facilities.

Following video shows the historic moment of this vessel passing under the "hanging Vizcaya bridge" and I emphasize historic because it was the first time a ship fitted with the famous "X bow" sailed under this bridge (I do not consider the trip in reverse direction she made a few months ago, way to her fitting-out in La Naval, because she wasn´t still a genuine and complete vessel).

Launching of ship “EDT Hercules” 

in La Naval from Sestao (Spain)

Ship type PSV for shipowner EDT from Cyprus

On  23th  July “La Naval” from  Sestao performed the launching of the ship “EDT Hercules” for the Cyprian group EDT  and her delivery will be made in the next spring, although previously she will be preceded by the one of her twin ship, presently  in the fitting-out quay.

The launching was normal although with the rare arrangement of being launched by the bow, due to the forms of the ship that are very fine at  the stern which would make it difficult her launching by this end as  is normally made.

"La Naval" shipyard of Sestao(Spain) launches the "Joseph Platou"

 "Fall-Pipe" type vessel for Jan de Nul

On August 3, 2012 "La Naval" shipyard, in Sestao (Spain), of the CNN group (Construcciones Navales del Norte =  Northen Shipbuilding) proceeded to launch this vessel for the Belgian shipowner Jan de Nul, a regular customer of this shipyard which has already delivered a twinship, "Simon Stevin", and several suction dredges, including the two largest in the world, in its class, "Cristobal Colón" and "Leiv Eiriksson". About these ships I already included posts  stressing their notability and the "La Naval" capacity to build such a high technology ships and competing worldwide with major shipbuilders .

The shipyard invited me to attend this launching, that I thanked especially in these times of shipbuilding drought , as evidenced by the absence of a keel laying after this launch, as was to be the norm in old good times when shipyards laid the keel of following ship waiting her turn in the queue of orders. I have news, unconfirmed, that "La Naval" will finish the construction of two medium-sized vessels begun in the late Seville shipyard, what will lead to an easing of shipyard situation in the absence of "serious" contracts, matched to its proven category and capacity. I hope that the "tax lease" system  resolves soon, after many months of stand-by, without which the shipyards in this country would have many difficulties to survive.

In this post about the "Simon Stevin", first ship of this series, I summarized the main features of this vessel whose dimensions are

Overall length (m)	191,50
Breadth (m)	40,00
Depth (m)	13,20
Draught loaded (m)	8,50
Deadweight (tonnes)	32.500
Speed (knots)	15,50
Crew	70
Propulsion
Azimuthal propellers	4 x 4.500 Kw
Retractable propellers	2 x 2.000 Kw
Electric generators	5 x 3.300 Kw

Delivery of "Joseph Platou" is scheduled for early next year.

I wish I had taken pictures and video of the launching from the other side of the river, but as I saw it from the guests platform visibility was very poor and I include here some photos of the event only as a recollection, nothing to be with quality.

Ship launching seen from the visitors platform

"La Naval" from Sestao (Spain) launched the dredger "Charles Darwin"

Even with a bad weather a launching is always a cheerful event, it is a birth, a new vessel begins to live in her natural enviroment. This is what happened on Friday June 11, when the shipyard "La Naval" from Sestao (Spain), belonging to CNN group, made the launching of the suction dredger "Charles Darwin" for the Belgian company Jan de Nul, under an incessant rain that did not stop a moment during the launching and while having a drink afterwards at the  purposely fitted tent near the general offices.

Ships to install offshore wind generators

The European Union has plans to expand electric production by wind turbines up to 20 percent of total production in 2020, Spain being one of the leading countries in installed capacity of such generators located onshore.

Recently they have begun to install wind turbines at sea in areas up to 200 miles offshore and at not excessive depths, outstanding this kind of parks in North Sea countries. These "off-shore" generators solve some of the problems arising onshore, as noise, visual aesthetics, environmental opposition, and they get too a better use of wind power, which is greater at sea than onshore, and also allow for larger power / sizes, with better economic performance.

Panama Canal enlargement

It has recently been published some news about the approval by the Government of Panama of an enlargement of its maritime Canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This project has had several years of preparation and the final approval required a referendum from the citizens of Panama, as stated by its Constitution. The completion of the works is planned for late 2014, one hundred years after the opening of the Canal, whose project was initiated by the French engineer and diplomat Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps.

The enlargement includes several types of performances but the most visible from the naval engineering point of view is the building of new locks at both ends of the Canal, of greater length and breadth than the current ones, to allow an increase of the maximum length and breadth of vessels which can enter these locks, that are currently 294,10 m and 32,20 m respectively. The maximum ship breadth allowable in the enlarged locks, will be ab. 53,50 m, which will increase the size of ships able to transit through the Canal. Details of the award of this locks enlargement work can be read in Ref. (1), where it is reported that the Consortium winning the competition open to select a contractor, presented an offer of 3.220 million USD.

LA NAVAL Y LA RÍA

(Autor: Juan José Alonso Verástegui)

A las 16,30 horas del 9 de julio de 1917 la jovencísima madrina Carmen de Zubiría rompía la botella en la proa del vapor Conde de Zubiría en la ceremonia de la primera botadura del astillero de la Naval en Sestao. Para entonces la Compañía Euskalduna ya tenía a flote su construcción nº 39, el vapor escuela Artagan Mendi para Sota y Aznar, que lucía en su popa un mascarón de la Virgen de Begoña. Había sido lanzado al agua el 9 de junio en una muy feliz y festejada botadura en las anteriores mareas vivas, inaugurando también grada. En la del Conde de Zubiría hubo problemas con los sebos de las imadas y el barco se paró a mitad de trayecto y continuó hacia el agua 4 horas después cuando ya se habían marchado todos los invitados. Sufrió una avería en el casco y una copla que le hicieron los bilbaínos:

La Naval shipyard, of the Spanish shipbuilding group CNN builds a fall pipe type ship 

Last February La Naval shipyard, from Sestao, near Bilbao, launched the ship "Simon Stevin", of fall pipe type, having a double mission, rock dumping in water depths up to 1.700 m, and, at the other hand, deep water mineral mining. Rock dumping is devoted to marine works such as protection of submarine cables and pipes, sea bottom refilling in underwater works, etc.



This type of ship is a new one in Spanish shipbuilding and only a few of them are in operation worldwide.