"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).

"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 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.