P&O’s ropax ferry Norbay has undergone a dry docking and repair at A&P Tyne which included the removal and overhaul of the vessel’s stabilisers.

During the vessel’s 12 days in dock, A&P’s team removed, dismantled and cleaned the stabilisers as well as worked closely with P&O’s ship contractor to replace the seals, before the units were re-assembled, filled with oil, tested and refitted.

Despite the short time in dock, A&P was also required to carry out a comprehensive array of other checks, repairs and renewals.

Work included replacing 80 hull anodes and the port side belting, measuring the propellor shaft wear down, overhauling the lower hold operating cylinders and foc’sle aft mooring winch and testing the rudder pressure, as well as replacing the lower hold lid hinge pins and the exhaust gas pipe above the funnel deck with new steel.

Mike Wappet, Marine Director for A&P North East said: “Due to a change of schedule we had only six days’ notice of the intent to dock so our team had to ready themselves quickly.

“Some additional steel work was also required as part of the class survey which made the schedule tight, however we moved to 24 hour working to ensure we met the undocking deadline and maintained the highest standards of marine engineering and fabrication.”

A&P Group is a leading provider of ship repair, conversion and marine services and heavy engineering expertise and operates seven dry docks and extensive fabrication facilities across three strategic locations in the UK.

As one of the leading engineering business in the UK, A&P is  involved in a diverse range of fabrication and repair projects across a broad cross section of sectors including Defence, Marine, Oil and Gas, Subsea, Energy, Civil and Nuclear.  High profile projects have included delivering block build fabrication for the Astute Submarine Class, HMS Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carriers and RRS Sir David Attenborough, as well as fabricating pontoons and sea fastenings for the offshore wind sector. All A&P Group facilities combine a rich heritage of marine and engineering skills and experience, providing a diverse customer base with all the precision skills needed to complete the most demanding projects.