Wight Shipyard completes refit for Wightlink

December 17, 2020

Wight Shipyard Co has showcased its maintenance and repair capabilities to the highest standards during a refit for one of the Isle of Wight’s leading ferry operators.

The Wightlink FastCat catamaran Wight Ryder 1 underwent its annual refit at the Trafalgar Shipyard in mid-November in a fast and efficient turnaround taking under three weeks. “This is another example of how British engineering is winning through, even in these challenging times,” said Jo Daly, COO, WSC. “Our team undertook the work with the professional approach that people expect from the WSC, the project was delivered to the highest of standards both within the timeframe and to budget.”

Responsible operation

The annual refit of the Wightlink fleet is required by Class and flag, it is a process which the operator undertakes to maintain a responsible attitude to safety, reliability and sustainability.

During this year’s refit, WSC took advantage of the space and facilities available at the Trafalgar yard in Portsmouth Harbour. “WSC has teams capable of working to client specification and travelling for both planned or emergency repair and refit. We offer complete flexibility to our customers,” said Jo Daly.

The focus of this refit was the replacement of the starboard stern tube, skeg and liners. In addition, there was maintenance on the anchoring assembly and bow thruster with upgrades including modifications to the hydraulic piping system, improving access and traceability for future maintenance tasks. There were also repairs to the exhaust spray heads, NDT and repairs on sea water inlets, works on the propeller watertight seals and rudders and replacing approx. 6m2 of hull plating due to degrading over the years.

Wightlink’s Fleet Technician Team Leader Chris Ancrum said: “We were impressed with the professionalism and attention to detail from the team from WSC. Their engineers completed a variety of complex tasks with skill and finished the job on time and on budget. We are pleased to work with an Island company to keep our FastCats in good condition.”

One stop shop

New for 2021, will see the completion of a new Wise boat lift on Venture Quays in East Cowes, with the capacity to lift a max weight 260-tons, length 55m and beam 13.5m. This represents an increase of up to 190-tons and allows much larger FastCats and similar craft to be lifted out for repair.

Wight Shipyard Co offers refit, repair, outfitting and overhaul services. Whether you are a commercial operator or luxury yacht owner, the company provides efficient and high-quality solutions to every shipboard need. The WSC family has decades of combined experience in projects of all sizes and offers general refit and repairs, including vessel upgrade, life extension projects and docking.

Over and above its refit and maintenance services, WSC is known for its industry leading ferry builds. Earlier this year it achieved a UK first by building four ferries simultaneously at its own yard for a leading Maltese tour operator. The order, which is WSC’s largest ferry export order to date, consisted of two 20m and two 33m light weight ferries, designed by One2Three Naval Architects.

No other UK shipbuilder in living memory has been able to simultaneously produce four ferries in only nine months.