ALAMOSBORG

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Trial after engine repairs completed halfa year after breakdown

The 'Alamosborg 'which had been under main engine repairs at the Campamento shipyard since Aug 3, 2019, after being disabled in the Atlantic in July started a trial voyage along the Spanish coast on Jan 15, 2020, at 6.50 a.m. The ship ultimately reached Algeciras on Jan 16 and berthed at the Dique de Abrigo Ingeniero at 10.40 p.m. On June 18th, 2019, the ship had left the port of Duluth after loading 11.000 tonnes of sugarbeetpulppellets for ADM and set direction to the port of Casablanca with an ETA as of July 25. On July 1 at 8.30 p.m., while sailing 250 miles north east from the Azores, the vessel suffered a main engine breakdown. The chief engineer noted a major damage to the main engine. Piston cylinder 5 had the connecting rod out, a broken crankcase and a damaged crankshaft. Thre ship was unable to continue sailing. The destination port Casablanca was on a distance of approximately 730 miles. José Luis Guerra of Wave Shipping as the shipping agent in Casablanca, Piter Oosterhof from the fleet management department (FMD) and the chartering department (CHD) were informed about the situation. To arrange the 'Alamosborg' to be towed to a port, Wagenborg Towage director Marc Mazereeuw was informed. The insurance department was informed including the information that Algeciras has preference for FMD. To replace the crankshaft and possibly engine block, access had to be be made through the engine room bulkhead in hold 2. For this, the cargo in this hold had to be unloaded. The result was that hold 1 also had to be unloaded, because otherwise the ship would have been forward with a trim of 2 meters, which meant that repairs could not be done properly and safely. For a lightering operation, the chartering department needed a suitable vessel and checked her open tonnage. The 'Helga' turned out to be in position to receive the cargo from the 'Alamosborg'. Currently, the Helga was still heading for Bilbao, but the intention iwas s to have her completed with discharging there on July 15 so she could reach south Spain on July 18. Sebastiaan Verstappen, who was working on the bunker planning for the Wagenborg fleet, got the idea to pump the remaining HFO (191,408 mts) out of the 'Alamosborg' and transfer it to the 'Helga' because the repairs were expected to take several months and with the upcoming sulphur 2020 regulations, the HFO in the tanks of the 'Alamosborg' wpuld be useless. Finally, a tug was approved by the insurance company. In approximately 3 days, the ‘Alp Ippon’ was to arrive at the 'Alamosborg'. The ports of Huelva, Málaga, Cádiz and Algeciras were requested these ports for the possibilities for unloading, storage and loading for the cargo. The preference was Algeciras as there were enough facilities to do ship repairs. For discharging the cargo grabs were necessary, which were currently not available. The supercargoes of Wagenborg were requested to advise about the type and specs of the needed grabs. Supercargo Albert Snijders, based in Helsinki, came up with the idea of using two available grabs in Delfzijl. Normally, Wagenborg Stevedoring is using these grabs for discharging sugar vessels in Delfzijl, but these were also perfect for the A-type cranes. Available space was confirmed to be at the port facility at Campamento, near the Cernaval shipyard in Algeciras which was perfect for both repairs and board-to-board operations for the 'Alamosborg' and 'Helga'. This choice could avoid extra time and costs compared to another port. On July 8 the Algeciras port Authorities gave green light for board-to-board operations in Algeciras on the condition that all cargo had to be discharged as quickly as possible due to danger of auto combustion. In addition, both vessels had to meet the ballast water convention and conduct risk assessments. To prevent pollution, booms had to be placed around the vessels and tarpaulins between the two ships to prevent water pollution. José Luis Guerra was in consultation with the chartering department still evaluating the various scenarios and ports with regards to transshipment of the cargo. Towing to the destiny port Casablanca was not an option, since the port authorities will not give a permission to bring in a ‘death’ vessel into this port. An alternative option was to discharge the cargo ashore and reload the cargo. A last scenario was transshipping the cargo by means of a board-to-board operation. However, also this must be granted by the port authorities. All scenarios were still under evaluation, but the last one was still preferable.” An official request an anti-spillage plan were sent to the Algeciras port Authorities to perform a board-to-board operation. On July 5 Harry Boers from Wagenborg Stevedoring confirmed the technical details and suitability of the grabs. Max Tack of Wagenborg Projects & Logistics immediately booked transport to south Spain for these grabs by truck. At 3 p.m. the tug 'Alp Ippon' arrived at the 'Alamosborg' and started the tow as soon as possible to the direction of south Spain with an ETA as of July 10. All was arranged for a proper and safe arrival of the 'Alamosborg' with pilots , port, tugs, mooring men and the shipyard being notified.” On July 10 at 1. p.m. the 'Alamosborg' arrived and berthed at the port of Algeciras., waiting for the arrival of the 'Helga' in order to perform the transshipment of the cargo. On July 14 the two grabs were loaded at the terminal of Wagenborg Stevedoring in Delfzijl and set direction to Algeciras. Meanwhile other needed equipment, such as fenders and special covers for the 'Alamosborg' were mobiluzed. On July 18 the bunkering hoses and equipment were delivered to the 'Alamosborg'. Also the fenders were rigged to the vessel. At 1 p.m. the 'Helga' arrived at Algeciras and berthed next to the Alamosborg. Booms were placed around both vessels after which the Port Auxiliary Service Bunker Surveyor was invited to carry out a bunker survey on both vessels. At 6 p.m. the bunker operations started. On July 17 the formal confirmation was received from the port authorities to carry out the requested HFO transfer from the 'Alamosborg' to the 'Helga' along with the confirmation from the hose rental company they would be able to supply hoses with enough length and with adapters with gaskets to connect to both vessel´s connection points. On July 19 bunkering ended. The surveyor together with the receivers surveyor arrived to perform hold inspections and cargo sampling for the cargo transshipment to the 'Helga'. Both cargo holds of the 'Helga' were visually inspected and found empty and clean. At the same time, the 'Alamosborg' was inspected during opening procedures. The hold and hatches structures were inspected for cleanliness and suitability purposes. Both holds were also in good condition. Upon holds opening, the cargo of sugerbeetpulppellets was visually inspected as far as possible. The cargo in both holds was free-flowing, in sound condition, free from foreign smell and living insects. At noon the bunkering hoses and equipment were collected, and at 3 p.n. the trucks with the grabs arrived at the port of Algeciras. At 4 p.m. tarpaulins were placed between both vessels to prevent pollutions and spills during the transshipment operations. At 5 p.m. the grabs were installed on the deck cranes of the 'Alamosborg'. Before the transshipment operations could finally start, draft surveys were performed on both vessels jointly by the chief officers in order to calculate the transshipped quantity of sugerbeetpulppellets. The board-to-board operations started at 8 p.m. The transshipment operations were performed by means of the three 60 tons deck cranes of the 'Alamosborg'. Each deck crane was equipped with a grab machine resulting in an operating rate of 230 tons per hour. The transshipment operations were carried out 24/7 with only minor stoppages for changing crane operators after their six hours shifts and refueling of the grab machines. On July 22 at 1.25 p.m. all cargo was transferred. The arranged booms around both vessels were removed at 3 p.m. Fenders were removed and the truck with both grabs returned to Delfzijl. at 6.15 p.m. the 'Helga' cleared berth and set direction to Casablanca. n Aug 1 at 10 a.m. tugs and a pilot were arranged to shift the 'Alamosborg' to the repair quay of the shipyard. At 4 p.m. the 'Helga' arrived in her destination port Casablanca with the 'Alamosborg' cargo. Another Wagenborg ship, the 'Marietje Andrea', shipped a new main engine from Italy to Campamento for the Alamosborg in autumn. On Jan 25 the vessel finally left Algecias bound for San Cipriam with an ETA as of Jan 27 7 p.m. Reports with photos: https://www.wagenborg.com/cases/engine-breakdown-mv-alamosborg https://www.alpmaritime.com/projects/mv-alamosborg