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Landing Platform Dock HNLMS Johan de Witt (L801) has been moored at quay E in Vlissingen-Oost since 3 March 2022 and a lot of work has been done since then. In the coming year, the amphibious transport ship will undergo both its third period of Scheduled Maintenance and a major Mid Life Update (MLU). A unique event for Damen Naval, says Project Director Fer Tummers. “It is the first time we have combined Scheduled Maintenance of this scope with an MLU and that is one of the reasons why this is such a challenging and complex project.”
Landing Platform Dock HNLMS Johan de Witt was towed to Vlissingen in March.
In the coming months, the ship will be at the quay for the first part of the work. At the beginning of July, it will move to the covered dry dock at Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen (DSV) for, among other things, the painting of the underwater hull and superstructure and of all the tanks and the interior. At the end of 2022, the ship will return to the quayside, until it is towed back to Den Helder at the end of March 2023, where the Royal Netherlands Navy has planned the necessary work and will carry operational trials.
Project director Fer Tummers
“During the first period we were primarily busy with emptying the ship: the bridge was emptied, the ceilings were removed, the seawater pumps and separators were taken off board,” says Fer. “The walkways have also been screened off and the equipment that remains on board during the work has been covered and protected.”
Some 75 MLU items will be handled over the next year, including refurbishing or replacing equipment such as armament and communications systems, new freshwater systems, seawater pumps, new deck coverings and more. The bridge, the joint operations room, the command centre and the technical centre will be completely renovated. The onboard medical facilities, such as the operating room, IC beds and the nursing room, are also being modernised.
“This project has a completely different complexity than a newly built ship. It is much more difficult to fit new systems and equipment into an already existing structure.” Fer Tummers
“This project has a completely different complexity than a newly built ship. That is sometimes underestimated internally. It is much more difficult to fit new systems and equipment into an already existing structure and within existing working systems,” explains Fer. “In addition, many of our own internal systems and processes have been set up for new construction projects. And because the Scheduled Maintenance and the MLU are taking place at the same time, Damen Naval is dealing with one formal client, DMO [Defence Materiel Organisation], but there are two very important stakeholders besides DMO: DMI [Naval Maintenance and Sustainment Agency] and CZSK (the crew). All these different facets make this project challenging in a different way than we are used to, but it is also very special and that makes it a lot of fun.”
During the MLU, the bridge, the joint operations room, the command centre and the technical centre will be completely renovated.
Before the start of the project, two new buildings were erected on quay E. The main building contains various meeting rooms, offices for Damen Naval, DSV, DMO and DMI and the crews of some of the major subcontractors. There are also washing and changing facilities for a total of 50 people. In the second building there is a larger wash and dressing room for 150 people and the large canteen where meals are served in shifts.
“The realisation of this phase involves some 450,000 man-hours that have to be accomplished in a period of just over one year. That means that on average 200 people will be working on board and at the peak of the project around 350,” says Fer. “It was not possible to find space for these people within the existing facilities at Vlissingen-Oost. These buildings are so-called temporary buildings, but with an eye to the future.”
The newly constructed main building on quay E.
In order to gain access to the quay, all employees on the project are tested for corona twice a week. For this purpose, a separate test lane has been set up at the entrance to quay E. This too is unusual, but according to Fer, it works well. “We regularly find employees who have no complaints but who test positive. Because it is such a challenging project, we can’t afford to have employees stay home sick for long periods or in large numbers. We will evaluate the testing policy at the end of April, but so far it seems to be working.”
Project manager Vincent van Rulo.
Damen Naval is working closely with Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen for the contract. DSV is taking on the Scheduled Maintenance part of the project and Project Manager Vincent van Rulo is looking forward to the job. “We are currently busy carrying out inspections of various systems and components. In addition, we have already started maintenance and repairs on a number of large items such as hangar doors, davits and ship cranes. Preparations for docking the vessel have also started. For example, various ship parts will have to be removed for the conservation programme. There is a lot involved in that,” he explains.
“It is a challenging project, but it is nice to intensify the cooperation with another Damen division. That cooperation, but also the fact that we are dealing with both the DMO and the DMI, means that there are many people involved. The nature of the project (Scheduled Maintenance + MLU) together with the number of stakeholders requires good coordination of everyone’s activities, which makes it sometimes difficult but certainly not less fun.”