Senior project manager Tjeerd Schulting stands on an after-deck section that has just been renewed by the crew of Shipdock Amsterdam.

Looking around him he says: “This really is the Champions League of ship repair…”

The ship he is referring to is a high-tech DP diving support vessel the Seven Eagle, which is owned by Subsea 7. This ship has been designed to carry out field development and construction activities and features: a 16-man twin bell saturation diving system, two work class ROVs (able to operate up to a depth of 3,000 metres) multiple cranes – including the 250t main crane, a 90t top-tension flexible lay system and a 1,200t below-decks storage carousel.

The many tasks for Shipdock include: HP washing, blasting and painting of both moon pools, an overhaul of both Azimuth propulsion thrusters as well as the three bow thrusters, the renewal of the after-deck, overhaul, blasting and painting of the booms of the main crane and two other cranes at Shipdock’s steel & construction site, renewal of multiple pipes and valves, blasting and painting of the under water ship and a lot more…

Tjeerd Schulting: “Offshore work is a growing market and we are happy to get a fair share of it. These kind of jobs make us feel proud to be a part of Shipdock. For everybody – our staff as well as our subcontractors – working for clients like Subsea 7 is what makes our clock tick. As I said, the Champions League of ship repair. But that also creates a degree of responsibility; not only in craftsmanship but, nowadays, especially in HSEQ. To meet with the high safety standards required by our offshore customers, we have developed a tailor-made Offshore Health and Safety Regime. This we constantly improve on a day-by-day basis, for example by talking and listening to the client’s own safety officers, who are here to monitor our progress, and by immediately implementing the lessons we learn.”