Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) successfully loaded cruise ship Carnival Vista (see also CruiseMapper) on its semi-submersible heavy lift vessel BOKA Vanguard and transported it to a shipyard facility in Freeport, Bahamas for a unique dry docking operation.
Commencing last Saturday 13 July at sunrise the BOKA Vanguard loaded and lifted cruise ship Carnival Vista in a successful operation a few miles off the coast of Freeport. The loading operation including the refloat took twelve hours.
The BOKA Vanguard then safely transported Carnival Vista to Grand Bahama Shipyard where repairs will take place whilst the cruise ship is resting on the BOKA Vanguard. Upon completion of the repairs, Carnival Vista will be offloaded in time for its next scheduled cruise voyage from Galveston in Texas on 27 July.
About the BOKA Vanguard:
The BOKA Vanguard is the world’s largest semi-submersible ship uniquely positioned to lift and transport extremely heavy cargoes in a dry and safe manner. The vessel has an impressive track record transporting large offshore oil and gas structures, but can also carry other vessels and act as a floating offshore dry dock facility. The BOKA Vanguard is unique in that is has an open and flat stern and bow-less deck measuring 275 meters by 70 meters allowing the vessel to lift and transport cargo’s longer and wider than these deck dimensions. By filling its ballast tanks, the ship deck is submerged in a controlled manner, allowing it to lift deep draught cargoes. This creates an alternative for dry docking allowing inspections and repairs to be safely and efficiently conducted at a location where traditional dry dock alternatives are not available.
Source: Boskalis