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Lloyd Werft's busy April with cruise ship refurbishments

Lloyd Werft's busy April with cruise ship refurbishments
Lloyd Werft is undertaking refurbishment work on two cruise ships this month.

All Leisure’s Voyager has already docked in Bremerhaven, arriving on March 30 and will be followed on April 16 by National Geographic Explorer – a third visit to the German shipyard for refurb work.

The 15,396gt Voyager, which is 152mtr long and 20.56mtr wide, is an old acquaintance of the yard’s project manager Carl Ratjen.

The ship, built in Valencia, was fitted with a new bulbous bow at Lloyd Werft in 2010 when called Alexander von Humboldt.

Voyager has had six owners since 1990 when launched as Crown Monarch.

During her 15 day stay in the yard’s Kaiserdock II, the 25-year-old cruise ship will undergo extensive blasting and conservation work, work on 14 ship tanks, inspection of all sea-valves and a range of work on pipe and valve systems. In addition, the job docket lists the renewal of rubber-headed components on the ship’s bow thruster tunnel as well as the adaption of all the ship’s lifeboats to the latest IMO safety regulations.

Along with the necessary class work on Voyager the ship will get a new hull bottom coating. The ship leaves Bremerhaven on April 14 for Harwich to take new passengers on board in the UK.

The small, 6,471gt expedition ship National Geographic Explorer is no stranger to Lloyd Werft and previously visited the yard in 2013 and 2014.

Built in 1982 as Midnatsol the 148 passenger vessel does not need to enter the floating dock this time. Now 33 years old and ice-strengthened, the 112mtr long and 16.5mtr wide ship specialises in cruises into Arctic and Antarctic waters.