A 190-meter bulker suffered severe collision damage in Lagos, Nigeria. A large hole in the hull plating prevented the ship from sailing at full speed. The classification society also demanded that the vessel go to drydock immediately unless an on-site solution was found. Hydrex therefore sent a diver/technician team to the vessel’s location to carry out an emergency doubler plate repair at anchorage.
The damage was caused when a dredger smashed its bow into the port side of the bulker while the ship was unloading its cargo in Nigeria. A large hole in the vertical side of the ship was the result. In total an area of 4.35 meters wide and 4.10 meters high was deformed. Only a stroke of luck prevented an enormous ingress of water, with a possible disastrous result. The dredger hit the hull plating at the location of a ballast tank. This made it possible to close off the area behind the hole before too much water had flooded into the vessel. A second fortunate factor was that the bulker was still relatively full when the accident took place. This allowed the crew to bring most of the gap above the water by unloading the ship further and deballasting it.
In this new condition the ship was only allowed to sail at a minimum speed and for a very short distance. It was essential to devise a plan that could be carried out as soon as possible and on-site.
Left – Inspections were carried out before commencing repairs
Right – Damage located in way of a ballast tank.
A temporary repair was proposed to the owner shortly after he contacted Hydrex. A special doubler plate would be made and installed over the opening. This would give the owner the opportunity to take his ship to drydock when he wanted and where he wanted. The owner did not have to think about the proposal and it was not long before a Hydrex diver/technician team hopped on a plane. They were on their way to Abidjan, Ivory Coast to assist the damaged vessel. Because of the rainy season in Nigeria, underwater visibility was almost non-existent and the current was too strong to carry out repairs at anchorage. Abidjan was the closest location suitable for this type of operation. The bulker left Lagos at a diminished speed and sailed for Abidjan where it would meet up with the Hydrex crew.
Crack arrests to prevent the cracks from spreading
After the bulker let down anchorage in Abidjan, the vessel was listed towards the starboard side to bring the hole in the port side entirely above water. This allowed the Hydrex divers to make a full inspection of the damaged area. The team cut away part of the deformed plating. This created an even surface to position the doubler plate. Next the team made crack arrests to make sure that the cracks would not spread any further. The bottom part of the doubler plate was then lowered from the deck and positioned over the lower half of the opening. This part of the plate was 4.5 meters wide and 2 meters high. The diver/technicians then welded the plate onto the hull. Horizontal stiffeners were installed on the plate to give it extra strength. This could not be done in advance because it would have prevented the team from adjusting the plate to the exact shape of the hull. The same procedure was repeated for the top part of the doubler plate. This part of the plate was trapeziumshaped with a base of 4.5 meters wide and a height of 2.5 meters. Both parts of the plate were then welded together to finalize the repair.
A surveyor of Bureau Veritas was present during the operation and gave his approval for the repair. The owner of the ship could then schedule a drydock visit for his vessel where and when it would fit best into his schedule.
The fully installed doubler plate allows the vessel to continue its schedule.
More information and photos regarding this incident can be found in Hydrex website.
Officer of the Watch 
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