Silja Serenade was converted at BLRT Grupp’s yard

25 February 2014

The conversion of passenger ferry M/V Silja Serenade at Finland’s largest ship repair yard, a part of BLRT Grupp, has been finished.

All modernization and repair works at Silja Serenade were carried out within six weeks at Turku Repair Yard’s dry dock.

“The success of such projects is ensured by smooth cooperation of all three parties involved – the customer, the supplier and the yards – on every phase of the project. Having reliable partners among suppliers and contractors, we can always offer competitive prices and terms,” said Vesa Marttinen, the Managing Director of Turku Repair Yard.

Images by BLRT Grupp AS

All works were completed on time. "Silja Serenade has always been a beautiful, gorgeous ship. This renovation makes sure that it will keep its place among the pioneers of the Baltic Sea and will certainly enable us to meet the wishes of our customers on the Helsinki-Stockholm route", said Margus Schults,theCEO of Tallink Silja, while explaining the importance of conversion.

Cabins and public spaces were refurbished and now chain stores, restaurants and leisure areas have a more modern look. Huuhka & BLRT Interior executed all cabin interior renovation works.

Apart from refurbishment, the vessel also underwent dock repairs in order to align vessel’s mechanisms and devices with DNV class requirements. The scope of works comprised repair of sea valves and connections, piping, bow thruster, propellers and propeller shafts and reshimming, repair of metal components in ballast tanks with subsequent painting of tanks with corrosion-resistant coating, repair of steering gears on either side of the vessel.

In Turku Repair Yard’s dry dock, corroded welds were repaired, and underwater hull cleaned and coated with abrasion resistant ice coating. To maximize passenger safety and comfort, ship stabilizer control system was adjusted and rescue equipment and lifeboats were repaired.

Turku Repair Yard is a ship repair yard located in Naantali (Finland). It operates one of the biggest dry docks (265m x 70m x 7,9m) in the Baltic Sea region and a floating dock (101m x 21,6m x 6,0m), and also has a voyage repair team ready to carry out repair works in ports or at sea.

The yard works as part of BLRT Grupp, one of the biggest industrial holdings in the Baltic States. In cooperation with the holding’s other ship repair yards – Tallinn Shipyard in Estonia and Western Shiprepair in Lithuania – the yard is fully prepared to perform maintenance works on all vessels operating in the Baltic Sea. BLRT Grupp offers a complete range of quality services through all phases of a vessel’s lifespan, from design and fabrication through to repair and recycling.

BLRT Grupp AS press release