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Scandinavian Shipbuilding — Denmark (continued from page 24) of some 25 percent during 1983. A large number of these lost jobs occured at Helsingor Vaerft which, with delivery of two RO/RO vessels for Iraq in the early part of 1983, effectively ceased to exist as a shipbuilding yard. There is, however, a bit of com- fort in this closure story: Helsin- gor Vaerft was part of the J. Laur- itzen group, which in conjunction with Frederikshavn Vaerft A/S— another Lauritzen group member— set up a shiprepair company to op- erate from the dry docks and quay installations previously used by Helsingor Vaerft. Situated close to Copenhagen, the yard's location will enable it to take advantage of the heavy ferry traffic between Denmark and Sweden. The two major yards in the Lauritzen group, Frederikshavn, mentioned above, and Aalborg Vaerft, have both been working— indeed Frederikshavn enjoyed con- siderable success, and indications are that it will continue to do so. Frederikshavn's lifeline is the special relationship it has devel- oped with the Danish shipowner Production systems lor ships, barges ana offshore structures. DWB ship transfer system. Beam line. If you Ve looking for productivity, you should talktoTTS. TTS specializes in solutions that offer immediate increases in productivity for your yard. Shotblast and paint lines. Panel lines. Beam lines for N/C cutting and marking of stiffeners. Heavy lift and ship transfer sys- tems. Material handling systems. Proven, flexible, custom-designed to suit any size shipyard, any existing facility. Give us your particular production prob- lems. Let us propose how to reduce material handling costs, mechanize production and increase productivity We are just a phone call away TOTAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS INC. 813 Forrest Drive P.O. Box 6127 Newport News, Virginia 23606 Telephone: (804) 595-5153 TWX 710-880-0003. NEWPORT NEWS • LONDON • BERGEN • OSLO • HALIFAX Mercandia Rederierne, coupled with the success of its standard de- sign "Multiflex" freight RO/RO. During 1983, it delivered four 7,000 dwt "Multiflex" vessels, and at the end of the year had another two similar vessels and eight "giant" Multiflex ships on order from Mercandia. Two more orders, recently an- nounced, bring the number of Mercandia vessels on order at Frederikshavn to 12, and the total of ships for which the company has contracted at the yard over the past few years to a very healthy 70. Aalborg Vaerft, having done a fine job on a previous vessel for Carnival Cruise Lines, and with good progress currently on a sec- ond, the yard might have hoped to pick up something when the American company was looking to order to additional ships during the summer. In any event, the contract for both vessels went to Kockmus in Sweden. Aalborg Vaerft then had one ship on its orderbook, due for delivery in mid 1985, until the gloom was lifted by a recent order for three 7,750-dwt fruit carriers for the USSR, the last of which is scheduled for delivery in 1986. An additional bright note was the delivery by Aalborg Vaerft of one of the most talked-about ves- sels of 1983, the New Zealand Railways ferry Arahura. The Ara- hura will run between New Zea- land's north and south islands, across the Cook Strait, one of the world's harshest stretches of sea. Aalborg Vaerft is hoping the in- terest aroused by Arahura, cou- pled with the yard's already strong reputation for building good-qual- ity passenger ferries, will result in more orders for this kind of vessel. Both with favourable positions on the east coast of Jutland, Fred- erikshavn and Aalborg Vaerft con- stitute the main ship repair indus- try of Denmark. Frederikshavn has recently increased its maxi- mum capacity from 40,000 dwt to 60,000 dwt while capacity at Aal- borg is somewhat greater. Burmeister and Wain of Copen- hagen has enjoyed continued suc- cess with its 64,000 dwt Panamax bulk carrier design, with five of these vessels delivered during 1983, including two for Wheelock Mar- den, and a further four on order at the beginning of 1984. One of the major factors behind the popular- ity of this class of vessel is its highly economical hull design. It is intended to perform at an aver- age speed of 15 knots, while con- suming less than 40 tons of fuel per day. Mass production tech- niques have enabled B&W to re- duce costs even more, and the yard's naval architects have now adapted the basic design to pro- duce products tanker and contain- ership designs. Another Danish yard to benefit from a special relationship with a (continued on page 28) Panel line at Bath Iron Works. 15,1984 Circle 296 on Reader Service Card
