25 October 2023
SPECTACULAR DRY-DOCKING OF THE STQ FERRY MV JOS DESCHÊSNES II
The Société des Traversiers (STQ) ferry MV Jos Deschênes II, which operates between Baie Sainte-Catherine and Tadoussac, set sail for the Vieille-Capitale on September 14th . The vessel entered Ocean Group’s floating dry dock to carry out the statutory five-year maintenance work.
DRY-docking of the MV JOS DESCHÊSNES II
The expert team at the floating dry dock, along with tugs and their crews, successfully dried out the ferry, which was no mean feat. Indeed, the complex operation required over a month of meetings with the various stakeholders involved in the project to plan every detail of the maneuver.
The manoeuvre was undoubtedly one of the most colossal and complex ever carried out in the basin, due to the size of the vessel (over 87 metres long by 26 metres wide), the restricted space available, and the presence of several other projects in progress. To facilitate the operation, teams had to move the dry dock to dock 19 in the Port of Québec, where they were able to position the vessel in the imposing structure, and the next day, move the dry dock back to its original position adjacent to Ocean Group’s workshops in the basin.
Did you know that in order to successfully dry-dock a vessel, a dry-dock master supervises and coordinates operations? Installing even the smallest vessel requires a great deal of preparation involving several people. The dry dock master orchestrates everything with the customer and the various trades involved, so that everything runs smoothly. Communication is essential, especially when it comes to large vessels like the ferry MV Jos Deschênes II.
The floating dry dock, an engineering masterpiece
Ocean Group’s floating dry dock is a masterpiece of engineering, designed and built by Ocean Group teams at the Bas-Caraquet shipyard in New Brunswick. It has been in operation since 2019, and its versatility enables the maritime industry leader to carry out maintenance, repair and shipbuilding work wherever services are required.
Five-year inspection and regulatory work for THE MV Jos-Deschênes II
The MV Jos-Deschênes II is now dry for its five-yearly inspection and regulatory work. These include inspections of the hull, anchor, cable and chain, mechanical work on hull valves and manifolds, anodes and bow and stern propellers. The various tanks will in turn be inspected, cleaned and maintained.
Sandblasting and painting will round off this impressive project, which is scheduled to take around five weeks to complete, totalling over 4,000 man-hours. In all, a multidisciplinary team of some 25 employees a day, including mechanics, welders, labourers and painters, are working in synergy to complete the project, ensuring that it meets the customer’s specifications.
