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The Beltsupply is purpose built to serve the “supermarket” Wrist Group. Photo: Bent Mikkelsen
Lifeline for Danish ship supply shop
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The supply ship Beltsupply may not be the biggest one delivered from a Danish shipyard, but despite the size of the ship it will play an important role in the ship supply group Wrist of Aalborg.
The ship will be stationed at Kalundborg, which is one of the major hubs in the Danish supply chain, selling consumer goods to ships from many nations. In fact Kalundborg fjord, with its water depth of up to 15 metres and easy access from the Great Belt traffic lanes, has made the fjord a one-stop shop for ships heading from the Baltic area to the rest of the world.
The Wrist Group has benefited from this traffic for years and has had several smaller ships operating in the area. The decision to build a completely new ship was taken some years ago after an increase in traffic with a crew change in the Kalundborg fjord. In order to serve the customers, the operator Saga Shipping (also part of the Wrist Group) realised that better facilities for the crew during transport were necessary. So it ended with Hvide Sande Skibs & Bådebyggeri.
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| Integrated wheelhouse in the new ship from Hvide Sande. Photo: Bent Mikkelsen |
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Multi-role
The Beltsupply was delivered at the end of September and became a multi-role ship with the ability to work as a service boat for building wind turbines at sea. Also, the ship has an aft deck for stores to ships as well as a special cabin for passengers (up to eight). Furthermore, the ship has the capacity for several tons of fresh water for deliveries to other ships.
Another feature, which also was built into the ship, was windows on the top of the wheelhouse, in order to get approval as a pilot boat. It has been a part of the Danish Pilot Service, the new private Danish pilot service, which has been looking for fast boats in several areas of the country. The Beltsupply will have this role in Kalundborg.
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“We keep our numbers to ourselves to protect our business”, says Leo Mikkelsen, CEO of Saga Shipping (left). Here pictured together with Jens Sonnichsen. Photo: Bent Mikkelsen |
“It wasn’t planned from the beginning, but we saw the possibility and changed the design a little to cope with it”, explains Leo Mikkelsen, CEO of Saga Shipping.
Saga Shipping in the Wrist Group handles the supply boat fleet, which is run from three positions in Denmark. In Copenhagen supplies sail on the Soundlink, while the Beltsupply operates in cooperation with the Capduen and the James in Kalundborg. The rest of the fleet is stationed at Skagen and called the Skawlink I and II. Those supply vessels make a substantial number of operations per year with Skagen as the major harbour for shipping out supplies.
Other operators originally started all three stations, but over the years the companies have been merged into the Wrist Group.
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| The Beltsupply is powered by a Volvo Penta diesel. Photo: Bent Mikkelsen |
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Design
The ship was designed by Hvide Sande Skibs & Bådebyggeri, based on an earlier design and the delivery of the Heimdal in 1997. A small ship with high power, capable of sailing up to 16 knots, was the intention. It succeeded with the Beltsupply, which can run more than 16 knots in “medium” weather conditions. Great efforts have been made to reduce the weight of the vessel in order to get higher speed and save fuel. One example is that most of the deck house is built in reinforced fibreglass, using the same components as in pleasure crafts.
Despite the small hull, the Beltsupply contains two single cabins for the crew. The ship is normally intended to work to and from a port, meaning that it will stay in port during the night.
“We found it best to have the possibility to accommodate the crew onboard”, says Leo Mikkelsen. “It will make us much more flexible during the various tasks”, he adds.
//Bent Mikkelsen
Latest update 22-11-2007 11:40 |
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2007