Babcock International, the Aerospace and Defence company, has successfully completed the dry docking of MV Hildasay.
The NorthLink freight ferry, which runs between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland, arrived at Babcock’s Rosyth site on the River Forth, home to one of the largest waterside manufacturing facilities in the UK, at the beginning of November. She has since returned to Aberdeen following the two-week package of work.
This included mechanical work on engines and gearboxes, a Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) upgrade and hull inserts and repairs, as well as general pipework, exhaust replacements and a paint application package.
An experienced Babcock team of around 40 people, as well as subcontractors, worked on the vessel, ranging from Welders and Fabricators to Mechanical Fitters and Electrical Fitters.
MV Hildasay’s sister ship, MS Helliar, will undergo a dry-docking at Babcock’s Rosyth facility in Q2, 2020.
This will be preceded by NorthLink ferries MV Hamnavoe in January, MV Hjaltland in February and MV Hrossey in March – all for similar packages of work.
Alan Nicoll, Site Operations Director for Babcock at Rosyth, said: ‘’We have established a very good working relationship with our customer Serco Northlink that is vital when delivering these busy docking periods. Our hard-working team has again demonstrated that we have the capability to deliver this style of work package to the correct standards and exacting customer requirements.
“We’re really looking forward to working on the next NorthLink vessel at Rosyth.”