Rotterdam’s Keppel Verolme, a leading offshore and marine yard in Europe, successfully completed the maintenance and refurbishment of the Oasis of the Seas in mid-October. Details have been made available as to what work was undertaken on the 362m long and 65m wide ship during her refit that commenced on 30th September and concluded early morning on 14th October.

Several modifications to the vessel’s three Azipod main propulsion units were made as well as the four bow thruster propellers. In addition, the ship’s two fin stabilisers were serviced and all 18 lifeboats were inspected. The underwater part of the hull was cleaned and coated with a state of the art painting system, which helps to improve the day to day operation as well as fuel efficiency. To allow Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. (RCCL) to conduct the vessel’s interior facelift in a timely manner, Keppel Verolme provided RCCL and its contractors with a logistical infrastructure to facilitate the refurbishment and daily work.

Over 200 containers with new furniture and materials for the work were brought on board and about 600 tonnes of waste materials were removed from the vessel. The most challenging scope was the replacement of one of the ship’s main engines. To facilitate this, the ship sat on a 3.3 metre high dock-block arrangement, which enabled the yard to go under the vessel to remove the engine. To remove the old and install the new engine, a hole was cut in the bottom of the double hull. Subsequently, the new 130 tonne-engine was lifted into the ship.

The Oasis of the Seas departed on her return transatlantic cruise on 14th October, calling at Southampton the next day and then Vigo. No sooner had the ship sailed from Rotterdam than it was reported that RCCL had been fined up to €600,000 for violation of rules and regulations while in the Netherlands as workers on board the ship lacked proper residence papers/work permits and worked excessive hours. Those aboard the ship are required to comply with Dutch laws whilst the ship resides in The Netherlands, hence the violations discovered involving around 48 crewmembers.

The inspectorate may levy a €12,000 fine per violation and since the company had been warned beforehand the fine will probably stand. It remains to be seen if the Allure of the Seas will visit the same yard for scheduled refit in 2015.