Captain’s Log: Oosterdam’s Azipod Returns

The Oosterdam will receive her original portside azipod back during this dry dock. The one in the below photo is still standing on shore and it will be a big job to take the spare azipod out from underneath the Oosterdam and place the original back again.

Another big job needs to be performed on the Oosterdam in one of the ships cofferdams. Therefore the tanks that are above this cofferdam need to be cleaned. These are heavy fuel tanks. After pumping the tanks empty the crew needs to go in and clean these manually. They need to be fuel- and gas-free as hot work will be performed underneath.

In the picture you can see one crew member working in the tank, and you can see the heating coils where steam runs through to heat the fuel so it can be transferred from the tanks to the engines. (The fuel we use needs to be heated to be fluid enough to be able to be pumped).