BLRT Repair Yards Win More Business Thanks to New Investments

BLRT Repair Yards is a well-established ship repair group with facilities in three Baltic nations, and it is a member of leading Baltic industrial holding BLRT Grupp. The group operates Tallinn Shipyard in Estonia, Western Shiprepair in Lithuania and Turku Repair Yard in Finland. The yard in Turku is home to one of the largest drydocks in Northern Europe, capable of accommodating vessels up to the size of an Aframax. The yard in Klaipeda is home to the largest floating dock in the Baltics.

Though the yards’ existing facilities are substantial, BLRT Repair Yards has expanded in recent years in order to accommodate more and larger ships. The expansion is allowing the group of yards to compete in a wider market and pursue new opportunities for bigger vessel classes. In addition, parent company BLRT Grupp, which celebrates 110 years in 2022, has acquired businesses that complement its ship repair activities. This includes the purchase of marine electrical systems company Bars Elekter, bringing new expertise on vessel electrical systems into the conglomerate.

New investments are paying off

In early March, a large-scale intermediate survey project was undertaken by Western Shiprepair - one of BLRT Repair Yards’ facilities in Klaipeda - for the Gaschem Aachen, an LPG tanker managed by Hartmann Gas Carriers. The team performed various work including propeller polishing, renewal of over 40 tonnes of steel, crane hydraulic hose replacement, hose handling crane hydraulic cylinder overhaul, modification of the sewage treatment plant, an overhaul of electric motors, hull and freshwater tank treatment and painting.

In mid-March, the same yard in Klaipeda won a contract for repairs of a tanker owned by SLOMAN NEPTUN Schiffahrts- Aktiengesellschaft, the Sloman Hercules. This is a new customer for the yards, and the docking of Sloman Hercules was a pilot project. The customer was happy with the results, and has awarded Western Shiprepair with contract for another vessel Sloman Dispatcher, an MPP carrier. The vessel has undergone a propulsion overhaul, CPP hub repair, hull and superstructure treatment and painting, heat exchanger overhaul, hatch cover repair work and BWTS installation

Long-term partners

The last week of April was also notable for the yard in Klaipeda, as the Royal Wagenborg cargo vessel Egbert Wagenborg - named after the company’s founder, who launched Royal Wagenborg in 1898 - arrived for repairs. The Egbert Wagenborg is a next-generation, open-top ice-classed general cargo vessel, and the first vessel in the company’s growing EasyMax series. The vessel is the leader in its segment in terms of sustainability and was honored with the Maritime KVNR Shipping award in 2017. This was Egbert Wagenborg’s first class renewal after launch. Specialists from Western Shiprepair carried out repairs in accordance with classification society requirements and replaced the previously installed BWTS with a more modern and powerful one. Specialists of the yard have assisted in making the ship even greener and more environmentally friendly.

Egbert Wagenborg in drydock, center

Wilson Brake alongside at Tallinn Shipyard

Another valued long-term partnership for Tallinn Shipyard is its arrangement with Wilson Ship Management, headquartered in Bergen, Norway. Gabriel Avanesov, Sales Director at Tallinn Shipyard, says that the yard's partnership with Wilson Ship Management has been in place for 25 years. This means plenty of work for the yard in Tallinn, which has served more than 100 Wilson ships over the years since the early 90s, including three vessels since the start of 2022: Wilson Brugge, Wilson Rotterdam and Wilson Brake. An interesting fact that describes the long-term partnership between the companies best is that in 2022, the Wilson Brake was repaired by the shipyard's specialists for the seventh time since 2007.

This article is sponsored by BLRT Repair Yards, a member of BLRT Grupp.