The smoothest ship inauguration I’ve seen!

May 18 2010, 6:43pm

So. The brand new Stena Hollandica, the largest ferry of her kind in the world, has now sailed her maiden voyage. And what a super-successful inauguration it was. On 14.30 on Sunday 16 May the Stena Hollandica left the Hook of Holland for her crossing across the North Sea to Harwich. In the preceding days everyone had been working terribly hard to ensure that everything would get finished on time and result in the success that we all witnessed. Over the start of May the Stena Hollandica had one last set of sea trials around the German island of Rügen. Everything went well and in the ensuing week we had the final work done on the public announcement and fire alarm systems. There were then a few exciting but high-pressure days of finishing touches. We to strip all the protective coating and cardboard off everything to ensure it was spick and span. Then last Wednesday, 12 May, there were the berthing trials in Harwich and the Hook of Holland. Our brand new Superferry started her half-hour berthing trials in Harwich at 09.00. After this we carried out painstaking tests on the gangway, upper deck and loading ramp. Finally we set off to the Hook of Holland, where we arrived at 22.00 and did final berthing trials through the night until 03.00. The Stena Hollandica then spent her final pre-operation days in the Damen shipyard in Gorinchem, 70kms from the Hook of Holland. Here we took care of the final, final touches! There was a hive of activity stocking up the onboard shops. We also had last-minute visits from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the UK and their Dutch counterparts, the Netherlands Shipping Inspectorate and the Netherlands Lloyd’s Register who all wanted to observe onboard crew drills and ensure that the Hollandica met the flag requirements for the Netherlands. Then on the last day and a half there was some final crew training and familiarisation and final stocking of cutlery and crockery. Finally the Stena Hollandica took her journey down the river passing her predecessor, the old Hollandica, to pick up a few last things such as trestles for resting trailers and cargo securing equipment! And then, just before we left, I thanked everyone for the great work they’d done over the preceding days to ensure that we got a great ship into service on time. I have to say that it was definitely the smoothest inauguration of a ship that I’ve ever witnessed, which is saying something. We set sail at 14.30 and actually arrived in Harwich half an hour early. I spoke to some lucky passengers on the inaugural crossing and the feedback was great. Everyone was delighted and very impressed. The largest Superferry or her kind in the world is now sailing on the North Sea! //Captain