MSC Monterey to be repaired while at anchor

   Reederei NSB, the owner of the containership MSC Monterey, which sought protection in St. Mary’s Bay, Newfoundland, last week after developing a crack in its deck and hull, said repairs will be made where the ship is anchored and that the ship is not expected to continue its voyage until Jan. 11.
   NSB said, “Specialists of the Canadian Ministry of Transportation, of Germanischer Lloyd, as well as representatives of the shipyard, insurance, charterer, and Reederei SB have been onboard the vessel on Jan. 02, 2014. After inspection of the crack on the main deck and the outer hull, and comprehensive ultrasonic testings, all experts consider the cause of the crack to be a defect welding seam.
   “Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has decided in cooperation with all involved parties to have the final repair of the damage carried out on-site instead of a provisional repair. Crack detection using ultrasonic testings, not only in the damaged areas, still continue. Analysis of the already carried out testings led to the decision of the GL to reject the initially planned provisional repair. Instead, the final repair can be carried out on site. A welding procedure has been defined by GL, which has to be followed exactly,” it said.
   The company continued, “Adverse weather conditions at the coast of Newfoundland … make repair procedures somewhat difficult. Comprehensive preparations have to be made in order to preheat the steel and the ambient temperature as well as to adhere to the cooling rates exactly. Repairs will be carried out by a Canadian expert company with many experiences in this field and will probably take seven days until a representative of Germanischer Lloyd will supervise works on-site.”
   The crack on the main deck and the outer hull is unchanged, NB said, measuring 1.5 meters on the main deck and extending for approximately 30 centimeters into the outer hull.