6:51 AM
hampton
Wake up, America! Let's see some real shipbuilding and repair.
That was my first thought when we drove into Al Jadaf yesterday. Al Jadaf is aptly called the World's Shipyard, and while a lot of "world's (superlative here)" titles are UAE hyperbole, this facility is beyond impressive. The yard has two synchro-lift tables and a side transfer line that enables multiple ships to be blocked up at a time. Photography is not allowed in the shipyard, but some pictures of Haida and an Arabic dhow may appear in this entry later today. (Edit: The dhow now appears beleow. The Haida pictures from today weren't all that interesting.)
A dhow undergoing extensive refitting. These things are built to last.
The work ethic of the laborers is truly inspiring. They work. All day. In the strong, Arabian sun. Take only a few breaks. No complaining. They have a sense of pride in their work. /soapbox
Haida arrived at Al Jadaf in the Dubai Creek Wednesday afternoon. We're waiting in line to get hauled out. As I've mentioned before, the yacht has not been out of the water for 10 years now. (The naval architects and mariners reading the blog just twitched a little bit with me.) It's a steel vessel. Normally, we're concerned more with performance-affecting marine growth, but when she comes out tomorrow (or the next day... or sometime soon) the first priority will be conducting ultrasonic testing of the hull plating. There will be wastage, and hopefully it will not exceed the ABS requirements.
Work is proceeding well. I have work trips planned for Abu Dhabi to meet with ABS surveyors for one of the offshore supply vessels, a meeting with some of the local marine engineers, time spent at Goltens at Al Jadaf working with their engineers for the Haida project, and probably several other ventures that I don't even know about yet.
Who said this job was just photocopying and scanning?
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