Laid-up ‘TV star’ dredger resurrected
Dredger 'Arco Beck' owned by Hanson Aggregates Marine, leaves A&P's Tees yard following major refurbishment work after a two year layup
The A&P Tees shiprepair yard reports that it is gaining a reputation for giving vessels which have appeared on television a new lease of life, the latest being 5,891dwt trailing suction hopper dredger Arco Beck.
The Arco Beck was mothballed in 2009, and during her layup she was used in an episode of ITV detective series Vera. In 2009 the yard restored sailing ship Christian Radich, star of the BBC TV series The Onedin Line and the movie Windjammer to her full glory.
Arco Beck’s owner, Hanson Aggregate Marine, had excess capacity in its nine-strong fleet of specialist aggregate dredgers and the Arco Beck was laid up at Sunderland, until business improved. Captain Jae Jones, operations manager, said: “The Arco Beck was unfortunately the logical choice to be laid up because although she is a good ship she isn’t as flexible in her dredging and discharging capability as the other vessels of our fleet. But in that time she did become a TV star – she featured in an episode of the detective show Vera, there was a lot of action going with cars screeching up alongside her and actors running through the engine room. Some of our staff even appeared as extras.”
Now the 99.8m vessel is needed back at work and was towed down to A&P Tees in June 2011 for a major refit and overhaul. A&P Tees project manager Mike Wappett said the Arco Beck had undergone the removal and renewal of 50tonne of steel around the hopper, coamings and the main deck. The propeller shafts and hubs were overhauled and refitted with new seals, the hull blasted clean and completely repainted. All the cabins were refurbished with new carpets and curtains and the galley refitted. Arco Beck has now sailed out of the River Tees for load tests off Humberside. The 10-strong crew is aboard for three weeks at a time and in the near future the vessel will be operating in the River Thames area and in Belgium and France.
Wappett said: “The job went remarkably well, the steelwork was ahead of schedule but there were a few challenges placed upon everybody involved in bringing the ship back into service.”
Jones said: “Ours is a very specialist, niche industry because of the nature of the work involved and A&P Tees have developed the knowledge needed for these vessels. Because we have been coming here for a number of years we have built up a good working relationship with the yard, its staff and management. A lot of it is built on trust, personalities and familiarity with the vessels. We choose yards on the basis of quality of service, professionalism and safety – which is very important to us, and of course, price. This year we have sent a good proportion of our fleet to A&P Tees and have been very pleased with the results so it was logical that the Arco Beck refurbishment be carried out there.”
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