European Seafarer in dry dock 27

The 3 Siestas built Larne to Fleetwood sister ships have become an institution on the Irish Sea. Now nearing 30 years old the ships have been a constant part of the Larne Ferry Scene since 1975 with at least one of the ships serving on the Larne to Fleetwood link since the route's inception.

Over the weekend of the 27th to 29th of September 2003 the European Seafarer paid a visit to dry dock at Harland and Wolff in Belfast to have some maintenance work to a bow thruster carried out. Her ever generous master, Captain Gerry Hughes, invited Larne Ferry Web to have a look at the European Seafarer high and dry on the blocks of the dry dock.

Below I have laid out a selection of the photos taken of the ship in dry dock on the 28th of September, click on the pictures to enlarge them.


Two views of the rudders and propellers at the stern. Left picture shows the starboard rudder and propeller while the right picture is a view of both propellers and a view along the underbelly of the ship. The small oval pieces of silver-coloured metal attached to the hull here and there are sacrificial anodes of zinc. In a rather clever application of electrochemistry, these protect the hull by corroding in preference to steel - something similar to galvanising. All round the Seafarer's hull is in great shape.

A view of the European Seafarer's draft marks on the port side. The Seafarer's fully loaded draft is usually around 4.2 - 4.4 metres.	The starboard stabiliser safely housed in the hull. For reference the right of the pictures is towards the bow of the ship.

A view through the twin bow thrusters from the starboard side of the ship.	The starboard side name plate at the bow. If you look closely, the outline of Puma can be seen under the letters and off to the right the final 'e' of Union Melbourne can still be made out

Two views of the European Seafarer sitting high and dry. From the low angle in the left hand picture she looks very imposing. It must be quite a tricky job to get the ship lined up so that she settles in just the right place to sit on the blocks without toppling over when the water is pumped out.

Two views of the European Seafarer's stern. Unlike her sister ships, European Pioneer and European Leader, the European Seafarer has a stern watertight door that lifts up when open with the ship's ramp being totally separate and not part of the ship's watertight integrity. On the European Pioneer and European Leader the stern door hinges down wards and doubles up at the ship's ramp.

The ship's bell (left) inscribed 'MV Puma' and the builder's plate (right) - JJ Siestas Schiffswerft, Hamburg, build number 757, date 1975.

Two views of the upper freight deck, left picture is looking forward, right pictures shows the after end with the ship's internal ramp. This aft part of the upper deck is often used for hazardous cargo and on a big load two runners are usually placed on the ramp itself. The ramp is sealed at its lower end by a watertight door that opens downward and forms the first section of the internal ramp itself. At its widest point the decks are lined for six lanes of freight vehicles, but it can get tight when there is a full load.

Two photos from the bottom vehicle deck, the left picture shows one of the flood control doors installed in 2001. The right picture is looking forward and shows a section of the new light sandwich deck plating installed a few years ago. This is the same decking that the European Pioneer, European Leader and European Envoy had installed in their latest refits.

Many thanks once again to Captain Gerry Hughes and his crew for another fascinating insight into the workings of the European Seafarer.