Dutch Navy’s support ship Pelikaan to undergo mid-life electrical refit

Alewijnse Marine is undertaking the assessment for the upcoming electrical refit that will be an important part of the mid-life refit of the Royal Netherlands Navy’s logistic support vessel HNLMS Pelikaan (A804).

Alewijnse was awarded the contract by Damen Shipyards Den Helder in August last year and commenced work in January. The work is being carried out in Den Helder and at Damen Shiprepair Harlingen.

The 65.4-meter-long Zr.Ms. Pelikaan operates exclusively in the Caribbean region where she provides support to maritime security operations and, in times of disaster, humanitarian relief. The support ship is permanently based at Curaçao.

Alewijnse’s scope of work during the refit project is said to be extensive. The company is responsible for total service provision for the electrical work, covering engineering, supply and installation of equipment, project coordination and commissioning of all on board electrical systems. This includes the installation of brand new telephone, radar, CCTV and alarm and monitoring systems (AMS).

Alewijnse undertook the original electrical installation when the vessel was built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania in 2005. The company is expected to complete the new project on time, enabling the vessel to be back in the Caribbean in time for the Hurricane season.

COVID-19 pandemic

The project has faced additional challenges as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Alewijnse’s contract manager Perry Eikelenboom explained:

“The safety of our personnel and of all those working on location is our top priority during this project. Maintaining safe distances while working and minimising the number of people on location at any one time place pressure on the schedule, but are essential.”

“Thankfully, we enjoy a close cooperation with the yard and, working together and following their robust safety measures, we manage to be both efficient and safe.”

Related:

Dutch Navy upgrades support vessel HNLMS Pelikaan