Viking Ship Locations

[snaefell]

On 7/14/2020 at 3:20 AM, Heidi13 said:

Steaming time from Liverpool to Belfast is about 22 hrs 

Crossing times for ferries from Birkenhead to Belfast is around 8 hours,many people think that is a long time!

[BigAl94]

3 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Crossing times for ferries from Birkenhead to Belfast is around 8 hours,many people think that is a long time!

Those ferries travel at more that 20 knots

[Heidi13]

4 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Crossing times for ferries from Birkenhead to Belfast is around 8 hours,many people think that is a long time!

 

Fortunately most conventional ferries operate at about 20Kts, with the Stena Superfasts even higher. On the West Coast our most popular route is 1 hr 35 mins and we had lots of grumbling when a new route took 2 hrs. 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

It seems possible that the dry dock is being used as a wet dock for now, image of all three together in Belfast.

 

On the approach she only had 1 tug follow her in. If you watched her docking, did the tug put her in, or were they using ship's propulsion.

 

If they used the engines, it is unlikely they will go onto the blocks, as the positioning would be comprimised. When going into a graving dock we always shut down main engines before crossing the sill.

 

It also answers about the AIS showing the bow still outside the graving dock. Last night, I put it down to a GPS position error, gyro error and/or entering the position of the GPS aerial. AIS is showing the correct position, as the entire ship isn't within the graving dock.

[Dukefan]

Viking Orion's last seven days in the middle of the South China Sea between Hong Kong and the Philippines.  I guess now I know what the "High Seas" is!  The difference between the starting point of this seven day journey is less than 50 miles from today's location.

Edited July 16, 2020 by Dukefan

[Dukefan]

Another photo of the Viking Sun, Sea and Sky in Belfast shipyard.

[Jim Avery]

36 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

Viking Orion's last seven days in the middle of the South China Sea between Hong Kong and the Philippines.  I guess now I know what the "High Seas" is!  The difference between the starting point of this seven day journey is less than 50 miles from today's location.

Help Me!  Help Me, I'm lost!   Oh, wait, that was me in the Bering Sea.......😎

[Dukefan]

On 7/4/2020 at 3:01 PM, BigAl94 said:

Here's a bit of inside knowledge. The three ships were actually having no work done in Belfast. It was a move by Harland & Wolff in the hope of securing future business (clever) and was around the fact that berthing fees for ships having work done were a lot less that lay up fees. Maybe it has backfired in terms of one of the berths.

BigAl94:  I am trying to understand your post in light of the CEO of Harland & Wolff's news release on July 1^st:  John Wood Group CEO of Harland & Wolff said: “We are delighted to welcome Viking Sky, Sun and Sea to our facilities in Belfast, this is the first time we have had three cruise vessels docked in Harland & Wolff for many decades. Harland & Wolff was once a market-leader in this sector and this is a title we are keen to hold again. On the doorstep of the Mediterranean, the UK is in a prime location for refits, conversions and revitalizations. With our vast facilities set in 85 acres, we can handle several large cruise ships concurrently, as demonstrated by the arrival of three vessels from Viking for minor repairs and upgrade works.

[BigAl94]

50 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

BigAl94:  I am trying to understand your post in light of the CEO of Harland & Wolff's news release on July 1^st:  John Wood Group CEO of Harland & Wolff said: “We are delighted to welcome Viking Sky, Sun and Sea to our facilities in Belfast, this is the first time we have had three cruise vessels docked in Harland & Wolff for many decades. Harland & Wolff was once a market-leader in this sector and this is a title we are keen to hold again. On the doorstep of the Mediterranean, the UK is in a prime location for refits, conversions and revitalizations. With our vast facilities set in 85 acres, we can handle several large cruise ships concurrently, as demonstrated by the arrival of three vessels from Viking for minor repairs and upgrade works.

Aren't CEOs renowned for spin? I do however wish H&W well for the future but it seems most successful yards are those that benefit from government subsidy and support.

[CharTrav]

So...does anybody have any idea at all the exact nature of the work being performed on the Sun, Sky, and Sea? And I would have to wonder also about the rest of the fleet - the Orion, Star, Jupiter, and brand new Venus. 

[uktog]

I was told by an officer onboard the main work on all three vessels will focus on air conditioning and the installation of special air filters 

[deec]

hmm I wonder if the newer ships already had better air filters or it they will so those next.

 

[Jazmyn49]

Great picture, Dukefan!

 

[Heidi13]

Viking Orion has just anchored off Hong Kong.

[Dukefan]

11 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Viking Orion has just anchored off Hong Kong.

And shows it is headed to Singapore next with an August 3rd arrival.

[deec]

Jazmyn49,  I like the picture of your boat!  Is it a trawler and where do you cruise?  Looks like a Florida house or here in the Great Lakes!!!  At least the virus has not kept us from using our boats!!

[Strangford]

From Harland & Wolff Twitter feed.

[JeriGail]

Great photo!

[Dukefan]

For those that are interested, the Viking Sun has moved out of the entrance to the Belfast Dry Dock area to the Dredged Box in the Musgrave Channel at the entrance to Main Dry Dock area.    The Viking Orion is holding its position near Singapore and all other Viking Ship locations remain unchanged. 

[JeriGail]

1 hour ago, Dukefan said:

For those that are interested, the Viking Sun has moved out of the entrance to the Belfast Dry Dock area to the Dredged Box in the Musgrave Channel at the entrance to Main Dry Dock area.    The Viking Orion is holding its position near Singapore and all other Viking Ship locations remain unchanged. 

Any idea what this means?

[Heidi13]

14 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

Any idea what this means?

They now have another Stena Ro/Pax in the H&W Drydock, so I suspect the Sun has moved to the fitting out berth to vacate the other drydock. When the Stena ship moves, I suspect she will have to move again.

[Dukefan]

12 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

Any idea what this means?

I have no idea but if I was to guess, Harland and Wolff probably needed the Belfast Dry Dock for another project.  Since from what I have read on this board that any work being done on the Viking Ships was more or less of a minor nature, they relocated the ship to another area that was available, namely the Dredged Box at the entrance to the Main Dry Dock area.

[Dukefan]

JeriGail,

 

Heidi13 just gave a better answer to your question.

 

Dukefan

[kcpvwill]

Orion still meandering around.  Posting this as a test as CC appears to have had no posts for over 24 hours which I’ve not known before.  

[lextrvlr]

Perhaps a good indication of the health of the cruise industry!