The 20-Mile Journey From Shipyard To Sea At This German Shipyard Is The Most Incredible Thing You’ll See Today


The 20-Mile Journey From Shipyard To Sea At This German Shipyard Is The Most Incredible Thing You’ll See Today
Meyer Werft is a shipbuilder in Papenburg, Gremany. It’s located on the Ems River, about 20 miles inland from the North Sea. It was located there in 1795 to isolate it from storms. They were building wood ships back then, and it was easy to sail them up the Ems to the sea. They moved on to steel ships in the late 1800’s. Today they are among the largest builders of cruise ships, container ships, and research vessels. They have the largest indoor dry dock in the world, and what’s claimed to be the fifth largest inside work space in the world. They are still located on the Ems, still 20 miles from where one would think giant ships are constructed.
How does one get a huge cruise ship that makes the Titanic look like a dinghy from an inland shipyard to some water? You damn sure don’t back your F150 and EZ-Loader trailer down the boat ramp. Instead, you sail it up the Ems, which looks more like a ditch than a navigable river. To add to the fun, there are twists and turns, and a few narrow bridges that the biggest ships clear by about three feet on each side. One railroad bridge has a lift span, but that isn’t enough. They must crane a section of the bridge out of the way. They use tugs, as well as the ships own propulsion system. They make the trip stern first, apparently it’s more maneuverable that way. The tugs don’t just shove and pull, they have fixtures so they are essentially attached to the ship.
So how big are the biggest cruise ships? They are limited by the constraints of the river, so about 135 feet wide, and over 1100 feet long. I’ve been to dragstrips that aren’t that long. I suppose they would have to move the shuffleboard courts, the Jai Alai stadium, and the hockey rink out of the way if they were going to drag race on the deck.  The draft of these monsters is 28 feet, in a river that gets dredged to 30 feet. So no jumping on the deck there, Junior. The conveyance takes 10 to 24 hours to make the 20 mile journey. Spectators line the route, it’s a big event.

I understand the pilots of the ships and tugs that make this journey without so much as a scratch in the paint don’t require anchors on their vessels. They just drop their giant steel testicles over the side.

 

ems1 N ems3 ems4 ems5 ems6 Celebrity Cruises' new ship Celebrity Silhouette begins it's 42 KM transit backwards down the river Ems navigating several narrow gaps with less than    0.75M clearance each side. .The transit  to the sea takes 12 hours. The Ship will be officially launched at it's naming ceremony in Hamburg on 21st July 2011... ems8


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