Recently, the container ship “Centaurus Wheel” successfully departed from the Shanghai COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry dock under tugboat assistance and set sail for its route, marking the successful completion of all repair work for the ship’s 15-year special survey. This special survey task was arduous, and the entire construction process was compounded by extreme adverse weather conditions, which severely restricted the progress of on-site operations and brought considerable pressure to safety management. At the same time, the project itself had an extremely tight schedule and numerous technical difficulties. Faced with multiple overlapping pressures, the Shanghai COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry general management team rose to the challenge at all levels, worked in close coordination, and tackled difficulties together. Under complex and harsh construction conditions, they strictly controlled safety, strictly maintained quality, and raced against the schedule. Ultimately, they broke through against the odds and achieved the ship’s departure 24 hours ahead of the original schedule, fulfilling the delivery commitment with a solid work style of efficient coordination and high-quality performance.
Proactive overall planning to seize the project’s opening pace
According to the overall dock schedule, the “Centaurus Wheel” was required to enter the dock just three days after arriving at the shipyard. The tight construction timeline placed enormous pressure on engineering survey, equipment deployment, and manpower coordination. To ensure the orderly implementation of all tasks, the general management team planned ahead, closely focused on the core milestone of hatch cover removal, and proactively liaised with the shipowner. The hull general manager was on site throughout, efficiently completing the survey of all hatch covers and precisely identifying the scope of hatch covers requiring repair within 24 hours of arrival. Meanwhile, the three major workshops—hull, coating, and service—worked simultaneously and fought continuously, successfully completing the removal of 42 hatch covers before docking. This meticulous advance planning not only ensured the efficient progress of subsequent in-dock cargo hold and ballast tank inspections and construction work, but also reserved sufficient working space and schedule margin for the dedicated hatch cover repair at the dock, laying a solid foundation for the overall steady advancement of the project.
Confronting technical challenges head-on with continuous intensive work to seize the dock period
After the ship entered the dock and the rudder stock and rudder bearing were disassembled, on-site inspection revealed severe wear on the equipment friction plates and upper bearing bush, requiring the complete disassembly, replacement, and reinstallation of the rudder stock bearing bush, rudder bearing, and water seal as a whole set. This large-size rudder system overhaul involved complex processes, high precision requirements, and strong construction uncertainty, making it the core difficult point of this ship repair task, placing extremely high demands on on-site construction coordination, technical control, and operational cooperation.
When facing difficulties, they dared to push forward without letting up, striving to overcome challenges with a sense of responsibility. After the in-dock construction plan was confirmed, the mechanical and electrical workshop immediately assembled backbone personnel and formed a dedicated task force. Management personnel at all levels provided on-site guidance throughout the process and coordinated internal and external manpower to ensure seamless process connections and continuous construction. All operations personnel completed the full set of rudder bearing disassembly, bearing bush and friction plate machining and bonding, and equipment reinstallation in just 36 hours, while also accumulating valuable practical experience for the enterprise’s future undertaking of similar high-difficulty rudder system overhaul projects.
The coating workshop simultaneously accelerated its offensive, proactively liaising with the shipowner and paint supplier, accurately assessing weather changes, and scientifically seizing construction windows. On the third day after the ship entered the dock, three coats of paint were efficiently completed in a single day, successfully finishing the entire hull coating operation before the arrival of rainy weather, compressing the dock period with practical results while ensuring construction quality.
Uniting efforts to hold the bottom line and balancing safety with progress
During this overhaul period, on-site construction encountered multiple adverse weather challenges, which seriously affected the progress of hatch cover and cargo hold steel work, causing schedule delays in multiple long-duration projects, while safety risks from high-temperature operations rose sharply.
To effectively mitigate high-temperature operation hazards and close the construction schedule gap, the general management team scientifically adjusted the construction plan and optimized the work sequence. The hull workshop flexibly deployed main construction manpower, staggering core processes to different time periods to maximize operational efficiency and avoid safety risks. Meanwhile, other departments and workshops proactively took responsibility and coordinated in tandem, fully equipping and strengthening all supporting resources, building a comprehensive safety defense line for construction, and ensuring the safe, efficient, and steady progress of hatch covers, lashing bridges, and all compartment long-duration projects.
The project manager stated: “The adverse weather conditions brought considerable challenges to the long-duration construction. We staggered our operations, coordinated and allocated various resources, and pooled the efforts of all personnel to seize construction milestones, finally making up the delayed work.”
In this 15-year special survey of the “Centaurus Wheel,” all “participating personnel” bravely overcame obstacles with practical dedication. All departments and workshops worked with one heart and close collaboration, unwaveringly holding the ship’s departure milestone. This efficient and high-quality performance further strengthened the good cooperative relationship between the enterprise and the shipowner company, fully demonstrating the enterprise’s formidable repair and construction capabilities and efficient coordination level, consolidating the strategic cooperation between ship and enterprise, empowering and building momentum for market deepening and customer expansion, and vigorously promoting the enterprise’s high-quality development.
