The time has come for the Dr3am to slip out into sunlight!

October 31st the ship will float out of the large hall that she has been in since 2009.  The hall is the building that its ends point north and south on the map below.  The new build team has been working since 2006 on the new ships.  MeyerWerft in Papenburg Germany was chosen to be the new shipyard, our current ships were built in Italy.


View Larger Map


Soon I will be traveling back to Germany.  The Dr3am has been floating for at least a month so they can run the engines, turn on the climate control system, exercise the power system and turn the props.  Yes turn the props, they mount large blanks on the shafts to simulate the weight and size but they do not provide propulsion.  This week the ship went dry so the real props can be mounted and final inspections of the hull can be completed.  Crew start boarding the ship the 1st week of November so my team will be there to make sure we can get the applications working and integrated. I will be staying in The Park Inn for the 1st part of the trip and then moving onboard into a crew cabin.  The ship stays alongside the yard for about ten days so testing of the ships marine systems continue.

Once the Shipyard is ready to take her out to sea the conveyance down the river Ems starts. See this Google search for pictures. The first stop will be at a port in Eemshaven, Netherlands. This is where I will be getting off.  Only a few people will be allowed to go out to Sea Trials. I will travel by taxi to Amsterdam and then fly home for 12 days before heading back to Eemshaven for the final crew load and transatlantic.