GL Releases Guide for Ship Lay-Ups

Germanischer Lloyd has developed a guide outlining major methods and procedures involved in ship lay-ups.

The guide gives technical assistance to shipowners focussing on the maintenance of class, ship's safety as well as the maintenance of operability. Deactivating vessels in an effort to save costs requires planning and investment in the process. It is imperative that ships are laid up technically correctly to reactivate the ship successfully when the economic conditions are more favourable. "With our guide we offer technical consultancy support for the shipowners. On request, Germanischer Lloyd will also carry out surveys serving purposes such as consultation and cooperation in applying the necessary measures", explains Carsten Beese, Head of Competence Centre Fleet Service Management at Germanischer Lloyd. Additional to the technical challenges, the coordination with local and national authorities is important in the lay-up process. Lay-up conditions are determined by any local authority which has permitted vessels to be anchored off its coast. Reactivating a ship from a hot lay-up can be comparatively quick. The hot lay-up is achieved by having a small crew onboard the vessel in order to maintain full-time fire, leakage, moorings and security watch of the vessel with the minimum of machinery running. This ensures that the machinery, electrical and electronic systems are kept within tolerable temperature and humidity conditions by a crew that is familiar with the vessel.
Read More