On the 16th December 2010 the 228 metre 'Genmar Companion'
Link , about 25 miles off the Donegal coast en route to New York from Rotterdam and carrying 54,000 tonnes of Vacuum Gas Oil
Link , reported that a crack in her deck, discovered before leaving The Netherlands, was worsening in heavy weather and asked to dock at Cork. This request was refused and the ship was diverted to anchor at the mouth of Belfast Lough. After checks were made to ensure that no oil was leaking, it was decided that the cargo would be offloaded onto another tanker before the ship could be brought into Belfast for repair. The 'BW Seine' arrived on the 2nd January 2012 and, following delays due to poor weather conditions, the transfer took place over the 6th and 7th of January - see
J5685 : Two oil tankers off Orlock.
The 'BW Seine' departed with the oil for Texas City in the United States on the evening of the 7th January and the 'Genmar Companion' moved to anchor in Belfast Lough. After a long delay, mainly due to lack of available berth, the ship finally arrived in Belfast docks on the morning of January 23rd 2012 and berthed at Ship Repair Quay. Repairs completed, the ship left Belfast on the evening of 30th January 2012.
The story made headline news locally
Link but was also widely reported internationally.
The Belfast Dry Dock The Belfast Dry Dock, owned and operated by Harland and Wolff for ship repair purposes.
By the early 1960s it was clear that the largest dock in Belfast, the Thompson Graving Dock (see J3576 : Thompson Graving Dock), was too small for modern tankers and bulk carriers then being constructed. The Harland and Wolff Dry Dock (now known as the Belfast Dry Dock) was constructed between 1965-68 by Charles Brand and Sons to a design by Rendel, Palmer and Tritton. It is 1150 feet long by 160 feet wide and, when constructed, was one of the five largest docks in the world. The dock can accommodate ships up to 200,000gt.
Alongside the dock is Ship Repair Quay (formerly known as Outfitting Wharf). This was constructed some 7 years later in 1975 and has a total lineal quayage of 433 metres. Ships which do not need to be fully dry docked are repaired here.