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An official ceremony held on August 8th at Tallinn Shipyard, a ship repair facility operated by BLRT Grupp, marked the commissioning of a new floating dock designed for vessel maintenance, repair, and upgrade services.
The construction of the 180-meter-long and 30-meter-wide floating dock, with a lifting capacity of 10,000 tonnes, was completed at the Hat-San Shipyard in Turkey at the end of May 2024. Once all the necessary infrastructure for the dock installation was completed, and the dock itself was transported to Tallinn by the Zeus of Finland tug, owned by Alfons Håkans, it was positioned in its designated location, previously occupied by the old 155-meter-long and 27-meter-wide dock.
“The construction of the new dock for Tallinn Shipyard is the next stage of the Group’s ship repair investment program, through which we have invested 90 million euros over the past five years. This step propels the holding to a new level, offering shipowners new opportunities to maintain, repair, and upgrade larger vessels in Tallinn, including Handysize vessels. This will considerably enhance the competitiveness of both Tallinn Shipyard and the entire ship repair division of BLRT Grupp,” stated Fjodor Berman, Chairman of the BLRT Grupp Management Board.
“We tend to think of the maritime industry mainly in terms of ships and ports, but, as a matter of fact, this sector has tremendous potential. The commissioning of the new large floating dock at BLRT Grupp’s ship repair yard marks a significant milestone for Estonia’s industrial progress. This investment will substantially expand the yard’s capabilities to service, repair, and upgrade large-capacity vessels. Simultaneously, it will support Estonia’s strategy for developing a hub of environmentally safe and innovative maritime technologies and services. If we approach this wisely, we can transform Estonia into a nation as advanced in maritime technologies as we are today in digital technologies. Such investments make an essential contribution to the implementation of this ambitious plan,” commented the sizeable investment Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Estonia.
Denis Lazarevs, a Management Board member of Alfons Håkans, a Finnish company providing towage services, noted: “We were excited to transport the new floating dock for BLRT Grupp. The challenging tow from Turkey to Estonia covered a distance of nearly 7,000 kilometres. We are pleased that BLRT Grupp continues to invest in equipment and expand its operations despite the tough economic conditions.”
BLRT Grupp is one of the largest industrial holdings in the Baltic region. The Group operates Tallinn Shipyard in Estonia, Western Shiprepair in Lithuania and Turku Repair Yad in Finland, providing comprehensive 24/7 vessel repair and upgrade services. These three yards in Estonia, Lithuania and Finland repair, upgrade and service around 300 vessels annually.
