In English (3.67 MB) - Finnlines

Emanuel Sparring
The Finnlines newbuilding Finnbreeze is being prepared for its sea trials. For this it was moved from Nanjing down the river also for a
final coat of paint.
As Sparring says: “Even though the final
paint-job is just a small part of the complex
process of building a ship, it still gives you
the feeling that she is alive and ready for
the sea.”
The days following his arrival and prior to
those all-important sea-trials were taken up
testing and re-testing the myriad parts and
systems on-board before the vessel could be
commissioned. “Every little detail has to be
tested and approved,” he says, “from lifeboats
and radars to mess-rooms and cabins.”
Creative minds find solutions
When the big day finally arrived, reaching
the ship proved to be easier said than done.
Heavy fog shut down the bridge over the
Yangtze and delayed the crew’s arrival at the
yard. And when they finally made it through,
they discovered that the ship had been
banked alongside two immense and decrepit
bulk carriers that they had to pick their way
across in order to access Finnbreeze.
Reaching the sea-trial area was also a
challenge, with large vessels unable to sail
the river at night, wisely so given how dense
the traffic is and how poorly lit, and the decks
of the ship teeming with shipyard personnel
who had to be fed and accommodated. Indeed,
Sparring reports that so many were on
board that the crew had to turn the outside
container deck into a food court.
“these ships will deliver the performance
expected and perhaps
even more. with all the technology
upgrades built into these
vessels they will be an interesting
challenge to operate.”
The sea trials exceeding all expectations
Thankfully, the sea-trials went exactly as
planned. Says Sparring: “After all kinds of
performance tests, we started to feel secure
that these ships will deliver the performance
expected and perhaps even more. The machinery
control systems and bridge systems
are a significant upgrade on the older, sister
ships, and with all the technology built into
these vessels they will be an interesting
challenge to operate.”
Finnbreeze will have the Yangtze River as
her home for a few months more before Sparring
and his fellow crewmembers are able to
sail her away. He, for one, is already looking
forward to it. As he says: “Ships have souls,
as all seafarers know, and it could be that
she will always remember her first manouveurs
in these muddy waters. Hopefully, too,
she will come to appreciate her new home in
the clean, cold waters of the Baltic.
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