In the summer Barreras will begin enlargement of its slipways for vessels up to 250 metres
The company will take advantage of reduced activity due to a fall in orders to adapt its facilities to larger ships. This summer, Barreras will begin work on enlarging its three slipways in order to build larger vessels, said its president, Mr. José Francisco González Viña in an interview with the newspaper FARO. The shipyard will invest a total of "42m in engineering works that will enable construction of ships up to 250 metres long (current limit is 200 metres) and 46 metres wide (current maximum is28 metres). "With this enlargement we will become one of the most competitive shipyards in the world in our segment," said Mr. González Viñas.
Barreras will take advantage of the reduced activity anticipated for the coming months to carry out an enlargement that has been delayed over the past few years due to the intense work load. On Thursday the yard will hand over the ferry Abel Matutes to the Balearia shipping company, and at the end of the month it will do the same with the fourth inverted-bow seismic vessel on its slipways for the Norwegian firm WesternGeco. "What we have left are two ferries for Armas and the Edda Accommodation, which we launched last week," he said. Indeed, it has been the lack of space that forced the shipyard to launch the Edda Accommodation last week - the first floating hotel for the oil industry to be made in Vigo, as the company could not finish the vessel and the first ferry for Armas at the same time (lack of space).
The enlargement of the shipyard will be carried out in three stages. The first, which has already been finished, consists of reinforcing the structure of the slipways in order to withstand the weight of vessels up to 250 metres in length. Twelve million euros have already been invested in this stage. The second is the enlargement of the slipways lengthways - seawards - and widthways, which is the most innovative part of the project, and on which another 30 million euros will be spent.
The first enlargement announced by the company only considered adapting the infrastructure for vessels of 250 metres in length, but did not include width, that is, taking in several slipways. "We are going for a lengthways and widthways enlargement, which means we are going to shift the mobile workshops towards Bouzas (inside the shipyard), making sure the work is always compatible with activity in the yard," explained Mr. González Viñas.
Barreras has already undergone two enlargements in the last thirty years, going from ships measuring 120 metres in length and 23 in width to vessels of 200m by 28m, such as the Abel Matutes (194 metres long). "After this enlargement, Barreras will no longer compete with one hundred shipyards but will do so with just twenty", he commented.
The expansion in length and beam has been a constant feature in the history of Vigo's shipyards, another example being Armón, which has gone from being able take vessels of 60 metres length to those of over 100 metres. Barreras is the second civil shipyard in Spain for capacity, behind Sestao, which can build ships of up to 350 metres length.
Orders
The flagship of Vigo's shipyards is currently negotiating the construction of twelve vessels for overseas ship owners, according to Mr. González Viñas, who is confident that the first contracts will be signed in the next few months. Among these offers, Barreras is competing for the contract for what will be the first luxury mini-cruisers (expedition cruises) that will be made in Vigo. These vessels - at around 200 million euros - are designed to carry no more than 150 people and are equipped with the latest technology and conveniences found on larger scale cruisers, including spa facilities. (Source: FARO DE VIGO)
Barreras will take advantage of the reduced activity anticipated for the coming months to carry out an enlargement that has been delayed over the past few years due to the intense work load. On Thursday the yard will hand over the ferry Abel Matutes to the Balearia shipping company, and at the end of the month it will do the same with the fourth inverted-bow seismic vessel on its slipways for the Norwegian firm WesternGeco. "What we have left are two ferries for Armas and the Edda Accommodation, which we launched last week," he said. Indeed, it has been the lack of space that forced the shipyard to launch the Edda Accommodation last week - the first floating hotel for the oil industry to be made in Vigo, as the company could not finish the vessel and the first ferry for Armas at the same time (lack of space).
The enlargement of the shipyard will be carried out in three stages. The first, which has already been finished, consists of reinforcing the structure of the slipways in order to withstand the weight of vessels up to 250 metres in length. Twelve million euros have already been invested in this stage. The second is the enlargement of the slipways lengthways - seawards - and widthways, which is the most innovative part of the project, and on which another 30 million euros will be spent.
The first enlargement announced by the company only considered adapting the infrastructure for vessels of 250 metres in length, but did not include width, that is, taking in several slipways. "We are going for a lengthways and widthways enlargement, which means we are going to shift the mobile workshops towards Bouzas (inside the shipyard), making sure the work is always compatible with activity in the yard," explained Mr. González Viñas.
Barreras has already undergone two enlargements in the last thirty years, going from ships measuring 120 metres in length and 23 in width to vessels of 200m by 28m, such as the Abel Matutes (194 metres long). "After this enlargement, Barreras will no longer compete with one hundred shipyards but will do so with just twenty", he commented.
The expansion in length and beam has been a constant feature in the history of Vigo's shipyards, another example being Armón, which has gone from being able take vessels of 60 metres length to those of over 100 metres. Barreras is the second civil shipyard in Spain for capacity, behind Sestao, which can build ships of up to 350 metres length.
Orders
The flagship of Vigo's shipyards is currently negotiating the construction of twelve vessels for overseas ship owners, according to Mr. González Viñas, who is confident that the first contracts will be signed in the next few months. Among these offers, Barreras is competing for the contract for what will be the first luxury mini-cruisers (expedition cruises) that will be made in Vigo. These vessels - at around 200 million euros - are designed to carry no more than 150 people and are equipped with the latest technology and conveniences found on larger scale cruisers, including spa facilities. (Source: FARO DE VIGO)