Skids for the EMS Berg - improvements to the hull

Created: 03/24/2022, 15:12

By: Peter Schiebel

The EMS Berg at the beginning of the week on the slipway of the Starnberg shipyard: In order to give the ship more stability and thus driving comfort, a total of three iron rails, similar to skids, were welded to the hull.

© Lake Shipping

The electric motor ship EMS Berg, which went into operation a year ago, was already lying on dry land again at the Seenschifffahrt shipyard in Starnberg.

The reason was improvements to the hull to give the ship more stability in the water.

Starnberg – The EMS Berg has been a star of Bavarian lake shipping since its maiden voyage in May last year.

The fully electric ship was even awarded the "Inland Shipping Innovation Prize".

Passers-by were all the more amazed when they discovered the ship on the slipway of the Starnberg shipyard this week.

What it's all about?

"A few stabilizers are attached to the ship's hull," explains Michael Grießer, Managing Director of Bayerische Seenschifffahrt, when asked by Starnberger Merkur.

Because of its height, the Berg reacts more strongly to wind than other ships, says Grießer.

The ship is 35 meters long and 8.20 meters high out of the water.

It offers a target for gusty side winds in particular.

"Especially when the wind is blowing in different directions, you always have to take countermeasures," explains Grießer.

After consultation with the Lux shipyard in Niederkassel (North Rhine-Westphalia), which built the Berg, the decision was made: On the left and right of the hull, irons about two meters long and around 15 centimeters deep are welded, a third iron with around 1, 50 meters length comes to the bow.

"Then you don't have to counteract as much, and that increases driving comfort," says Grießer.

Years ago, the MS Bernried was upgraded in a similar way.

The lateral stabilizers are around two meters long and around 15 centimeters deep.

© Lake Shipping

On Monday, the EMS Berg was pulled onto the dockyard's slipway.

Specialists from the Lux shipyard welded on the irons, which the Starnberg operations manager for lake shipping, Markus Färber, not quite seriously comparing to "sled runners".

On Tuesday, the ship was lowered back into the water for short test drives.

On Wednesday it was already back on the Helling.

Markus Färber: “Everything worked out with the stabilizers.

Now, like the mountains, they are still cleaning algae.” A positive side aspect: Because the captains now have to take less countermeasures, energy can obviously be saved.

At least that was the case during the test drives, says the operations manager.

The new shipping season on Lake Starnberg (and Lake Ammer) is scheduled to start on Good Friday, April 15th – first with the northern round trip Starnberg-Tutzing and back and with the southern round trip from/to Tutzing.

On the southern route, the Berg is used.

So far, the preparations are on schedule – even if the Sahara dust of the past week requires additional cleaning work.

"The dust has settled everywhere on the ships," says Färber.

"It will definitely cost us a week." The dust was "good for the car wash, but not for us".

The jetties, for example in Starnberg and Tutzing, would also have to be cleaned.

Whether and if so which Corona rules will apply is still open.

Managing Director Grießer assumes that masks will be compulsory indoors and still only wants to use two thirds of the maximum capacity.

"It's relatively relaxed at the beginning of the season," he says.

However, talks would still be held with the Free State.