The Fairway has been rebuilt completely in Singapore. Part of this huge operation was bringing the ship up to the Boskalis safety standard. Quite a challenge!

Second mates Kaupo Laanerand and Vytautas Mogenis have been working hard to glue all stickers at the various locations. “It must be thousands”, says Vytautas. “We have NINA posters, safety warnings, arrows, et cetera.” It was the final phase of the safety plan they worked out with their relievers Eric Meulman and Anton Zaytsev. Kaupo: “The required amount of work needed to bring the Fairway up to the contemporary safety standard was underestimated at first. We had a new ship with a heritage from the old Fairway: licenses were expired, safety signs gone, brackets removed, accesses obstructed. We worked on regulations as well as practical issues, like developing new brackets for fire boxes to improve the visibility and accessibility. The technical standard helped us a lot. For example we checked the material and steepness of all staircases. In case alterations were not possible we looked for other ways to improve safety, like anti slip paint and warning signs to descend backwards.”

Teamwork
It has been a good experience to be involved in safety this way, says Kaupo: “We now know every corner of the ship, every safety standard, all regulations that apply. We learned about safety, about how to carry out the message, about teamwork: we could not have done this without the input of all team members. From the head office to our engine room and bridge: everyone co-operated.”