Gibraltar-based shiprepair yard Gibdock has won a debut scrubber retrofit contract, aboard five vessels owned by shipping group Vroon and operated by shipmanager Norbulk Shipping.

The contract is Gibdock’s largest this year and, it claims, the first ship-series sulphur-abatement technology retrofit win for any Southern European yard. Each of the five vessels will be fitted with a scrubber, followed by special survey drydocking.

The vessels, including the 37,500dwt product tanker Great Eastern, will be fitted with Alfa Laval ‘PureSOx’ main engine, auxiliary engine and boiler scrubber units, capable of removing up to 80% of particulates. The installation will include 90 tonnes of newly fabricated steel, the laying of 12,386 m of electrical cabling and 1,134 m of piping.

“This has been an intense collaboration, involving different Gibdock departments, naval architects, the Norbulk project team, Alfa Laval, and our electrical and piping systems subcontractors,” said John Taylor, Gibdock operations director. “Optimised planning, materials purchasing, equipment deployment and job sequencing for scrubber work are now part of Gibdock’s competitive advantage.”

Gibdock md Richard Beards described it as a "breakthrough deal, which opens a new chapter in the industry’s Exhaust-Gas-Scrubber (EGS) installation work options."