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YACHT FIRE: Lurssen Floating Dry Dock - 146M Project SASSI

Discussion in 'Lurssen Yacht' started by German Yachting, Sep 14, 2018.

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  1. German Yachting

    German Yachting Senior Member

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  2. Milow232

    Milow232 Guest

    That doesn't look Good at all..
  3. ApreMare

    ApreMare Senior Member

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    I was just going to post about this, at first seemed minor but its a major fire and I really think whatever project was in there is completely destroyed..
    here are more photos and videos from instagram user Drduu

    https://www.instagram.com/drduu/
  4. nmna

    nmna Senior Member

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    Last edited: Sep 14, 2018
  5. GandT

    GandT New Member

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    Smoke damage, water damage. Even if the metalwork is left (which by the heat transferred to the dock is unlikely) no owner will accept it as a newbuild.
  6. kughi_s

    kughi_s New Member

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    who is the designer of this project?
  7. ELEMEENOOPEE

    ELEMEENOOPEE Senior Member

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    This looks insane..

    Attached Files:

  8. Milow232

    Milow232 Guest

    She was supposed to launch this year if I am not mistaken which makes it even more tragic.
    The fire is now under control with 170 firefighter on scene and also from the Meyer Werft. Read about concerns that the roof of the dock might collapse so first investigations might take more time
  9. Gage Rowden7

    Gage Rowden7 Senior Member

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    Man this is really unfortunate! Sad to hear about this happen. Hope no one got injured. Was looking forward to seeing her.
  10. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    Press Release on the fire from Lurssen...

    ***
  11. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    Follow up release from Lurssen...

    As of this morning (15th September), the fire has been under control. According to the fire department, there is no further danger of the fire spreading, although fire suppression measures will continue for the time being. Currently, about 180 fire fighters of the Bremen fire departments and of the surrounding counties as well as the fire department of the Jos. L. Meyer Shipyard are on duty, but are being gradually released. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the tireless efforts and professional response of all those involved, including the fire service, police, the technical support unit, and our own employees. Currently no statement can be made at this stage as to the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage.
  12. ApreMare

    ApreMare Senior Member

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    This a tragic event not for Lurssen alone but also yacht enthusiasts like us. I'm no sure if and when or ever will Lurssen put a press release regarding the damage, but safe to assume the project in there is a total loss after 48 hour blaze. Lets also remember Lurssen works like a swiss watch one project launches and the next day the other one goes in bare. I am pretty sure the shed itself is a total loss where wii Lurssen complete its other projects? Lets just say it was very fortunate they purchased blohm & voss, they can now use their facilities. Needless to say this unfortunate event will sput a hamper on Lurssen deliveries for a long period, I'd love to know what others on this forum think about the near future of Lurssen.
  13. GandT

    GandT New Member

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    The dock at blohm and Voss housed Eclipse. They will use that 7nless something bigger is coming.
    I‘m no insurance expert but I would imagine that is the big question.
    The owner has probably already paid a lot towards the build. He now wants his boat or a replacement until a new one is built. All the subcontractors and suppliers have probably only been partly paid. The owners build team needs to be compensated as do any crew already hired.

    Try to pick the bones out of that mess as an insurance company stalls depending on the cause. Why does a boat that’s worth a few hundred million not have a permanent fire watch on board? Thank god it happened at night when less people were on board. This could change the way yachts are allowed to be built depending on the cause.
  14. ApreMare

    ApreMare Senior Member

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    Claims as big and as sophisticated as this doesn't get paid quick, but rest assure owner will be compensated, I wonder what will happen to the delivery date penalty clause? This yacht is probably around 18 months into its build, we are talking about a 2 year delay at best, that will be the toughest part. As for the fire watch, I'd like to remind you there were workers working on the yacht at that time (no wonder Lurssen turns out 120+meter yachts in record time) so I don't know how that would have helped, I am really surprised the fire got so big so quick, a respected builder like Lurssen must gave some stringent fire prevention and fire exhaustion procedures and equipments in place.
  15. GandT

    GandT New Member

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    Don’t know if it’s true but I read somewhere the yacht was supposed to come out in a month. Delivery probably next summer then. That means providing the owner with a replacement for a couple of years if this incident doesn’t sour the relationship completely. How do you even insure against having to provide a replacement yacht?

    Depending on where the fire started there might not have been anyone working in the area. Then they should have a fire watch or alarm system covering all areas.

    Having seen smaller builds, the fire would get so big so quick because these yachts are covered in highly flammable materials, teak, composites, epoxy, paint. They are then built in a big plastic tent which if they have been painting or sanding, is full of solvent or dust. I don’t know how you could stop anything more than a local fire over 100+ meters.

    In my youth, I worked security on large yachts during refits. We did a fire watch round every two hours through every room. They were no where near the size or value we are talking here
  16. Gage Rowden7

    Gage Rowden7 Senior Member

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    I’m still a little upset I was really looking forward to seeing her finished. Eventually they will have to tow her out of the shed and maybe then we will get a chance to see her. Overall, Insurance and everything else this is a great big mess. Just like ApreMare said they are fortunate to have Blohm & Voss. We can expect to see more yachts like Crescent go there to finish work possibly.
  17. wwch

    wwch Member

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    I have been wondering: at which point of the construction does a shipyard normally activate the onboard smoke/fire detection and fighting system? (maybe temporarely rigged to an outside system to get the water on board?)
  18. GandT

    GandT New Member

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    I don’t think they can activate it until very late. The crew is regularly trained in using it in an emergency. I think if workers were in a room when a hifog system went off, it wouldn’t necessarily help their chances of getting out and surviving.

    When we did fire watch on refits, the fire doors and damper systems were functional. Fire fighting systems on board are there to prevent catastrophal loss of life at sea. The needs in a dock or alongside at a yard are different.

    If the yacht at lurssen was almost finished, I expect the cause was fairly mundane. There would be no welding or burning any more so it was probably electrical or chemical, a heater or a fan burning out.
  19. Milow232

    Milow232 Guest

    That's what I would think as well
  20. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Determining and agreeing on the value of the loss is the only big problem. First, there's the physical loss of the boat. The majority of that will be a refund to the buyer for what they've paid to date and then a smaller percentage to Lurssen for work not yet paid for. Second, is the damage to the facility. Third, though, we have business interruption insurance which I would be very surprised if Lurssen doesn't have. This can take two forms. One is cover all costs during the period of interruption. Two, cover costs plus loss profits.

    This boat will simply not get built now or anytime soon. It may well be the buyer doesn't now want a boat from Lurssen, but, if they do, there's no remaining obligation under the contract for this boat. It's all terminated by the fire and payment for the loss.

    I've been through one sizable fire loss in my career, but nothing like this one. Oddly, the insurer had one taking place at that time that was closer to this one. The delay on ours and the other one was agreeing on the damages. Fortunately, both companies were strong enough to take the necessary steps to resume operation as soon as possible without waiting for the insurance payment. In our case, we shut the warehouse down for 7 weeks and the total loss was $5 million. The day after the fire, we leased another building nearby to move all the goods and inspect them. The other company had their facility destroyed and immediately started preparation of a new building, rerouting business meanwhile to other locations in the country. Their loss and payment was $56 million.

    I would expect Lurssen to remove the debris and reconstruct the shed quickly. They may shift some boats between facilities. I would expect though the next boat to be built there will proceed normally but up to 3 months later than planned. In their long build times, that delay will ultimately not be all that discernable.

    If the buyer wants another boat built, I'd expect them to work it in somewhere down the line but it could easily be a couple of years before it is started.

    For a well run business like Lurssen, this won't be all that complicated other than the single matter of agreeing on the amount of their loss.