Cascade General Building International Flag Connection

Cascade General has completed repair and maintenance work on the 506.43ft. (154.4 m.), container ship Castor, former TMM Guadalajara. Built in Poland for German owners Alpha Ship GmbH Bremen, registered in Holland and crewed by Ukrainians, this 1129 TEU capacity vessel is a truly international ship. Its 12-day stop in the Portland, Oregon, shipyard was part of a continuing effort by Cascade General to meet the needs of bulk carriers and containers ships calling on the U.S. west coast.

"There are over 10,000 foreign-flag ship calls per year in the Pacific Northwest, and our strategic location and large facility gives us the opportunity to provide them with competitive drydocking and voyage repairs," explains Cascade General Executive Vice President Andrew Rowe. "We consider this to be a strategically important part of our market. Our company has literally re-invented the way we do business with international ship owners and their agents."

This was the second vessel Alpha Ship has brought to Cascade General this year; the first was the TMM Leon for a standard drydocking and maintenance. For the Castor, the project also involved coordinating the visit to coincide with a change of charter and route, from the west coast of the Americas to the Far East.

On arrival, the 18,445 DWT ship was lifted in the shipyard's 661ft. (201 m.) Dry Dock 3, staging erected and the side-shell plating surveyed by Cascade General's Voyage Repair Division and an inspector from Germanischer Lloyd's. The replacement of several frames, longitudinals and 1/2" side-shell plating was found necessary. It was completed to exceed class standards and bring the two-year old ship back to as-new condition, ready for its next charter.

Work that had been scheduled in advance included the replacement of several, container cell guides, checking propeller, rudder and shaft clearances, and blasting and coating the bottom. The Castor, former TMM Guadalajara is powered by a MAN B&W 10,010 KW engine, which gives a service speed of 18.5 knots and is equipped to run 150 refrigerated containers.

"In the last year, respected, European companies like Alpha Ship, Deiulemar and Barber-Kvaerner, have recognized the value-added aspects of our full-service approach," adds Rowe. "These include high productivity, competitive pricing, fast turn-around and the ability to respond to last-minute growth. We have received very positive feedback from these customers on our post-overhaul evaluations. We now have representatives in 22 countries and are spreading the word that Portland Shipyard is a serious player in the international market."

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Cascade General operates Portland Shipyard, the largest and most complete ship repair and industrial facility on the West Coast of the United States. We provide full-service repairs and conversions for tankers, cruise ships, bulk carriers, container ships, government vessels, tugs, barges and workboats. Cascade General's Portland facility includes a 60-acre (24.2 ha) yard, 550,000 square feet (51,096 square meters) of craft shops, more than 7,600 ft. (2,326 meters) of full-service repair berths, and two floating dry docks.