How Much Paint for a Dutch Masterpiece?

A while back we posted a photo of Eurodam in an intermediate stage of having the hull painted. That generated the logical question from a couple of savvy readers: How much paint does it take to paint the hull of HAL’s largest-ever ship?

Henry Veringa, project manager for Holland America at the shipyard, and our favorite photographer and all-around answer guy, got us an answer.

For our metric-system readers, it’s 375,000 liters; for metrically challenged Americans, it’s 99,065 gallons.

Eurodam Floated Out in Marghera Today

Water rushes into Eurodam’s dock, signaling the beginning of the float out

The first water touches the hull of Eurodam

Eurodam passed a major milestone in its construction today — the floating out. This significant turning point is celebrated by Holland America Line with three ceremonial events: the coin under the mast ceremony, the christening and the first water ceremony.

Today marked the first time Eurodam was set afloat and then was moved by tugboats to the wharf where construction will be completed.

While a new ship is officially dedicated and named by its godmother, the star of today’s floating out ceremony is the ship’s madrina, who, like the godmother, breaks a bottle of champagne to commemorate the occasion.

Accompanied by Fincantieri Shipyard Director Paolo Capobianco, Madrina Anneke Dullaert places the coin during the coin ceremony

Serving as Eurodam’s madrina today was Anneke Dullaert, wife of retired chief engineer Willem Peter Dullaert who served as chief engineer for HAL from 1982 until last year. He oversaw construction of the first few ships of the S-class, starting with ms Statendam, and still performs occasional contract work for the line as a chief engineer.

Following the coin ceremony, the floating out takes place, according to Blog Board member Pieter Rijkaart.

“Immediately after the champagne bottle breaks on the name of the ship and she is then officially christened, the dock flood gates are opened and water is let into the dock until the ship eventually floats,” Rijkaart told ENB.

Then comes the first water ceremony.

“The shipyard collects a bucket of water while the dock is flooding, which is significant because it is the first water that touches the bottom of the ship,” said Rijkaart. “This water is transferred to a crystal decanter and then presented to the captain.”

To find out the origins of the first water ceremony, we asked Captain Albert Schoonderbeek, master of ms Veendam, who keeps the ship’s crystal decanter on the bridge.

“The first water ceremony came in vogue when they started building ships in drydocks,” the captain explained. “Before, there was only the christening ceremony with the bottle breaking when the ship went down the slipway.

“With the advent of building cruise ships in a drydock, the first water ceremony popped up,” continued Schoonderbeek. “The practice was taken from the Navy, where building in drydocks has been routine for a longer time.”

More photos to come on Monday!

We Apologize for the Inconvenience

Today, Holland America Line notified all of their past passengers about the Eurodamnews blog. Unfortunately, we were not prepared for the immediate increase in traffic and the site crashed. We have since fixed the problem, and it should not happen again. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, and we hope that you’ll continue to check back with us often for new and exciting information on Eurodam.

The Mystery of the Coin Under the Mast

The coin at the base of the mast on Holland America Line’s ms Maasdam

Some ceremonies began so far back in antiquity that their origins are obscure, yet we still do them today either out of reverence for our forebears or a superstitious fear of breaking the chain. It seems the coin under the mast ceremony is one of those observances that could fall into either category.

Eurodam will have its coin under the mast ceremony tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 28, as part of the larger floating-out occasion when the vessel becomes fully water-borne for the first time, and is moved from the drydock to a nearby wharf for the latter stages of construction.

The coin ceremony is as old as sailing ships, and “stepping the mast” is the singular moment when a ship’s mast first is set into a notch or step in the keel. The practice was started by the ancient Greeks … or the Romans … or maybe the Phoenicians, depending on whom you ask. Apparently, all of those ancient sailors marked the same boatbuilding milestone by placing coins in the step beneath the mast.

The inferred reasons for the practice range from the practical — to have ready money to pay for a new mast — to the metaphysical — to help sailors lost at sea pay their passage across the River Styx to the Underworld. Or it might simply have been in hopes of bringing good luck.

Sometimes unusual items are placed under the mast. In the U.S. Navy, aircraft carrier captains place their naval aviator wings under the mast. Mostly, however, it is coins in every denomination and every currency.

To find out about how the coin under the mast ceremony came to be a Holland America Line tradition, ENB asked Captain Albert Schoonderbeek, master of ms Veendam and something of an authority on the history of the line.

“There are several coin ceremonies,” he told us. “Putting a coin under the first keel plate of the ship is like paying a tax to have the gods accept the new ship in their domain. The Greeks were doing it 2000 years ago.

“The second is putting a coin under the mast,” said Schoonderbeek. “This began with HAL when they started building the S class. I think it is an Italian thing, as I had never heard of it in Anglo Saxon literature. In reality they do not put the coin under the mast but at the base of the mast behind a little clear plastic window where you can see it.”

Mystery solved.

What is the Chief Engineer Responsible For?

Recently, ENB introduced our readers to Frank de Vries, Eurodam’s chief engineer. Now we’d like to familiarize you with all of the aspects of the ship that that he and the engineering department look after. You’ll be surprised to learn that it’s much more than just the ship’s engines.

As chief engineer, de Vries is responsible for all technical matters on board Eurodam. The engine room itself is involved with a large part of the operation, providing the propulsion of the vessel and all auxiliary services including generation of electricity, stabilizers, steam supply, air conditioning, refrigeration, potable water production and treatment, wastewater treatment and garbage processing and incineration.

Additionally, the engine department is responsible for all technical and interior maintenance around the ship. This encompasses safety systems, lifeboats and davits, galleys and bars, the spa and saunas, elevators, phone and computer systems, electrical distribution, plumbing, fan rooms, carpentry and upholstery.

Workout With a View

Eurodam’s Fitness Center

Though you might not be able to tell which public room it is now, here is a photo of Eurodam’s Fitness Center during construction. Located all the way forward on Lido Deck, the Fitness Center offers a panoramic view over the bow. With 25 percent more room than the Vista-class ships, the facility will offer more exercise equipment and workout space for classes such as yoga, pilates, step, cycling and aerobics. Photo courtesy of Henry Veringa, project manager for Holland America Line.

Meet Eurodam’s Project Manager

Henry Veringa, Newbuild Project Manager

Eurodam News Blog readers know him as the shipyard photographer, but Henry Veringa has much more responsibility than ensuring we have the latest photos. As the newbuild project manager for Holland America Line, Veringa has been based at the Fincantieri shipyard since June 2006. In his role, he provides local support for the newbuild projects and is the liaison between the newbuild team (deck, engine and hotel operations) and the shipyard.

Additionally, he checks the ship’s drawings and reports back to the various Holland America Line departments in Seattle and to Carnival Corporate Shipbuilding (CCS) in Southampton, England. Together with the newbuild team, he guides the comments on the construction to ensure that the new ship meets HAL standards. Veringa reports directly to Pieter Rijkaart, Blog Board member and Holland America Line director of newbuilds.

Hailing from the town of Swifterbant in Oostelijk Flevoland, the Netherlands, Veringa graduated from maritime college. He fulfilled his apprenticeship with P&O North Sea Ferries until he received his engineer’s license in 1995. Although he then went to work for a power plant in Amsterdam, he longed to return to sea. The encouraging words of current ms Statendam Captain Henrik Krombeen, whom he met while sailing with P&O, led him to apply for a job with Holland America Line, and in 2000 he joined ms Rotterdam in the engineering department. Veringa was then assigned to the construction of ms Oosterdam in 2002, as well as the newbuilds ms Westerdam and ms Noordam.

After Noordam launched, Rijkaart approached Veringa and asked him if he was interested in the position of newbuild project manager, which he gladly accepted.

To be close to the yard, Veringa lives in Mestre, near Venice. When he’s not taking photos for ENB, he enjoys the sun and snow, and can be found at the beach, skiing in the Italian Dolomites or at his brother’s in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Dutch Art: The Photorealism of Jan van ‘t Hoff

Frans Dingemans, of VFD Architects in Utrecht, selected most of the art and antiques in the Eurodam collection. Here, he explains why he chose Jan van ‘t Hoff’s work:

“At first sight, the works of Dutch painter Jan van ‘t Hoff look like professionally made photographs,” said Dingemans. “By the use of a dark background, the eye is immediately attracted by the fruits and flowers, which are beautifully lighted. But when close attention is paid, fine brushstrokes will give away the realistic illusion. These wonderful paintings testify to a great skill earned by years of practice, which stands in the tradition of centuries-old Dutch still-life painting.”

Van ‘t Hoff explains his approach to his art this way:

“My nature still lifes have a light foreground and a dark background,” he wrote for the Dee Twee Pauwen Gallery in The Hague, Netherlands. “With this abstracting from the surroundings, attention is focused on the interaction of light and shadow.

“The abstract surfaces in a painting have the same function as white paper for a poem,” van ‘t Hoff continued. “Thus a specific image-poetry develops. By connecting the subject matter only loosely to its natural surroundings, room is created for new meanings.”

Views From the Yard: Photo

As requested, here is a photo of the Lido pool area that Pieter discussed in his “Views From the Yard” post yesterday. Thanks to Henry Veringa, Holland America Line’s project manager, for taking this image.

Views From the Yard: Pieter Rijkaart

Pieter Rijkaart

I had an opportunity to get on board Eurodam last week, and I am pleased to share my impressions. All decks are now in place on the ship, and it was quite exciting to be able to walk through the various public areas and imagine how they will look once they are finished — even though at the moment they are still all bare steel and no interior outfitting is in place.

On the lower cabin decks, the first cabin walls already have been erected and the prefabricated bathroom units are in their final locations.

When walking outside on the open decks, I was impressed to see the large amount of Sun Deck space these ships have to offer compared to the Vista-class ships. The open deck space above the Crow’s Nest is enormous, as is the new deck space above the new restaurant and bar in the center of the ship in front of the funnels. And the aft Lido pool deck is quite a bit larger than on Noordam, our most recent Vista ship.

Eurodam really offers plenty of extra outside sunbathing space.