B.C.6206 US Army Tank Barge Restoration

The Challenge

The barge, unlike any modern vessel of its size and with over 10mm thick of original steel plating and water-tight bulkheads and internal structures of huge strength, was a large but rewarding restoration project. Ballasted to over 680 tonnes, she needed to be dredged and towed to Hythe Shipyard for lifting as this was the only facility locally with the capacity to lift a craft of this scale and weight

Once towed to Hythe all ballast water was removed before lifting, revealing a dry lift weight of a little over 300 tonnes. The craft was lifted, and survey work carried out to identify the extent of the repair works.

Surprisingly found on the ballast tanks were the inscriptions of all those seamen that have worked on her and in her from the many years of her life.

The Challenges Landau Marine faced…

Erosion and general wear & tear

Thickness testing the very pitted surface

And of course, lockdown due to COVID-19 literally in the middle of the project followed by adhering to totally different HSE parameters.  

To preserve and renew the heritage of this barge and to undertake all works as per the official Government guidelines, commercially blasted back to her raw metal with all 80 years of dirt, rust and existing paint removed. She was then surveyed before:

Over 80m of seams re-welded, over 300 pitted holes deeper than 4mm filled and 3 holes in the hull cut out and repaired with steel plates.

Application of a new Jotun paint system, including grey non-slip, top coat, deck paint and specialist paint layup.

10-year aluminum anode system calculated and fitted ,reducing environmental impacts of traditional magnesium anodes and saving the customer money.

Landau’s own Lanolin based corrosion inhibitor created for the MODs pontoon systems was also applied to the ballast tanks and internals and certified to provide a long- lasting, protective barrier against water, moisture and oxygen from contracting metal surfaces.

In excess of 300 Metal thickness tests were undertaken and logged with our fully calibrated equipment.

Refurbishing ancillaries on deck and finishing with new deck grip paint to put her back to her former glory

New wave break installed and the original flag pole lovingly restored to its former glory.

Ben Metcalfe – CEO Landau Marine

"It’s funny how these historic projects really take a hold of you as you start to work with the vessel. I take a pride in all jobs and want to exceed the expectations we have set the customers within a budget because commercially that’s how we get our next job and keep the company strong, it’s an ethos that has worked for Landau over 25 years. However, on these historic vessels as you dismantle and prepare them to give them a new lease of life you obviously unearth battle scars, old repairs, signs of other people working with pride on the vessel from decades ago and for me that raises many questions about the vessel life and people who have worked or served on them. It gives the vessel a history and consequently a life which brings an emotive side to the work and inevitably then many hours and internet research purely out of wanting to know about the, sometimes, forgotten past and debt we owe these important vessels."

Peter Goodship – Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust

"It was not until Ben and his team uncovered the original markings on the vessel that we fully understood its historical significance having served with the US Army potentially during World War 2"