One of Polish Navy's most decorated ships and one of Gdynia's top tourist attractions, ORP Błyskawica, requires a complete overhaul. Therefore, for at least next 90 days, it won't be available for admiration by maritime history aficionados.
Haulage of ORP Błyskawica began at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. The 85-year-old vessel was pulled by three hauling ships. It was taken to a dry dock in PGZ Naval Shipyard which had won the bid to repair the museum ship.
"We would like to have the decks tested and repaired, the same goes with the sheathing, ballast tanks and masts" - said Lieutenant Commander Marek Mielnik, the ship's second-in-command.
The repair is to take at least 90 days, but if the overhaul reveals any hidden damage, the process will take longer. Lieutenant Commander Mielnik said such overhauls are done on a regular basis. "The last one was in 2014" - he added.
ORP Błyskawica was the second of two Grom-class destroyers built for the Polish Navy by J. Samuel White, of Cowes, in 1935–37. The Grom class were two of the most heavily armed and fastest destroyers in World War II.
The first one, ORP Grom, was hit by two bombs and sank after internal explosion on May 4, 1940, in the Rombaken fjord near Narvik, Norway.
The second is preserved as a museum ship in Gdynia and is the oldest preserved destroyer in the world.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24