All Four Propeller Blades Out of the Water

Good morning,

This is the second day we were in Nassau, Bahamas, for the removal of four propeller blades from the Fixi POD of Freedom of the Seas.  These blades were being removed because of damaged bearings.  Had the blades remained on the ship, they could have caused damage to the Fixi POD itself.  The blades will be returned to the ship next month in dry dock after the bearings have been replaced. 

In the meantime, the ship has two Azi PODS that will provide plenty of power to get the ship where it needs to go. 

When I arrived on the back deck of Freedom to take these pictures at about 8 AM, this giant crane was in the process of bringing up the last of the four propeller blades.

This is such an unusual event that some of the ship's engineers also documented the action as the Miami Divers and crane operators were raising the propeller.

On the truck is one of the three propeller blades already out of the water.

Huge!

Waves from the Chief Engineer and some of his engineers.  ;)

 This interesting pattern is made by the blue mooring lines, the yellow oil boom, and the orange crane hook being lowered into the water to bring up that last propeller blade.

 These two propeller blades are on the dock ready to be loaded on the truck.

 

The divers worked through the night so first three blades were brought up during the night before I got here to get these images.

 Still watching...

 Still waiting...

 ...while the divers are hard at work beneath the water.

 And, there it is!

 This is the fourth and last propeller blade being pulled from the water.

 It turned slowly as it was pulled up.

 Each of these blades weighs two tons.

 Huge!  I certainly had the best spot to get pictures!

 The crane operator skillfully lowered the blade onto the truck.

 The blades will be transported by ferry to Freeport, Bahamas, where they will be reinstalled on Freedom of the Seas after bearing repairs are made.

 Guests from the ship were also fascinated with the action and stopped the Chief Engineer to ask questions.

 While the workers loaded the blades, the Chief Engineer spent a few minutes explaining the process to these guests.

That's the end of my series of images of the propeller blade removal.  It was a very unusual event and I'm so glad I was able to get pictures of it as it happened. 

I hope you've enjoyed all of the pictures. 

All the best,
Lois