Original subtitles

[narrator] In the Netherlands, an elite team of engineers is

embarking on an epic mission.

They are building a unique ship

to supply some of the most remote islands in the world.

To construct this 2,200-ton leviathan, they must bend

and weld 800 sheets of steel.

Lift huge loads.

And work with extreme precision.

This super cargo ship

ranks in a league of ambitious new engineering wonders

that are bigger, faster, taller, and more advanced

than anything ever constructed before.

This is the inside story of the extraordinary challenge

of building these giants.

French Polynesia is a collection of 118 atolls

and islands dotted across the South Pacific Ocean.

They lie thousands of miles to the east of New Zealand,

the nearest source of supplies.

The isolated communities here rely on a fleet of cargo ships

to receive critical goods,

from fuel to food.

Some of these vessels are at the end of their service lives.

French Polynesians need brand new ships to move people

and goods for at least the next 30 years.

Over 9,000 miles away, in the Netherlands,

engineers at Royal Bodewes shipyard

must build one of these next-generation vessels.

It's the responsibility of Deputy Director

Robert Jan Steenbergen to oversee the project.

He will coordinate all the teams that work to design,

build, and deliver the ship.

Royal Bodewes is a family-owned company.

We've been around since 1812.

We're looking forward to a project that

we've never done before in this scale.

That's quite a technical challenge.

The vessel that this team builds must overcome

the challenges of operating in the South Pacific.

It must be fast to travel quickly between islands

that are separated by thousands of miles of ocean.

It must be agile to maneuver in and out

of small, shallow ports

and have the ability to load and unload cargo without

the help of a dockside crane.

It also needs to maximize

every square-foot of interior space

to hold a huge volume of cargo for its size.

The team's solution is this super versatile ship.

Hawaikinui 2 stretches 285 feet long,

nearly the length of a football field.

Its hold carries 2,200 tons of cargo,

equivalent in weight to 400 large pickup trucks.

Its hull is made from over 1,600 tons of reinforced steel

and is strong enough to withstand Pacific storms.

It's equipped with a super-efficient

2,600 horsepower engine for cutting across the ocean.

At the rear is a controllable-pitch propeller

that pushes the ship forward at 12 knots

and gives precise control

for docking in tight island harbors.

On top is a nearly 50-ton crane to load and unload cargo

in ports with limited infrastructure.

The first challenge for the engineers is to cut,

shape, and weld all the steel

for the hull of Hawaikinui 2.

They hand this task

to a specialized steel processing plant.

It falls to managing director Hidde Roorda

to deliver on time.

This vessel is really special

and it comes with challenges every day.

It's just a really one-off ship.

Hidde's team must turn 100 nearly 40-foot by 10-foot

sheets of steel into the hull of the new ship.

This is how they'll do it.

Engineers break down the design into hundreds

of separate components, each with their unique shape.

Metalworkers place sheets of steel into a plasma cutter.

The super-hot plasma slices through the steel

with sub-millimeter accuracy.

Next, they place the flat pieces into

a sheet-metal punch machine.

This delivers 375 pounds of force to shape the metal,

millimeter by millimeter.

Then, the team uses handheld arc welders

to fuse the steel pieces together.

The welders build these up into box sections.

They weld these boxes together to form ship sections.

First, the front section,

then the middle section,

finally, the rear section of the ship.

Workers begin fabricating Hawaikinui 2 in February 2024.

First, they cut every part of the hull

from one-and-a-half-inch-thick sheets of steel.

They use a special plasma cutter.

It shoots out superheated gas

that's three times hotter than the surface of the sun.

It burns through the steel with millimeter accuracy.

[Hidde] Precision is key.

We have not even one millimeter of tolerance

within the cutting.

800 pieces of steel make up the hull of Hawaikinui 2.

The next stage is to prepare

the cutout sections for welding.

The plasma cutter creates rough edges on the steel.

The team uses angle grinders to smooth them

to ensure the welds are strong.

Next, the team must shape every piece of steel to match

the design of the ship.

[Hidde] So we're standing next to one of our biggest presses.

It has 375 tons of capacity.

The press bends the metal millimeter by millimeter

into the required shape.

It takes over two hours to complete one sheet.

The factory then delivers the finished hull components

to the shipyard at Royal Bodewes.

And in the end, we pack everything together

like a IKEA building kit, so to say, but a lot bigger.

And they build a ship from it.

The cut and shaped steel pieces arrive at Royal Bodewes

ready for welding.

It's the responsibility of Geert Venema to make sure

the team assembles the parts correctly.

[Geert] Today we're making a side section of the ship.

We start to put some plates on the floor

and then we weld them together.

Geert's team uses arc welders.

These generate an electric current that heats the metal

to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit to fuse it together.

[Geert] The welding process has to be right, otherwise,

it's a chance that it can crack.

And then you have to -- they start over all again.

Welders add steel ribs to the fused sheets.

These ribs make the sheets super strong.

Next, the team welds ribbed sections together

to make box structures.

Then, they join these together to form giant box sections.

Finally, they weld these boxes together to make ship sections.

Over the next 11 months, the welding team builds

the three huge sections of the ship.

[Robert] The smaller blocks are being assembled

we're good up to speed, it's been quite a challenge

to getting everything up and running.

Engineers in the Netherlands are building a one-of-a-kind

cargo vessel for the South Pacific.

The next stage of construction is to cut and install

the piping for the ship.

Pipes are the veins of a ship.

They carry the fuel, gases, and fluids the vessel

needs for its operation.

It falls to project manager Ronald Venema to design

how the pipes fit inside the vessel.

We need to 3D design lots of piping way ahead of

the building schedule, and you need to install it much

earlier than other systems.

In a supply ship like Hawaikinui 2,

every square inch of space can potentially carry cargo.

It's critical that the piping takes up the minimum

space inside the ship,

but weaving it through the vessel is a complex puzzle.

The installation team must fit one-inch-diameter steel piping

to supply diesel to the engine.

The team will install two sets of galvanized steel ventilation

trunks to channel fresh air to the engine room.

And four-inch diameter lines

to cycle coolant around the machinery.

Fire-suppressant nozzles supply carbon dioxide from the front

of the ship.

The piping must not obstruct the cargo bay,

so the team feeds it through the honeycomb ceiling

of the cargo hold.

The team installs hundreds of feet of plastic pipework

for drinking and wastewater,

along with air-conditioning ducts

throughout the work and rest areas.

The design team must ensure these crisscrossing pipes fit

the tight spaces without ever colliding with each other.

In total, the team must install nearly four miles of piping.

But cutting and welding all the sections to curve around

the contours of the ship will take too long.

Ronald's team has a solution.

They will bend the pipes.

Right now, we have cut one of the pipes for the Hawaikinui 2.

This is one of our two bending machines

that we can bend all the pipes that need to be bended.

This machine eases pipes of all diameters into the correct

shape with millimeter precision.

The bending team sends a steady supply of pipes

to the fitting team that's building Hawaikinui 2.

It's the responsibility of Brendan Cosgrove to make sure

that every pipe is installed correctly.

As you can see, there's a lot of pipes,

all different functions, the cooling pipes,

the heating pipes, air conditioning are running

all through the engine room.

Working with multiple diameters of pipe

in cramped areas increases the chance of mistakes.

To help eliminate them, Brendan's team uses special

tablets with digital plans of the ship's pipework.

The plan shows the workers exactly where to

install every length of pipe.

Brendan checks each inch of pipework his team installs.

What I'm looking for is misalignment of pipes,

that we don't have to dismantle every pipe again.

We check them.

As Brendan finishes his checks on the piping,

the first section of the ship nears completion.

Four months into the build,

the front portion of Hawaikinui 2 is complete,

and all its piping installed.

The next challenge for the engineers

is to pull it to the dockside.

Bringing out the first block is one of the major milestones.

This will make space in the fabrication shed to finish

the middle and rear sections of the ship.

The team will use this tow truck

to pull the front section onto the dockside.

Workers attach a high-tensile cable from the truck

to a special wheeled undercarriage

beneath the ship section.

The winch on the tow truck tightens, and the ship section

begins to move.

The door to the fabrication shed

is only a few inches wider than the ship.

The tow truck pulls at a consistent, slow speed.

So workers have time to stop the haul if they think any part

of the ship will contact the building.

After an hour of pulling, the first section comes

to a rest on the dockside.

The next challenge for the engineers is to install

four giant prefabricated components that make up

the ship's deckhouse.

The deckhouse sections are already on the quayside,

painted, outfitted and ready to be mated to form

the complete foreship section.

The first task is to place the rear part of the deckhouse

that weighs almost 23 tons.

The crane lifts it 50 feet into the air and swings it

over the ship.

The crane lowers the block precisely into position.

A few hours later, the crane places

the second part of the deckhouse.

Welders secure both parts to the ship's front section.

Next, the crane installs the visor that protects

deckhouse from waves.

Finally, the crane installs the bridge.

The front section of Hawaikinui 2 is complete.

The team attaches the middle section, six weeks later.

[Robert] Everything fits nicely.

On to the next one.

Engineers in the Netherlands

are racing to complete Hawaikinui 2.

A unique cargo ship designed to supply the remote islands of

French Polynesia in the South Pacific.

Their next challenge is

the engine to power this one-of-a-kind vessel.

Water resistance slows the ship down as it sails forward.

A lightly loaded ship rides high in the water.

The water resistance is low,

and the engine does less work.

A heavy load pushes more of the hull beneath the surface.

This increases the water resistance.

And the engine must work harder to maintain the ship's speed.

So the engine on Hawaikinui 2 must do two jobs.

It must be powerful enough to

drive the fully loaded vessel through the water,

but not overpowered when the ship is lightly loaded.

Get this balance wrong, and Hawaikinui 2 will waste

fuel, lose speed, and strain its machinery.

The team works with MARIN,

the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands.

It builds a scale model of Hawaikinui 2's hull

to measure the water resistance at different loads.

The test will reveal what power of engine the ship needs to

ensure maximum efficiency.

The engineers run the test with the hull lower in the water to

simulate Hawaikinui 2 carrying a full load.

They repeat the test with the hull higher in the water to

simulate transporting a light load.

The test results show that the engine with the perfect

balance of power and efficiency is one rated at two megawatts.

That's enough to power over a thousand homes.

Robert Jan sends the engine spec to the manufacturer.

Production begins in the Everllence factory in Germany.

Here, workers heat ore to over 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit

to smelt iron.

They cast the largest components, like the engine

block and crankcase, as single pieces.

The team uses special boring

machines to cut holes into the cylinder block.

They then fit huge pistons that attach to connecting rods,

to turn a super-sized crankshaft.

Once an engine is complete, the team trucks or ships it to

where it's needed.

The next challenge for the team at Royal Bodewes is to install

the engine into the rear section of Hawaikinui 2.

It's a nine-cylinder engine.

For us, it was the first time we installed a nine-cylinder.

So it's a relatively small engine, a relatively small bore,

but it's a long one, so it takes up quite

some space in the engine room.

Before it installs the engine, the team must place

the shaft generator,

followed by the reduction gearbox.

First up, it's the shaft generator.

Like a car's alternator, it converts mechanical power

from the engine into electrical

power for the ship's onboard systems.

The team eases it safely into place.

Next, the crew must install the reduction gearbox.

Workers use the mighty gantry crane to lift

the five-ton chunk of metal.

The gearbox turns the engine's high-speed rotation into

a slower high-torque force to turn the ship's propeller.

Now for the heart of it all, the engine.

This weighs a staggering 22 tons.

The engine sways at the end of the lifting chains.

It could crush critical pipework

if it contacts the ship.

The team uses guide ropes to steady the swinging motion.

And lowers the engine into position.

Workers ensure it is perfectly aligned before

they finish the drop.

The team lowers the engine into its final position.

Their next challenge is to select the correct type

of propeller to push the ship through the water.

Engineers in the Netherlands are building Hawaikinui 2,

a unique cargo vessel that will

supply the remote islands of French Polynesia.

Hawaikinui 2's propulsion unit must be able to do

two things.

Power the ship forward at speed across thousands of miles of

open ocean

and make the vessel agile enough to maneuver into

the tight ports on the smallest islands.

She's gonna moor in the peninsulas

where she's gonna sail through the reefs.

It has to be a ship that is very versatile.

Well, that's our challenge to make that work.

Hawaikinui 2's engine works best at a constant power.

But this power is too much for the smallest harbors.

The crew needs a way to change speed quickly for finer control

of the ship in tight spaces.

The solution lies in the design of the propeller.

A ship's propeller pushes water backwards to move

the ship forwards.

A fixed propeller pushes

the same amount of water with each rotation.

Hawaikinui 2 needs a way to change her speed without

slowing the engine.

Her designers give her a controllable-pitch propeller.

Its blades rotate to change the angle

at which they meet the water.

A small angle creates low thrust to move the ship slowly.

A steeper angle pushes more water

and generates greater thrust.

So even with the engine turning at a steady speed,

the propeller adjusts how that power is used.

It can even reverse the thrust without reversing the engine.

This gives fine control in tight island harbors.

The propeller for Hawaikinui 2 is built

in the Berg Propulsion Factory in Sweden.

The engineers here cast the blade from high-strength,

corrosion-resistant copper alloy.

The blades are shaped to minimize their drag

in the water and maximize

the amount of thrust they create.

This provides powerful propulsion

for high-speed travel.

Hydraulic actuators inside the propeller swivel the blades

to give the vessel fine control in tight harbors.

Eight months into the build, engineers attach the propeller

to the tail shaft at the rear of the ship.

Next, the team must design a suitable rudder to work

in tandem with the propeller.

Where the propeller supplies the thrust,

the rudder directs this thrust to steer the ship.

Hawaikinui 2 needs a large enough rudder

to give her strong control at low speeds,

for example, when she's docking.

But a large rudder can create drag.

Royal Bodewes turns to Siemen Mandema

to solve the problem.

It can take to two, three percent fuel consumption,

so a rudder is very important.

Siemen's solution is to sculpt the rudder into a shape

that is super efficient.

The profile of the rudder just gives a special shape,

similar to a wing of an airplane, to have

the lowest resistance.

Siemen scales up his design to build a rudder for Hawaikinui 2

that's over six and a half feet wide

and nearly 10 feet tall.

It's large enough to guide the ship at full speed through

big seas and responsive enough

to maneuver the ship in tight harbors

while also minimizing drag.

It takes 35 weeks from Siemen's team

designing the rudder

to installing it onto Hawaikinui 2.

Back at the shipyard, it's time to join the rear

section to the rest of the vessel.

The team hauls it out of the fabrication shed.

The sections join perfectly.

Their next challenge is how to launch

the 2,200 ton vessel into the water.

Engineers in the Netherlands

have now joined together all three sections

of the unique cargo ship, Hawaikinui 2.

Right now, dozens of cylindrical metal jacks brace

the ship to keep it level.

The engineers need a way to literally tip Hawaikinui 2

into the canal next to the fabrication shed.

Workers drag 19 metal ramps underneath the ship.

Hawaikinui 2 will slip along these and into the canal.

Next, they install huge metal wedges in between the ramps

and the bottom of the ship.

Engineers secure each wedge

with adjustable hydraulic jacks.

These link to a control board.

When an operator presses a button, the jacks release

the wedges simultaneously.

And the weight of the ship slides down the ramps.

[Robert] So then the vessel will be on her own.

Gravity is gonna do her thing,

and the vessel is gonna launch into the water.

It's the day of the launch.

Dignitaries from the local area are here to watch the event.

They are joined by a delegation from French Polynesia,

led by the owners of the ship.

The workers from the shipyard gather too.

Hawaikinui 2 must fall at exactly the right angle

and speed to come to a stop in the canal.

A collision with the bank could damage the hull.

The canal is 32 meters, and the vessel itself is 16.

So we have very limited space between both sides.

For and after the vessel, we have two tugboats connected.

They have to tighten the lines

and make sure that we don't hit the other side.

A pastor dedicates the ship.

The ship's godmother christens Hawaikinui 2.

[all cheer and applaud]

And the vessel is ready for its launch.

Workers remove the solid jacks.

All that supports the ship now are the hydraulic jacks.

An operator presses the master button on the control board.

And all the hydraulic jacks release at once.

In the past 18 years with Bodewes, this was the launch

that I was actually most excited about, but also most

nervous about, because it was quite a complicated one.

The engineers must now complete

one final construction challenge.

Install the nearly 50-ton crane

on the top deck of Hawaikinui 2.

First, they must lift the 15-ton base

over 40 feet into the air.

And place it precisely on top of the circular foundation.

The crane operator begins the lift.

Workers onboard the ship ensure the bolts on the base align

with the holes on the foundation

as the crane operator lowers it into position.

The base is locked in.

Next, the team must install the nearly 90-foot crane arm.

The workers on the deck guide the arm as it dangles.

It must interface perfectly with the base

before giant pins lock it into position.

The crane installation goes off without a hitch.

The crane is on, she's fitting perfectly,

so that means one big rush until the end.

Engineers in the Netherlands put the finishing touches

on their unique cargo ship, Hawaikinui 2.

Workers line the interior of the ship

with special insulation.

Glaziers installed toughened glass windows into the bridge

and crew accommodation.

Electricians thread more than

six miles of cables through the ship.

Workers paint the three and a half miles of piping

by hand to protect it from corrosion.

The vast hold is ready to receive the cargo the ship will

haul between the islands of French Polynesia.

But the team has one final challenge.

Tow the ship along the canal to the sea,

and then test its systems.

It is the most stressful day of the project.

Reason being, the vessel is

actually wider than how we normally would build them.

The ship is almost 52 and a half feet wide.

Some sections of the canal are only a few inches wider.

The team must guide Hawaikinui 2

with absolute precision

to avoid crashing into the edge of the canal.

Tugboats maneuver Hawaikinui 2 into the canal.

The vessel's journey to the sea begins.

Six miles along the route, the vessel arrives at a bridge.

Its deck raises up to make way for the giant vessel.

Hawaikinui 2 will have just two inches of clearance

on either side.

It's critical that no part of the ship contacts the bridge.

A collision could damage the hull

and delay its delivery to French Polynesia.

Hawaikinui 2 makes it through without a scratch.

The tugs haul Hawaikinui 2

along the final few miles of canal.

And detach from the vessel when it reaches the open sea.

Engineers fire up the ship's engine,

and it moves under its own power for the first time.

One and a half months later, Hawaikinui 2 arrives

in French Polynesia.

And she begins work, hauling supplies across

the South Pacific Ocean.