Marine Log

FEBRUARY 8, 2013 — Singapore's Sembcorp Marine says that its wholly-owned SMOE subsidiary has secured a contract worth about Singapore $900 million (about US$ 727 million) from Det norske oljeselskap ASA, Norway. It covers engineering, procurement and construction of the Process, Drilling and Quarters Platform (pdQ) Topsides to be installed at a water depth of 112 m for the Ivar Aasen development in the North Sea.

The Ivar Aasen project is situated west of the Johan Sverdrup-field in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, 180km west of Stavanger, containing approximately 150 million barrels of oil equivalents.

The contract covers the provision of engineering, procurement and construction of the topside. SMOE will be working with its engineering partner Wood Group Mustang in executing this project.

Facilities on the 13,700-tonne topsides, which are integrated with a 70-man living quarters/helideck module, will include modules for process, gas compression, separation, water injection, flare boom, metering and utilities.

Construction is expected to commence in December 2013 with sail-away scheduled in March 2016. First oil is expected in the fourth quarter of 2016.

MAY 1, 2013 — Austal Limited (ASX:ASB) says that it is transferring service operations from its satellite service base at Henderson, Western Australia, to its nearby primary shipbuilding facility to reduce overhead costs and drive margin growth for both its shipbuilding and service operations. It is also closing its Spanish service business.

The company is also increasing construction activity at Henderson as the Cape Class Patrol Boat program shifts from first-in-class construction and trials to steady-state construction operations.

Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said the consolidation at Henderson would improve asset and staff utilization in the shipbuilding and services businesses.

"Combining the service base into the shipbuilding facility, which is operating just a few hundred meters away, makes financial and common sense," he said. "Consolidation will provide greater operational flexibility, make both the shipbuilding and services businesses more competitive through reduced overhead costs and will bring management together onto one site."

While Austal will close its service center in Spain, its other service businesses in the Middle East, Americas, Asia and Australia are unaffected.
 
"Our service team in Spain has been extremely committed, but the Spanish and European economies have been too big a burden on profitability in that business," Mr Bellamy said.

Austal expects approximately 14 staff will be made redundant at the service centre in Spain, with two staff repatriating to Australia. At Henderson, 12 positions have been made redundant as a result of the consolidation.

The company is intending to recruit more than 100 people in trade positions over the coming months at the Henderson shipyard to work on the Cape Class Patrol Boat (CCPB) program for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

The increased labor requirement has been timed to coincide with the impending, phased increase in construction activity on the CCPB vessels after delivery of the first-in-class Cape St George earlier this month.

FEBRUARY 6, 212 — Damen Shipyards Group member Damen Shipyards Bergum has delivered the Damen Combi Freighter 3850 Hoogvliet to a business alliance in which the main participants are Hartel Shipping and Hudig & Veder. The Combi Freighter carrier for oversized cargo is the fourth in a series of four carriers ordered by a limited partnership whose participants include a leading stevedore and a shipper.It is to be deployed in parcel service to carry smaller volume project cargo.

Hoogvliet, which follows the Geervliet, the Heenvliet and the Haringvliet, has a DWT of 3,800 tonnes, 8.43 metres hull height and a tweendeck at half height.

Hudig & Veder MD and owner Lex Fontein says that the added value of the limited partnership approach construction is the input of knowhow and knowledge from the participants.

That market savvy has led the participants to opt for relatively lower tonnage vessels.

"Costs of those are many times lower than of deploying 10,000 tonnes carriers calling ports," says Hartel Shipping MD John Brobbel. "It is obvious that smaller vessels can call at smaller ports, although those of ours also call the ports of Antwerp, Hamburg and ports in the Baltic, starting from Rotterdam."

The needs of the niche market they serve is reflected in the customization of the design of the vessels. This includes the fitting of the tweendeck, to achieve maximum efficiency, maximum fuel capacity, a larger bow thruster for improved maneuverability and larger crew accommodations.

MARCH 14, 2013 — EMAS AMC, the subsea services division of Singapore based EMAS, has won a contract from Statoil for the transport and installation of subsea templates for the Norwegian Sea's deepest offshore project – the Aasta Hansteen field development.

The Aasta Hansteen field development, with a water depth of 1,300 m, is located in the Norwegian Sea, 300 km west of Bodø, Norway.

Subsea construction vessel Lewek Connector

"We are extremely pleased to be part of the Aasta Hansteen project, the deepest offshore development in the Norwegian Sea," said Mr C J D'Cort, CEO of EMAS AMC. "EMAS AMC's involvement is a reflection of the confidence in our subsea capabilities. This pioneering project continues our growing cooperation with Statoil on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. We look forward to working with Statoil in breaking new ground in the region."

EMAS AMC's scope of work includes the transport and installation of two 4-slot templates and one single-slot template. All templates will be transported from Aker Solutions' facilities in Sandnessjøen in Norway. EMAS AMC will utilize its advanced subsea construction vessel, Lewek Connector, for transport and installation work, and will partner local suppliers in Sandnessjøen for most of the required work preparations and vessel supplies.

"The Aasta Hansteen field is located in an area characterised by harsh weather conditions and deep waters. EMAS AMC's Lewek Connector represents the perfect advanced subsea construction vessel for the job, with its stability in offshore operations, a crane capacity of 400 tonnes, and a water depth reach of 3,000 m," said Svein Haug, Regional Head for EMAS AMC Europe and Africa.

Engineering and planning will be managed by EMAS AMC in Oslo. The offshore transport and installation work will take place in 2015.

EMAS AMC's previous contract wins from Statoil include riser replacements on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, as well as a SURF (Subsea, Umbilical, Risers and Flowlines) contract for marine installation and pipe lay in Fram H-Nord, situated in the Troll C/Fram area in the northern part of the North Sea.

EMAS AMC – established after the acquisition of Aker Marine Contractors AS by EMAS parent Ezra Holdings — is a global EPCIC service provider of comprehensive subsea-to-surface solutions for the offshore construction sector, in particular the growing subsea segment. Offerings include subsea construction, umbilicals/power cables, pipelines, platforms and FPSO installations.