Adyard buoyed by AED 130mln fabrication deal

Topaz Energy and Marine Ltd. has announced that its Abu Dhabi-based oil & gas subsidiary Adyard LLC has been awarded an AED 130 million contract by Swiss-based Single Buoy Moorings Inc. (SBM)

The contract is for the fabrication of a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) for Talisman Energy, one of Canada's largest petroleum companies. The MOPU is to be located on the YME Field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The contract entails the fabrication and load out of the hull, topsides and related works. The process equipment will be fabricated in modules and installed on the hull at the Adyard jetty in Abu Dhabi. The work will be executed at Adyard’s 140,000 sqm water front facilities located in the Mussafah industrial area of Abu Dhabi over the next 18 months. SBM is a market leader in the conversion and operation of Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSO’s) worldwide and this award marks the fourth contract SBM has awarded to Adyard over the last 12 months.

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Emergency guidelines from IMO

The IMO issued a circular forwarding guidelines on the control of ships in an emergency.

The purpose of the guidelines is to provide member governments, ship masters, companies, salvors, and others engaged in a maritime emergency with a framework of authority within which to they may be expected to operate. The guidelines recognize the obligation of the master to protect the lives of the persons on board the ship and the authority of the coastal state to take measures to protect its coastline and related interests. It encourages all parties to communicate with each other so as to minimize misunderstandings.

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4,000 Indians jailed in Dubai for demanding better pay

Around 4,000 Indians working in the Jebel Ali Industrial area in Dubai have been jailed for allegedly protesting violently for better pay.

The Indian Consul for Labour and Welfare has confirmed that none of the workers have been deported yet. However the management of the company have agreed to send the labourers back to work if they promised not to indulge in violence again. The police in Dubai had filmed some of the workers inciting violence, and those workers would be deported. Meanwhile the Indian Consul General in the United Arab Emirates is in touch with Government authorities there. The labourers, most of them from Rajasthan, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, had struck work and resorted to violence last weekend over poor working conditions and low pay.

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Army warns of Iraq dam catastrophe

The largest dam in Iraq is in danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a huge wave of water, possibly drowning 500,000 people, new assessments by the US Army Corps of Engineers show.

A collapse would put Mosul under 20 metres of water and parts of Baghdad under 4.5 metres, according to Abdulkhalik Thanoon Ayoub, the dam manager. Even in a country gripped by daily bloodshed, the possibility of a catastrophic failure of the Mosul dam had alarmed US officials. At the same time, a US reconstruction project to help shore up the dam in northern Iraq has been marred by incompetence and mismanagement, according to Iraqi officials. The reconstruction project, worth at least $US27 million, was not intended to be a permanent solution to the dam's deficiencies. Sitting in a picturesque valley 70 kilometres along the Tigris River north of Mosul, the earthen dam has one fundamental problem - it was built on top of gypsum, which dissolves when it comes into contact with water.

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Cummins China announces additional QSK60 sales

Guangdong Hongsheng Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. have begun building the first of two offshore supply vessels for Yudhi Shipping Pte. Ltd.

The broker on the project is Hocean Trading & Development. The first vessel is expected to deliver in July 2008. Designed by Khiam Chuan Marine of Singapore the vessels will be 58.7 by 14.6-meters with a molded depth of 5.5 meters. Deck equipment will include four mooring winches and a Palfingle PTM1300 crane capable of lifting four tons with a 21.5-meter extension. Tankage will include 700 cubic meters for fuel and 550 m3 for water. Accommodations will be provided for 16 crewmembers and up to 48 passengers.

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DNV Denmark expanding

The Danish maritime industry is currently facing major expansion with DNV a class society by further expanding and extending its services for this industry.

DNV not only acts as an independent class provider and competence centre for technical support, it also provides services to the whole industry line and to ensure qualified seafarers on board the vessels. Technology developments and new technology solutions on board vessels are continuously increasing the technical focus when building as well as maintaining the vessels. Together with one of the largest shipowners, DNV is now using the same philosophy and approach to classify competence and training. This to ensure high quality at the training centres and, in the end, well qualified seafarers. As the very first training centre in the world, Maersk Training Centre in Svenborg achieved the DNV SeaSkill award for excellent performance earlier this year.

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