'Tenggara Explorer' handed over

SBF Shipbuilders in Freemont, Australia, handed over the 'Tenggara Explorer', a custom-built, Cat-powered, multi-purpose surveillance vessel to Asia Tenggara Marine.

'Tenggara Explorer' is now on charter to PT Newmont Nusâ Tenggara, part of the international mining company Newmont Mining, providing environmental support for their copper-gold mining operations on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. The vessel is powered by twin Cat C18 marine engines, each of which have heavy-duty rating of 448kW. Top speed is 15 knots, although 'Tenggara Explorer' will generally operate at lower speeds. Two bow thrusters help maintain station when the vessel holds position. On-board power is supplied by a Cat C2.2 generating set, providing 30.5 WA at 50 Hz. This will be used mainly for environmental purposes, including ROV underwater inspection of the pipeline running from the Sumbawa mine out to sea.
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'Missing' ship found safe in Pacific

Searchers found the 87-year-old sailing ship the Alvei with all nine on board, including four Australians, safe and well.

The 28m steel-hulled Alvei was located about 760km north of North Cape, New Zealand. The ship had been feared missing en route to New Zealand from Vanuatu, after it failed to arrive on the North Island on its scheduled date of December 1. Captain Evan Logan has told search authorities the ship had been delayed because of unfavorable winds. Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand said a NZ Air Force Orion spotted the Alvei while searching an area along its intended route. The Alvei is run by a non-profit cooperative, which allows people to travel for a low cost on the understanding they contribute to maintenance, cooking and sailing while on board.

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Armada vessel set to sail

Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard has completed the upgrade and modification of Armada Perkasa floating production, storage and offloading vessel for Malaysian repeat customer Bumi Armada.

The Armada vessel is now ready for deployment in the Okoro Setu Fields, Nigeria. Keppel’s affiliation with Bumi Armada goes back into the last decade when it first converted the FPSO Armada Perkasa in 1997 for operation in the PM3 field, Malaysia. The vessel subsequently returned for refurbishment, life extension and repair prior to its current upgrade. This latest upgrade includes installation of additional field equipment and modification of FPSO and shipboard systems.
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BP starts world's deepest subsea multi-phase pump

BP successful started the world's deepest subsea multi-phase pump project, a breakthrough in application of a technology with the potential to increase recovery of oil from deepwater fields.

Installation of two sub sea pumps and associated equipment at the King field on Mississippi Canyon Block 84 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico set a double world record, for both depth and distance. At 5,500 feet (1,676 m) below the sea's surface, the King facilities are in water almost twice as deep as the previous deepest installation of multi-phase pumps in 3,000 feet (914 m) of water. The pumps are also positioned over 15 miles (24 km) from the Marlin tension leg platform on Viosca Knoll Block 915. The distance is well over twice the previous record distance from a host platform of six miles (10 km). BP is 100 percent owner and operator of King. The two pumps will enhance production from the King field by an average of 20 percent.
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Football field-sized kite powers latest heavy freight ship

A kite, sized of a football field will provide most of the power for a German heavy freight ship set to launch in December.

The Beluga shipping company that owns the 140-metre 'Beluga' said it expects the kites to decrease fuel consumption by up to 50 percent in optimal cases as well as a cutback of the emission of greenhouse gases on sea by 10 to 20 percent. Interestingly, the ship will be hauling windmills from Esbjerg, Denmark to Houston, Texas. The company that makes the kite for the German transport, SkySails, has made kites for large yachts but is targeting commercial ships with new, larger kites. And it has the ambitious goal of equipping 1,500 ships with kites by 2015.
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