Gulf region turning in to a major hub for ship repair services

The Gulf region is fast turning into a major hub for ship repair services and conversion projects, with Dubai Drydocks in the UAE and the Arab Ship Repair Yard in Bahrain have been experiencing a significant increase in business volumes.

There are several reasons for the growing interest of ship owners and management companies in GCC-based ship repair yards, the most important being the cost factor. It is but obvious that ship owners will always seek the best deal possible when negotiating repair operations. As is well known, labour and steel parts are the most important components of any basic repair operation, and therefore hold the key to competitive pricing. The GCC region enjoys a significant advantage in this regard largely due to easy availability of affordable & experienced labour from close traditional maritime markets of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Phillipines. The cost of repair in the Middle East is estimated at 100 to 105 compared to 250 in Japan, 140/150 in Europe, 110/115 in Turkey and Balkans. China and Indonesia though offers repairs on a scale of 50/65 and about 60/75 respectively in comparison. Despite the low repair costs in Far-East based ship repair yards, what works towards the advantage of UAE and Bahrain is the large number of 'westbound traffic' out of the Gulf region. The sixth edition of the Gulf Maritime exhibition, which will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from April 21-23, 2008, will feature the latest and the most advanced range of ship repair machinery, equipment, products and technologies.

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Ice shrink in Arctic sea may attract oil firms

Winter sea ice around a Norwegian Arctic island has thinned to less than one meter since the 1960s, according to a study of a region that may be more attractive to oil firms because of climate change.

The Norwegian Polar Institute said ice around Hopen island southeast of the Svalbard archipelago had become more than 40 cms (16 inches) thinner in the past 40 years, in what it called the first long-term study of ice thickness in the Barents Sea. "Since the year 2000 there have been no observations of ice thicker than one meter at Hopen, and the local air and water temperature has also risen," the Institute said. Hopen is a narrow island about 30 km (19 miles) long off north Norway which is home to polar bears. Ice around the entire Arctic reached a record low in September 2005, the end of the northern summer. The U.N. Climate Panel says temperatures are rising more rapidly in the Arctic than on most of the planet because of global warming, stoked by human use of fossil fuels. Darker water and land soak up more heat than reflective ice and snow. Oil and gas companies are pushing north into the Barents Sea, seeking new reserves. Scientists say climate change may make the region less inhospitable and prices around $100 a barrel can justify exploration despite high costs. Russian gas giant Gazprom holds a 51 percent share in the company that plans to develop the vast Shtokman gas field to the east. France's Total owns 25 percent and StatoilHydro 24 percent.

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Jurong Shipyard on track to deliver second high-performance jack-up drilling rig

Jurong Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, is on track to deliver 'PetroJack II', its second high-performance deep-drilling offshore jack-up rig to PetroJack.

PetroJack II is a subsidiary of leading Norwegian energy group Larsen Oil and Gas, following the rig's naming ceremony on March 8, 2008. Scheduled for delivery in 1Q 2008, 'PetroJack II' is the second unit of four deep-drilling jack-up rigs originally contracted to Jurong Shipyard by PetroJack, which subsequently sold the first and the third unit to an international Danish drilling contractor. The fourth unit, to be named 'PetroJack IV', is scheduled for completion in 4Q 2008. 'PetroJack II' is built based on the Group's proprietary Baker Marine Pacific Class 375 (BMC Pacific 375) design, a proven and tested design that has won the confidence of the oil and gas industry with its quality performance and advanced drilling capabilities. This highly sophisticated jack-up rig will be capable of drilling high pressure and high temperature wells at 30,000 feet whilst operating in 375 feet of water. Designed with accommodation for 120 men, the rig has the capacity for large variable loads, a large liquid mud and bulk mud capacity, extensive deck space and a large jacking capacity for preload jacking.
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Cicek Shipyard cuts first steel for three Supramax bulk carriers

Cicek Shipyard has begun construction of the first of three 58,000DWT Supramax bulk carriers, the largest vessels ever to be built in Turkey.

Ordered by the Bayraktar Shipping Group, they will be constructed in the shipbuilder's panamax-sized building dock, which is currently being extended to 215 metres and when completed will be 250 metres long. Cicek Shipyard started construction of the building dock at its Tuzla Bay facility in 1999 but lack of government support resulted in it not being completed until 2006. The first and still the only such facility in Turkey, it is served by a 300-tonne gantry crane and has already been used to construct four IMO II chemical tankers. Three of these were ice class 1A vessels for Besiktas Shipping, the 18,000DWT Besiktas England and Besiktas Scotland, and the 26,000DWT Besiktas Jutland, while the fourth is a 20.000DWT tanker currently under construction for the Kaptanoglu Group. The yard also has a 160-metre long slipway served by a 200-tonne gantry crane and a smaller slipway suitable for building coastal vessels.
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Queen Victoria comes calling

The majestic Queen Victoria, on her maiden round-the-world trip and on her first visit to the Queen of the Arabian Sea arrived to a rousing reception complete with caparisoned elephants, kavadiyattam and traditional chendamelam.

The luxury cruise liner arrived on schedule at 7 a.m. from Chennai with 1,798 tourists and 1,008 crew and left for Mumbai at 5 p.m. The tourists were given traditional welcome at the port. During their brief stay in Kochi, they visited places of interest in and around the city, in buses and boats. Captain Subash Kumar, Deputy Chairman and senior officers of Cochin Port Trust greeted the Captain of the ship, Christopher Rynd and exchanged plaques to mark the maiden visit of Queen Victoria to Kochi. During the ceremony, the Captain said that Kochi was the most beautiful port in this part of the world and appreciated the efforts made by the Port Trust for a hassle-free visit by the vessel and its tourists. Queen Victoria is the 40th cruise vessel to call at Cochin Port this financial year. Two more vessels are expected to call at the port in March. The port expects eight cruise vessels during April. The vessels scheduled to arrive include Columbus, Silver Whisper, Crystal Symphony and Europa.

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