Pha Rung Shipyard builds oil tanker

The 110m-long and 18.2m-wide tanker is the fifth of its kind that Pha Rung has built for foreign partners.

The oil-chemical tanker with the speed of 13 knots was designed by Asia Ship Design and Consultants Co., Ltd (ASDEC). It has Korea Register Class for unrestricted zone of operation. Pha Rung Shipyard is also working on one more chemical-oil tanker of 13,000 DWT in line with its strategy to build specialized ships for both domestic use and export.

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MV Fairlane Completes Heavy Lift Project

In the Exmouth sub-basin, offshore Northwest Australia, Apache Energy ltd. is developing the Van Gogh oilfield on behalf of a joint venture of the same name.

As part of the Vincent field, it lies in water depths of 1,115.5 to 1,214 ft. An FPSO will be used for production and storage of the oil. The FPSO will be moored to a disconnectable turret-mooring (DTM) buoy, moored to the seabed with nine anchors. Flexible flowlines, which connect to two subsea manifolds and the production wellheads, will be attached to the buoy. In the event of storms or cyclones, the FPSO will be able to disconnect from the buoy and sail to calmer waters. The offshore installation contractor for the Van Gogh project, Acergy Australia pty ltd., asked Jumbo to take care of the transportation of the massive DTM buoy from Singapore to the Exmouth gulf, delivering sub-sea equipment to the subsea installation vessel mv Toisa Proteus, and demobilizing equipment from the Toisa Proteus to Singapore. Beside the normal engineering procedure, additional planning was required in the preparation phase of the project.

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Malaysian warship scares off Somali pirates: watchdog

A Malaysian warship has helped Indian seamen fight off heavily-armed Somali pirates attempting to board an oil tanker, a maritime watchdog said.

It was the second time the Malaysian navy has fought off pirates in the Gulf of Aden, after it successfully repelled a group who boarded a Chinese commercial vessel on December 18. The Indian-flagged ship was heading west towards the Suez Canal when it was attacked by pirates in two skiffs at 03:37 GMT Thursday, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Board's piracy reporting centre. The master of the ship said that seven pirates in one of the skiffs were dressed in military-type uniform. Choong said Malaysian navy vessel KD Inderasakti, which was leading a convoy of ships about 15 nautical miles away, responded to the tanker's distress call by launching a helicopter and steaming towards the vessel under attack. "The pirates on noticing the helicopter stopped firing at the tanker and escaped," he said. Choong said the Indian tanker then followed the Malaysian warship's convoy. He said none of the crew were injured but the ship's radar system had been damaged in the hail of bullets.

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VAALCO Successfully Extends Ebouri Field with Development Drilling

VAALCO has provided an update on the new development well being drilled in the Ebouri field and the new appraisal well (North Ebouri) being drilled in the Etame block.

VAALCO commenced drilling these wells in November with the jackup rigs Adriatic 6 and Pride Cabinda, respectively, as previously announced.For the development well in the Ebouri field, VAALCO announced that it has drilled one pilot hole to the south of the original Ebouri discovery and a second pilot hole to the northeast.

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China lifts temporary price controls on LPG and coal

Shanghai: China, the world's second biggest energy consumer, lifted temporary price controls on liquefied petroleum gas, power-station coal and some staple foods such as grains and cooking oil as inflation eased,writes Bloomberg.

The removal of the price caps will take effect from tomorrow, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its Web site today. China's inflation cooled to the weakest pace in almost two years in November. Policy makers, who 10 months ago were battling inflation at a 12-year high, are trying to prevent a spiral of falling prices, profits and consumption as the global recession pushes the economy into a slump.

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