Steelcast to enter shipbuilding arena

Indian steel producer Steelcast Limited has purchased a plot of land in Gujarat in order to set up a shipyard dock near Bhavnagar coastline.

This would be a new addition to the company’s portfolio which currently includes the manufacture carbon steel, low alloy steel, high alloy steel, hadfield manganese steel, etc. Chetan Tamboli, Steelcast md said, "We have earmarked Rs100 crore ($24.6) for the Greenfield project and acquired about 130,000sq mtr of land in the creeks of Bhavnagar." He added that Steelcast intends to form a new company to manage the yard and will raise the funds needed for the project through a mix of equity, debt and private placements.
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Ensco enters $372m contract

Offshore drilling contractor Ensco International has entered into a letter of intent for the Ensco 8503, an ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig currently under construction.

The contract, with an unnamed company, will be for a two-year, $372 million term at a rate of of $510,000 per day. Ensco 8503 is the company’s fourth ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig and will increase the company’s deepwater fleet to five rigs. Four 8500 series rigs are under construction at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore. Deliveries are expected in the third quarter of 2008 for Ensco 8500, the first quarter of 2009 for Ensco 8501, late in the fourth quarter of 2009 for Ensco 8502, and in the third quarter of 2010 for Ensco 8503. All of the Ensco 8500 series rigs are now committed to customers for term work to begin upon delivery. The Ensco 8500 series ultra-deepwater semisubmersibles are enhanced versions of Ensco 7500. Enhancements include a two million pound quad derrick, offline pipe handling capability, increased drilling capacity, greater variable deck load, and improved automatic station keeping ability. The rigs will be capable of drilling in up to 8500 feet of water, and can be upgraded to 10,000 feet water-depth capability.

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S Korea's STX shipbuilding eyes sales of US$3.2 bllion in 2008

STX Shipbuilding is targeting 3 trillion won (US$3.17 billion) in sales this year, compared with last year's 2.13 trillion.

In a regulatory filing, the shipbuilder said it expects its operating income to reach 200 billion won this year, compared with 94.8 billion won last year. In 2007, STX Shipbuilding saw its net profit more than quadruple as it built more high-priced ships to carry chemical products and others.

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'Alakai' awarded Engineering Project of the Year

Austal has been awarded the Engineering Project of the Year for its high-speed vehicle-passenger ferry 'Alakai' at the Mobile Area Council of Engineers annual awards banquet.

Austal designed and built Hawaii Superferry's 'Alakai', which currently operates inter-island routes in the Hawaiian Islands. 'Alakai' is a 107-metre high-speed passenger/vehicle ferry and is the largest aluminium vessel ever built in the United States. The ferry holds up to 866 passengers and 282 cars, or a combination of cars and large trucks, and can travel at speeds of up to 40 knots. 'Alakai' was delivered to Hawaii Superferry in May 2007. The project was nominated by a member of MACE because of its superiority in engineering technology as well as the impact it has made on the Mobile area community. As a result of the contract, Austal hired hundreds of local shipbuilders and support staff who are currently building 'Alakai's' sister ship, the second of a two-boat contract with Hawaii Superferry. The 'Alakai' was also the location of Austal's Charity Cruise fundraising event held last spring, which ultimately raised $150,000 for the Mobile Ronald McDonald House organization.
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China Shipping to revamp assets

China Shipping Development has revealed that it plans to spend 20bn yuan ($2.81bn) over the next five years to double capacity to 18m dwt.

Parent company China Shipping Group chairman Li Shaode (pictured) also announced that CSD intends to purchase its parent group’s LNG shipping business. Additionally, Li stated that China Shipping is looking to sell 10 container terminals in China worth more than 2bn yuan ($281.4m) to its unit, China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) as soon as possible. The terminals, which have a total of 30 berths, moved 18m teu of cargo last year.

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StatoilHydro shares Transocean rig

Norway's StatoilHydro and Canadian players Husky Energy and PetroCanada have inked a rig-sharing agreement for Transocean's mobile drilling unit Henry Goodrich.

The rig will operate offshore Newfoundland, Canada, for a period of 2.5 years with a planned start-up during the summer of 2008. Combining the work programs of three operators in the region provided sufficient work scope to secure the drilling unit for the region. The Henry Goodrich is currently on a long-term charter with StatoilHydro. The rig is one of few units suitable for Newfoundland waters. StatoilHydro said it would use the rig to explore its leases in the Grand Banks area off Newfoundland and Labrador. Husky will use the rig to drill one of its wells in the North Atlantic this summer, while StatoilHydro expects to use it this autumn to drill its Mizzen prospect in the Flemish Pass area.
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JFE holdings to increase stake in Hitachi Zosen shipbuilding JV

JFE Holdings is to increase its current 50% stake in its shipbuilding joint venture with Hitachi Zosen Corp by 35%.

The Japanese steelmaking and engineering group hopes that the new stake of 85% by the end of March will allow it to focus on its shipbuilding operations. Although neither company specified how much the stake sale was worth, Hitachi Zosen said it will book a 17.1bn yen special profit from the sale and raised its net profit outlook for this fiscal year to 11bn yen from 5bn yen. The announcement of the stake purchase comes after IHI Corp. said earlier in the day it has entered into talks with JFE on a potential merger of their shipbuilding operations.
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