Biggest "Made-in-Vietnam" ship to be launched this year

The Dung Quat Ship Building Company is doing its best to complete construction on and launch the biggest ever oil tanker to be made in Vietnam by June of this year.

The tanker, with a capacity of 104,000 tonnes, is in its final phase of construction, and is being completed by about 3,000 workers and engineers. The entire process of building the ship is being done entirely by Vietnamese workers and engineers, with foreign assistance. Dinh Tien Dung, Deputy Director of the Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industrial Zone said that the company had sent its top engineers to learn from the best companies and countries in the field of shipbuilding, such Poland and South Korea. The company has also invested more than VND 4 trillion to upgrade and increase its the infrastructure and to buy modern equipment in order to meet orders received by the company.

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Singapore introduces new port dues concessions for ocean-going vessels and harbour craft

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has introduced two additional measures to help the shipping industry during the current economic downturn.

The measures take the form of a ten percent port dues concession for all ocean-going vessels with a port stay of not more than ten days, and a 20 percent port dues concession for harbour craft engaged in commercial activities within Singapore port waters. Both measures will take effect from April 1, 2009 for a period of one year. The ten percent concession in port dues to ocean-going vessels will be extended over and above existing port dues concessions already enjoyed by the industry, such as the 20 percent port dues concession for containerships and 20 percent port dues rebate scheme for vehicle carrier operators. This concession will broaden the spectrum of vessels like bulk carriers, tankers and other types of ocean-going vessels benefiting from the financial relief. The 20 percent concession in port dues for harbour craft is targeted at helping the domestic sector. This concession seeks to lower the business costs of port and marine services providers, such as bunker suppliers, ship chandlers, tug boat operators and domestic ferry operators. These additional port dues concessions are expected to benefit many operators whose vessels call at, and operate in the port of Singapore.

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Suspected Pirates Apprehended

The crew of the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) apprehended seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden after responding to a distress call from a nearby merchant vessel.

The event marks the first time CTF-151 has apprehended suspected pirates. The Marshall Islands-flagged Motor Vessel Polaris sent a distress call to all ships in the area reporting that a small skiff containing seven suspected pirates had attempted a forcible boarding of their vessel using a ladder. Polaris crewmembers removed the ladder before pirates could come aboard. Vella Gulf closed immediately with the M/V Polaris and intercepted a skiff matching the description given by the motor vessel. The skiff contained individuals fitting the physical descriptions given by Polaris crewmembers. A Vella Gulf visit, board, search and seizure team conducted a consensual boarding and found several weapons. M/V Polaris rendezvoused with Vella Gulf and provided positive visual identification of the suspected pirates. The suspected pirates were brought on board Vella Gulf, where they were processed and are being held until they transfer to a temporary holding facility on board the supply ship USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1).

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PPL delivers jackup COSL Confidence

Singapore: PPL Shipyard in Singapore delivered jackup COSL Confidence to China Oilfield Services Ltd. (COSL) (HKSE: 2883, SSE: 601808) on Feb. 11, 2009.

COSL Confidence is able to operate in water depths of up to 375 feet (114 m) and perform drilling operations to a total depth of 30,000 feet (9,144 m). After the delivery, COSL Confidence will be towed to Bohai Bay off the coast of China for operation. The rig was delivered three months ahead of the original schedule of May 2009. Upon the commencement of operation of the new rig, COSL will see its offshore drilling rig fleet in operation expanded to 23 units.

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ConocoPhillips Gets Go Ahead to Drill New North Sea Well in March

ConocoPhillips has received consent to conduct exploration drilling of well 8/10-3 using the jackup drilling rig Maerrsk Gallant.

The well is part of production license 331 and is located about 55 km north-northeast of the Ekofisk Complex. Well 8/10-3 has the following geographical coordinates: N 57 degrees 02' 23.481", E 03 degrees 17' 01.820". The Maersk Gallant jackup is operated by Maersk Contractors Norge A/S. The plan is to commence drilling around mid-March 2009, after the facility has concluded a stay at the shipyard in Esbjerg. The activity has an estimated duration of about 176 days.

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Petrobras may confirm Iran oil commercial

Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras may determine “in weeks” whether oil it found in Iran is commercial, a company executive said.

Petrobras found indications of oil after drilling two wells in the Tusan field in the Persian Gulf, said Jorge Luiz Zelada, the company’s head of international operations. The company has spent $100 million since 2004 exploring for oil in Iran, he said. “We’ve found signs of oil offshore in Iran,” Zelada said. “We are in the final phase of analysing the results.” Petrobras plans to invest $15.9 billion in international operations through 2013, or 9% of its five-year, $174.4 billion spending plan, according to Petrobras’s Web site. The company hopes to increase output outside of Brazil 52% to 341,000 barrels per day in 2013 from 224,000 barrels last year. The company plans to start offshore drilling in Angola and Turkey this year, Zelada said. Talks to drill in Namibia are “advanced,” he said. In Turkey, Petrobras expects to reach output of 100,000 barrels per day from blocks in the Black Sea in 2020, Zelada said.

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Princess Amalia Wind Farm achieves record performance

The Netherlands: The Princess Amalia Wind Farm in the North Sea, which was put into operation by Eneco and Econcern in June of last year, has met all expectations during the first half year after its opening.

The highest level of electricity production was recorded last week. At an optimal wind force 6, the wind farm produced 2.6 million kWh per day. Such a yield is sufficient to provide 250,000 households with electricity. Eneco receives all the electricity generated by the wind farm, which is performing at the level predicted before operations began. The wind farm's 60 turbines have been optimized and operate at full power when the wind conditions are optimal. During optimal conditions, the daily electricity production reaches peaks which are more than twice the average yield. Eneco and Econcern officials are pleased with these results, which they view as important for the further development of wind farms at the North Sea. The Princess Amalia Wind Farm, the Netherlands' largest wind farm at the North Sea, is located 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) from the coast of IJmuiden. At the start it was expected that the wind farm would generate 435 GWh of power per year, sufficient to provide 125,000 Dutch households with sustainable electricity.

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