Pride names four new drillships

HOUSTON: Pride International Inc. (NYSE: PDE) has named the four new ultra-deepwater drillships it has under construction.

Pride is naming the drillships after major subsea features that occur in some of the deepest areas of the ocean. Deep Ocean Ascension, formerly PS1, is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2010. Deep Ocean Clarion, formerly PS2, is expected for delivery in the third quarter of 2010. Deep Ocean Mendocino, formerly PS3, is expected for delivery in the first quarter of 2011. Deep Ocean Molokai, formerly PS4, is expected for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2011. The drillships, capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet (3,658 m), are being built at Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.

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Shippers, insurers fear Somali piracy may escalate

Pirate attacks on vessels sailing off Somalia could get worse, pushing up insurance and shipping costs and possibly forcing companies to use longer sea routes, industry officials say.

Piracy has flourished in recent months off the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean shipping lanes and seaborne gangs have seized several cargo ships and collected tens of millions of dollars in ransom for the safe release of crews and cargoes. Last week the Group of Eight powers said it was "seriously concerned" about the increasing threat. "(The) piracy risk is likely to get worse before it gets better," said a report this month commissioned by Lloyd's of London [LOL.UL], the specialist insurance market. While foreign navies have been deployed off Somalia since the turn of the year to try to prevent attacks, those forces have found themselves stretched given the vast expanses of water involved leaving vessels vulnerable to attack. "It's quite difficult to find vessels that will go through the Gulf of Aden these days," said a London-based shipbroker. Marine insurance brokers said insurers were charging between 0.05 percent to 0.175 percent of the value of a ship per voyage in the Gulf of Aden versus zero to 0.05 percent in May 2008. "Rates and charges may well escalate if the number of successful piracy attacks increases," said Paul Newton, head of hull and yacht underwriting in Britain with insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Speciality.

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ACMA Monitors First Dry Dock of TxDOT Ferry

Alan C. McClure Associates (ACMA), a naval architecture and engineering firm, announced that the first dry dock for a ferry being built for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been completed at Conrad Deepwater in Amelia, Louisiana.

ACMA and Schuller & Allen provided engineering and design for the new 264-ft vessel, and ACMA is now providing owner’s representation during the construction period until vessel delivery. ACMA Vice President Darrel Harvey said “The ferry’s first dry dock went very smoothly. The vessel received her new propeller shafts, propellers and rudders, along with a fresh coat of bottom paint. Now she’ll be given the final top side colors that she’ll proudly wear during her tour of duty.

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Dockwise reduces debt by US$58 million

Hamilton, Bermuda: Dockwise expects to reduce its debt by a total of US$58 million to just below US$963 million by the end of the second quarter of 2009.

Following its 18-month refurbishment, ‘Mighty Servant 3’ will shortly rejoin the fleet of Dockwise Transport. ‘Mighty Servant 3’ will bring Dockwise's total fleet to 20 semi submersible vessels. Delivery of the vessel triggers the release of the remaining US$40.6 million currently held in escrow to cover the costs of reinstatement and vendor compensation, Dockwise said. Also, settlement of the previously announced debt buy back is scheduled for June 30, 2009. This will reduce the group’s debt by some US$8.5 million.

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Bharati Shipyard takes on ABG for Great Offshore stake

Mumbai: Leading Indian Shipbuilder Bharati Shipyard is looking to top a counter bid by rival ABG Shipyard Limited for a controlling stake in offshore services firm Great Offshore, raising prospects of a price war, reports news site Zeenews.

PC Kapoor MD of Bharati Shipyard said "We will be making another revised offer, the timing will be a few days hence and what the price will be I cannot say right now." Kapoor said Bharati has invested Rs 2.45bn till now to acquire about 19.5% in Great Offshore, while ABG Shipyard holds a mere 2%. However, he hinted that total investment in Great Offshore could top Rs 4bn and added that Bharati has substantial support from some major shareholders of Great Offshore, including the Sheth family, the original founders of the company. ABG Shipyard made an open offer to acquire over 32% in Great Offshore at Rs 375 a share, countering Bharati's Rs 344 a share bid made earlier this month.

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Rowan to Recommence Construction of Joe Douglas Jackup

Rowan will recommence construction of the third 240C class jackup rig, the Joe Douglas, at its Vicksburg, Mississippi shipyard, with delivery expected in the third quarter 2011.

Matt Ralls, Rowan's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Earlier this year we halted construction on this rig due to concerns over the turmoil in the credit markets and the downturn in jackup drilling markets. Based on improvements in the credit markets and our confidence in our liquidity outlook through 2010, we have elected to resume construction. We believe that this very capable, high specification rig will generate an attractive return on capital based on its expected go forward cost of $150 million and will be met with widespread customer acceptance when it is delivered in 2011."The Company began construction of the initial 240C class rig, the Rowan Mississippi, in 2007. The 240C was designed to be a significant upgrade of the original 116-C class, which was the "workhorse" of the global drilling industry since its introduction in the late 1970s. The Joe Douglas, like its sister rigs the Rowan Mississippi and the Ralph Coffman, will have 2.5 million pounds of hookload, an 80 feet cantilever reach and 491 feet of leg length.

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China shipbuilding industry keeps growing

Although many analysts keep doubting about whether aggressive Chinese shipbuilders will manage to produce the larger part of the new building orders, mainly of dry bulk carriers, placed during the past couple of years, one thing seems almost certain; that, China will account for almost 40% of the global shipbuilding capacity by the end of 2010 with an accumulative production base of 52 million dwt on an annual basis.

In fact China will move one step further to reach the top of the world’s shipbuilding capacity by 2012. These are some of the figures contained in a comprehensive new report on the Chinese shipbuilding industry, compiled by DC Marine Supply. In whole, Japan, Korea and China now account for 82% of the global shipbuilding activity, but China appears to be the latest “trend” thanks to low labor costs. As shipbrokers in Hellas have indicated, a significant part of this expansion of Chinese shipbuilders has been fuelled by Hellenic shipping companies, which also financed Japan’s and South Korea’s shipyards in the previous decades. China’s biggest shipbuilding base can be found in Shanghai where almost 12 million dwt can be produced annually, with Zhejiang following at second place with 8 million dwt, while third place is occupied by the province of Jiangsu with 7 million dwt. But, as the actual figures already surpass those on paper, Jiangsu province actually completed 8.89 million dwt in 2008 and is on the way to have an actual capacity of 26.5 million dwt by 2010.

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