Dryships Continues Fleet Renewal and Expansion

DryShips Inc., a provider of marine transportation services for drybulk cargoes announced that the company has entered into agreements to sell the Panamax vessel MV Waikiki 75,473 dwt built in 1995 for $63m.

Delivery to the new owners will take place during the third quarter of 2008. Once the sale is concluded, the company expects to realize a gain of approximately $36.5m. The company will sell the Panamax vessel MV Solana 75,100 dwt built in 1995 for $63m. Delivery to the new owners will take place during the third quarter of 2008. Once the sale is concluded, the company expects to realize a gain of approximately $28.7m. An agreement was made to sell the Panamax vessel MV Lacerta 71,862 dwt built in 1994 for $55.5m. Delivery to the new owners will take place during the third quarter of 2008. Once the sale is concluded, the company expects to realize a gain of approximately $44m. Dryships will acquire a 76,500 dwt Panamax vessel built in 2004 for $86.75m. The vessel will be delivered to the company, charter free, during the third quarter of 2008. The company will also acquire a 170,012 dwt Capesize vessel built in 2004 for $158m. The vessel will be delivered to the company, charter free, during the third quarter of 2008. Dryships will also acquire a 177,000 dwt Capesize vessel under construction in China for $153m to be delivered during the first quarter of 2009.

Read More

Nexus and Anzon bin merger

Anzon Australia and compatriot Nexus Energy have cancelled a proposed merger after failing to agree on the impact on reserves of Anzon’s Basker-6 drilling program in the Bass strait off Victoria.

Industry sources said Anzon had disagreed with attempts by Nexus to revise the terms of the merger following the disappointing results of the Basker-6 campaign. The decision was mutual and will be effected at no cost to either party, said Anzon. “There has been speculation suggesting a reserves downgrade of 40% was possible, but I think this is too much and there has been no guidance given by either Nexus or Anzon,” said Perth-based analyst Richard Quin of Wood Mackenzie. “Whatever the result, Nexus and Anzon obviously didn’t agree in their interpretation of the well and things went sour,” he added. Anzon is the operator of the Basker-Manta oil project, which produces 4600 barrels per day of oil net to Anzon. The project, off south-eastern Australia, has estimated proved and probable reserves of about 40 million barrels of oil, 10.15 billion cubic metres of gas and around 90 million barrels of condensate. First oil from the Basker-6 sidetrack is planned in July this year and is expected to boost output from the project’s current production of about 10,000 barrels per day. Anzon holds 50% of the Basker-Manta joint venture, with partner Beach Petroleum on a 30% stake, CIECO Exploration & Production on 10% and Sojitz Energy with the remaining 10%. Nexus, who said it would buy Anzon for A$650 million (US$565 million) in late January, said it would continue to develop its interests in the Bass Strait area independently.

Read More

Subsea 7 announces new pipelay vessel

Subsea engineering and construction company Subsea 7 has announced that it has signed a contract for the construction of a newbuild pipelay and construction vessel.

The overall project cost is in the region of US$190 million. The vessel will have an overall length of 133 metres and a beam of 24 metres. She will be equipped with a pipelay suite for installing flexible flowlines and umbilicals, including a Vertical Lay System tower and twin underdeck carousels, a 250-tonne crane from Huisman and twin 3,000-metre rated ROVs. The ship should be delivered in the third quarter of 2010.

Read More

Aries Chundan all set to enter Guinness Book of World Records

Aries Chundan, the first ever snake boat made of steel and a design wonder crafted by Aries Marine is all set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

Aries Chundan has successfully completed the record attempt for the largest canoe crew with a crew of 141 rowers and five helmsmen on board on 1 May 2008 at Alleppey backwaters in Kerala. The attempt was in comparison to ‘Nadumbhagam Chundan’, which had only 118 crewmembers, and holds the existing record. Several international dignitaries, including representatives of RINA, Italy and Germanischer Lloyd, Germany who visited Cochin for ShipTek 2008 have witnessed the rowing of Aries Chundan held at the Punnamada Lake. Members of Legislative Assembly, Thomas Chandy and K.K Shaju inaugurated the Guinness attempt of Aries Chundan. Mr. Sohan Roy S.K, CEO Aries Group was also present on the occasion. The entire event has been covered and will be sent to the Guinness Book authorities for verification. Aries Chundan has a length of 143 feet and the snake boat has already found place in the Limca Book of Records as the longest snake boat made of steel. This innovative steel snake boat has a scientific design, which is based on the latest scientific methods in Naval Architecture. Its shape and stability have been designed using the world famous ‘AUTOSHIP’ software.

Read More

Aries Chundan all set to enter Guinness Book of World Records

Aries Chundan, the first ever snake boat made of steel and a design wonder crafted by Aries Marine is all set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

Aries Chundan has successfully completed the record attempt for the largest canoe crew with a crew of 141 rowers and five helmsmen on board on 1 May 2008 at Alleppey backwaters in Kerala. The attempt was in comparison to ‘Nadumbhagam Chundan’, which had only 118 crewmembers, and holds the existing record. Several international dignitaries, including representatives of RINA, Italy and Germanischer Lloyd, Germany who visited Cochin for ShipTek 2008 have witnessed the rowing of Aries Chundan held at the Punnamada Lake. Members of Legislative Assembly, Thomas Chandy and K.K Shaju inaugurated the Guinness attempt of Aries Chundan. Mr. Sohan Roy S.K, CEO Aries Group was also present on the occasion. The entire event has been covered and will be sent to the Guinness Book authorities for verification. Aries Chundan has a length of 143 feet and the snake boat has already found place in the Limca Book of Records as the longest snake boat made of steel. This innovative steel snake boat has a scientific design, which is based on the latest scientific methods in Naval Architecture. Its shape and stability have been designed using the world famous ‘AUTOSHIP’ software.

Read More

EU approves STX control of Norway's Aker Yards

South Korea's STX Shipbuilding won permission from the European Commission to take a controlling interest in Norway's Aker Yards in an $800 million acquisition.

STX bought a 39.2 percent stake in Aker Yards in October, making it the biggest shareholder. "After an in-depth investigation, launched in December 2007, the Commission concluded that effective competition on the shipbuilding markets would not be significantly impeded as a result of the proposed transaction," the Commission, executive arm of the European Union, said in a statement. Aker Yards builds cruise ships, ferries, merchant vessels and offshore vessels. It is one of the three main players on the global market for the construction of cruise ships, together with Fincantieri of Italy and Meyer Werft of Germany. STX builds various types of cargo vessels, such as container ships and gas tankers, the Commission said. Until now, it has not built cruise ships or ferries. The Commission said its in-depth investigation had focused on concerns that the proposed merger might in particular, remove STX as a potential new market entrant into a concentrated cruise ship manufacturing market. But "the Commission found that by itself STX was still far from close to becoming an effective competitive constraint on the existing cruise ship construction market", it said. Daewoo and Samsung are understood to be in advanced discussions with MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean respectively to enter the cruise market, the last shipbuilding sector that the Europeans have not relinquished control to Asia yet.
Read More

Al-Baraka wins Egypt ribbon

United Arab Emirates-based private player Dana Gas said its Al-Baraka well in southern Egypt had won a prize for “Best New Concept” from the Egyptian Petroleum Exploration Society.

The prize, for the well on the Komombo concession on the western bank of the Nile, was given at the society’s recent awards ceremony, Dana said. First oil from the well flowed in December last year, four months after the initial discovery. The company said in a statement that the award recognized its important discoveries in southern Egypt, which it said had boosted development of the area’s resources. “Southern Egypt is incredibly important to the country’s oil and gas industry,” said Hany Elsharkawi, Dana’s Egypt country director. “Dana Gas’s achievement in the area as the first to discover oil in commercial quantities in southern Egypt paves the way for discovery of more reserves,” he said. Dana, headquartered in the emirate of Sharjah, produced 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Egypt at the end of last year, it said, including flows from new discoveries in the Nile Delta. The company plans to drill 19 wells in Egypt in 2008, including 15 exploration wells and four development wells.
Read More