BAKER MARINE

Sembcorp Wins $121M Rig Deal

PPL Shipyard, a subsidiary of SembCorp Marine has signed a rig building contract worth US$121 million with Wilsuperior Ltd, a subsidiary of Awilco Offshore ASA (AWIL) for the construction of a Baker Marine Pacific Class 375 Deep Drilling Offshore Jack Up Rig. The Construction Contract is an option that PPL Shipyard granted to Awilco Offshore ASA in May 2004 and which the later has now decided to exercise. The contract takes effect in June 2005. Construction of the jack-up rig is expected to commence in third quarter of 2005 with delivery scheduled in the second quarter of 2007. The Baker Marine Pacific Class (.BMC Pacific.) 375 Deep Drilling Offshore Jack- Up Rig is a proprietary designed developed and owned by Baker Marine Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Shipyard. The jack-up rig, to be named Wilsuperior, will be equipped with a drilling package that will enable it to drill high pressure and high temperature wells at 30,000 feet whilst operating in 375 feet of water. It has accommodation for 120 men. Mr T. K. Ong, Managing Director of PPL Shipyard said .We are pleased that Awilco Offshore ASA has decided to exercise the option to build the second jack- up rig with us. Our confidence that more Baker Marine Pacific 375 Class jack-ups will be built is proving to be spot on. This is the sixth jack-up rig on order within a

Baker Joins EBDG

Elliott Bay Design Group is pleased to announce that Gwen Baker has joined the staff as a Marine Designer. Gwen is a recent graduate of the Marine Institute at Memorial University in New Foundland, where she received her Diploma of Technology in Naval Architecture. For her first project, Gwen will be preparing 3-D composite modeling for the 260 ft. offshore supply vessel that the firm has been working on for Hornbeck Offshore Services.

Baker Hughes To Record Second Quarter Tax Benefit

Baker Hughes Inc. will reportedly recognize a tax benefit of $20 million in the second quarter as a result of an agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to close the audit of the company's fiscal 1994 and 1995 consolidated income tax returns.

Lawrence Graham Appoints New Partner

London-based law firm Lawrence Graham has appointed Charles Baker, an experienced maritime and trade lawyer, as a new partner. Baker, who has more than 25 years experience in maritime law, had previously been with Herbert Smith where he set up the Paris office of Holman Fenwick & Willan.

Baker Joins Bisso Marine

Bisso Marine, provider of energy and maritime support services, announced the addition of John C. Baker as director of Quality and Compliance. Baker directs and manages the company’s ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System and AWO RCP Safety Management System, including procedural development and auditing for compliance. Before joining BISSO MARINE, Baker served as manager of Corporate Quality and Compliance for Kirby Corporation

New Solutions Soothe Sub M Uncertainties

Germanischer Lloyd, Baker Lyman Sub-Chapter M Alliance brings affordable, turnkey TSMS solutions – and compliance – to towboat operators.   When a family-owned, Gulf Coast based marine firm known primarily as a Chart Agent branches out into the world of maritime software, that’s big news. When a global, U.S. Coast Guard recognized vessel classification society acquires a world class survey and engineering firm to form a fully integrated technical consulting company

Bill Introduced to Extend TRIA

Representative Baker (R-LA) introduced the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision Act of 2005 (H.R. 4314) to extend the applicability of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002. The purposes of the bill are discussed in the Press Release issued by the House Committee on Financial Services. Source: HK Law

North American Rig Count Drops 8

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in North America fell by eight during the week ending November 3, according to oil services firm Baker Hughes Inc. The number of rigs operating in the United States fell by six to 763 to 1,078 compared to 763 a year ago, while the number of rigs in Canada fell by two to 362, compared with last year's 336, according to Baker Hughes. In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the number of rigs searching for oil and gas fell by three to 148 compared to 113

NORTH P&I CLUB Publishes Guidance On Sanctions For Shipowners

The ‘A’ rated, 150 million GT North of England P&I club has published new guidance for shipowners on how to avoid being caught out by the increasingly complex ‘patchwork’ of international trade sanctions currently in force worldwide. Writing in the club’s newsletter ‘Signals’, head of loss prevention Tony Baker says, ‘Trade sanctions are at the forefront of modern diplomacy and can be imposed by individual countries or supranational bodies

Great Lakes Beaches: EPA Satellite Data Contract

US EPA awards Blue Water Satellite contract to providie satellite data for an epidemiological study of 4 beaches. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a contract to Blue Water Satellite of Bowling Green, OH to provide unique historical data regarding the concentrations of potentially harmful Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyll-a, and Phosphorus at four Great Lakes beaches. This historical data will be used as part of an epidemiological study to potentially correlate concentrations