Newbuild Contract News

The American shipbuilding scene, filled with participants constructing all manner of vessels, has been navigating through stormy times (lately, yards along the Gulf Coast have literally been dealing with storms). The orders for newbuild, repair and conversion projects continue to flow in—albeit at a reduced pace—and the boats and ships go down the ways into the water, but the overall panorama has seen tremendous sea changes as the business has shifted.Maritime businesses worldwide have been grappling with currents both internal and external.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. has announced that construction contract for 210,000-dwt Bulk Carrier to be completed in 2021 fiscal year has been made with Japan Marine United Corporation.After delivery from the yard, the vessel will be put into a consecutive voyage as per contract signed with JFE Steel and will be engaged in iron ore and coal transportation.The main features of this vessel will comply with NOx emission regulations (Tier III) and be  equipped with SOx scrubber that…

Western Australian boatbuilder Dongara Marine has delivered a second Berkeley Class pilot boat to the port of Fremantle. ‘Genesis’ will join ‘Berkeley’, which has been operating in the port since 2015.Whereas Berkeley is owned by Fremantle Pilots, the 19.4-meter new vessel has been acquired by Harbour Services Australia (HSA) as part of the company’s fleet of 18 workboats ranging from six-meter punts, mooring/lines boats to 21-meter cargo vessels, a crew transfer and dive/survey vessel…

Icelandic fishing company Bergur-Huginn has been issued a loan from Export Credit Norway in connection with delivery of the Vestmannaey stern trawler from Vard’s Aukra facility in Norway.A further five loans, for five identical vessels, will be disbursed to Icelandic shipowners over the coming months.The delivery of the Vestmannaey trawler is the first of seven identical vessels ordered from Vard’s shipyard in Aukra, Norway. The buyers are a consortium that consists of four Icelandic fishing companies. The six remaining vessels are expected to be delivered during the second half of 2019.Export Credit Norway will provide export financing for six of the seven stern trawlers…

ST Engineering reports that its marine sector won $311m worth of shipbuilding/repair contracts in the third quarter alone, including options for its shipbuilding business, as well as the ship and rig repair segments for progressive deliveries at its yards in Singapore and the US. In the US, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded its US shipyard a contract, including options worth $244m for the detailed design and construction (DD&C) of two firm and up to four optional Auxiliary Personnel Lighter Small APL Class Berthing Barges. The anticipated delivery periods of the two firm vessels are in the second and third quarter of 2020, respectively.

Stena Line confirmed that the first of its new RoPax ferries currently under construction in China is planned to enter service on its Holyhead – Dublin route early 2020, with the following two vessels to be assigned to Liverpool-Belfast planned for spring of 2020 and early 2021.Last year Stena Line’s parent company, Stena, announced a newbuild contract for a new generation of RoPax ferry vessels, Stena E-Flexer, with planned deliveries during 2020 and 2021. Stena has ordered the construction of six new vessels from the AVIC Shipyard in China.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) announced today that the company has decided to terminate, by agreement with Island Navigator I KS, its shipbuilding contract for the top hole drilling/light well intervention vessel, Island Navigator. The yard state that is has been facing difficulties in its engineering process as well as with increases of material costs since the contract was signed. Combined with a common understanding that the environment surrounding the offshore development industry is, and will be, severe and unpredictable in the period of the Vessel’s remaining construction, and the ongoing financial restructuring of the Island Offshore Group, KHI and Island Offshore reached a mutual agreement to terminate the shipbuilding contract for the Vessel.

Schulte Marine Concept (SMC) said it has won its first cruise ship contract with Portugal-based Mystic Cruises. Schulte Marine Concept the project management arm of maritime services company Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), working together with Bernhard Schulte Cruise Services (BS Cruise), will provide technical consultancy and newbuild supervision services to support construction of the oceangoing luxury expedition cruise ship, MS World Explorer. MS World Explorer will be built as a 126-meter long expedition cruise ship with a passenger capacity of 200 and a crew complement of 111.

Metal Shark’s stock boats program shakes up the patrol boat game; here and across the big pond. If the news that Louisiana-based boatbuilder Metal Shark is ramping up production to build an inventory of stock vessels, with the goal of reducing lead times and enhancing service sounds familiar, but perhaps not on this side of the big pond, that’s because the move truly represents an innovative concept for North American builders. Savvy shipbuilding stakeholders everywhere, of course, know that Netherlands-based Damen has been doing it (successfully) for years. That kind of program, however, isn’t easily pulled off, nor should it be undertaken lightly.

Safe Bulkers, Inc. announced today that the Company has agreed to novate an existing newbuild contract for Hull No. S835, a Japanese Panamax class vessel, and sell, upon delivery, Hull No. 1551, a Japanese Kamsarmax class vessel, in each case, to entities owned by Mr. Polys Hajioannou, the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Each vessel is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2017. The two transactions were evaluated and approved by a Special Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, which committee was wholly comprised of independent members of the Board and advised by independent counsel.

Damen Shipyards Group has teamed up with the global leader in motion compensation access solutions, Ampelmann, to conduct tests with Ampelmann’s L-Type system on board a Damen Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 5009. Damen is developing its marine access solutions in order to guarantee increased safety, reduced costs and efficiency in the global crew transfer market. As part of this mission, Damen has recently increased its cooperation with a number of access suppliers. On this occasion, the process has resulted in a live demonstration of a combined Ampelmann and Damen solution at a North Sea gas production platform. Teaming up with Ampelmann for a number of tests was a natural route says Damen Business Development Manager David Stibbe.

Marco Polo Marine has unilaterally terminated a rig building order worth US$214.3 million from a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine. Sembcorp Marine on early Wednesday morning said its subsidiary, PPL Shipyard, will regard the termination by Marco Polo Drilling (I) of the US$214.3 million newbuild contract as "repudiatory breach of the contract". The response comes after Marco Polo Marine, of which Marco Polo Drilling is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, on Tuesday said in a filing to the Singapore Exchange that it will terminate the contract for a jack-up rig under construction at PPL Shipyard. Sembcorp Marine refers to the announcement by Marco Polo Marine Ltd in respect of the termination by Marco Polo Drilling (I) Pte. Ltd.

TRIYARDS Holdings Limited has extended its product range to escort tugs for new client Greenbay Marine Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based international specialist marine craft group, demonstrating the Group’s established versatile engineering capabilities which have driven its continued diversification beyond the oil & gas industry. Worth some US$12.8 million, the contract is for four RAstar 3400 Azimuth Stern Drive Tugs (excluding owner-furnished equipment), and expected to be delivered by early 2017. Powered by 4,400 kW engines, each of the 34-metre tugs will be specially constructed for escort operations in adverse sea and weather conditions. The newbuild contract adds to TRIYARDS’ growing earnings visibility for the financial year ending 31 August 2017 (FY17).

ASRY holds keel-laying ceremony as it starts landing craft construction. ASRY marked the commencement of erection of a new Landing Craft being constructed for the Bahrain Coast Guard (BCG) with a keel-laying ceremony. The event was attended by the yard’s Chairman Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Alternate ASRY Board Director Hassan Ali Al-Majid, ASRY Chief Executive Nils Kristian Berge and BCG Brigadier Ala Abdulla Seyadi. “As we lay this keel, we are seeing progress on the project continuing on schedule…

One of the world's premiere ship repair facilities, ASRY based in Bahrain, unveils its move into new vessel construction. ASRY signed an agreement with the Bahrain Coast Guard to design and construct a new Landing Craft for the transport of vehicles, potable water, and fuel. The craft, potentially the first of two, will be delivered in 2016. The contract, worth approximately $2.8m, marks ASRY’s first newbuild contract since launching the New Construction & Engineering division, which is tasked with growing the new construction program at the yard.

Norwegian shipbuilder Kleven announced its contract with De Beers Marine Namibia, part of De Beers Group, for the building of a specialized vessel for deep water mineral exploration, initially announced in October 2014, is expected to receive final approval in May 2015. The first of its kind vessel will be of MT 6022 design from Marin Teknikk. This design is proven within the offshore construction segment, but the newbuild for De Beers will include a wide range of tailor made equipment and features.

A specialized LNG Bunker vessel to be built at the STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Company yard in South Korea on behalf of Shell will be powered by Wärtsilä DF dual-fuel engines. The ship will be used to deliver gas to LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) fuelled vessels in Northwest Europe. The newbuild contract is in direct response to the increasing acceptance by the shipping industry of LNG as a marine fuel. The engine order was placed with Wärtsilä in December 2014. Wärtsilä has been at the forefront of the trend towards LNG fuelled shipping. Its industry leading dual-fuel engine technology and gas supply and control systems have been largely responsible for the viability of gas as a fuel for ships.

Rolls-Royce says it has secured a contract to design and equip a large offshore support vessel for Norwegian ship owner Island Offshore. The vessel, named 'Island Victory', will be a multi-functional design with a flexible operational profile, and will be one of the largest vessels in Island Offshore's fleet. The UT 797 CX design from Rolls-Royce features a 250 ton offshore crane, Remotely Operated Vessels (ROV's) and a large moonpool, enabling the vessel to perform heavy anchor handling operations and deep subsea installation work. The bollard pull will be more than 400 tons and the vessels will be 123 meters long and encompass a deck area of 1100 sq m. Håvard Ulstein, Island Offshore CEO, said: "This will be an extremely strong workhorse with many capabilities.

Delta Wave Communications, LLC, has announced that it has been selected by Swiftships Shipbuilders, LLC to provide marine navigational electronics and a dynamic positioning (DP-2) system for two Swiftships 175’ fast supply vessel (FSV) new builds. The vessels, which will be operating in the Gulf of Mexico in support of the oil and gas industry, will allow for expanded capabilities in deep water operations. It is a part of Swiftships expanding newbuild program, in which they offer custom quality small- to medium-sized vessel constructed of aluminum or steel…

Grandweld Shipyards has completed the delivery of Bourbon Gannet, the third Hybrid Seismic Support Vessel in a series of six for Bourbon Offshore. The vessel was handed over in a delivery ceremony held on Saturday November 23, 2013 at Grandweld facilities at Dubai Maritime City. The 54-meter , 50 tons bollard pull vessel will be operated by CGG to assist in seismic operations such as chasing, towing, storage and transport of offshore supplies and crew. Bourbon Petrel and Bourbon Fulmar, sister vessels of Bourbon Gannet and previously delivered by Grandweld as part of the same newbuild contract with Bourbon, are fully operational and already in service and are operating in Europe.

Senesco Marine Steps Out Into the Broader Commercial Build and Repair Markets. The largest mid-tier yard in the U.S. Northeast touts deep experience and high standards. Suddenly, operators have another viable choice for newbuild and repair work. After being off the radar for perhaps as many as 12 years – during which the yard was itself quite busy primarily servicing internal Reinauer requirements – Rhode Island-based Senesco Marine LLC has moved more aggressively into the outside commercial markets. Although perhaps representing a somewhat new entity to some clients, Senesco is anything but new on the scene. An accomplished builder of modern tonnage, it is more than capable of taking on any mid-tier shipyard newbuild or repair challenge.

Damen Shipyards, which has already built up a considerable presence in Argentina since the nineties, is working very closely with Argentinian shipyards and looking forward to expanding its activities in the country. Currently, several Damen ASD tugs are being built in Argentina and very soon work will begin on an entirely new powerful pusher to serve the Hidrovía Paraná-Paraguay, the greatest waterway of South America. Between 1994 and 1999, Damen delivered more than 40 of its well-known AluCats to the Prefectura Naval Argentina, as well as several Stan Tenders.

Incat Crowther has announced a contract to design a pair of 25m Catamaran passenger ferries to operate in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Under construction at Midship Marine in Louisiana, these vessels will follow on from the successful quartet of UltraJet boats built by the yard. The new vessels will have a similar configuration, with a half-height wheelhouse allowing a completely open upper passenger deck. 72 seats will be fitted to the upper deck, whilst the main deck passenger cabin will be fitted with seats for 131, plus a pair of wheelchair spaces. The aft deck houses an ADA compliant toilet and luggage racks. As with the UltraJet boats, boarding will be via fold down ramps situated on all four corners of the vessel.