West Africa

WSS Open Their Own Facility in Dakar, W. Africa

Ship service providers WSS open their own premises in the port after 15 years of operation through sub-agents & service providers. Simon Hutt, Area Director for North and West Africa paid tribute to the hard work of the area operational team in West Africa who have been managing the business development activities and securing the future of the new office, saying:  “WSS has operated in West Africa for the last fifteen years through various sub-agents and service providers and we are thrilled to have finally been able to open our own WSS facility with a local team on the ground who we have worked with for many years.” Located at the most westerly point in West Africa, Dakar is transited by all north and south- bound traffic. The port is well-placed to handle a multitude of different vessel requirements - from dry-docking, dry and wet cargoes, containers and RoRos – to project cargoes including military and ships’ husbandry. Hutt said: “One of our primary aims is to expand our infrastructure in areas where shipping and trade are growing to deal with the changing needs of our customers. This new office will allow us to take the first steps in developing our presence in West Africa, enabling us to offer support through good governing principles and values.”

Aegean Marine to Open New Service Center in West Africa

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. an international marine fuel logistics company that markets and physically supplies refined marine fuel and lubricants to ships in port and at sea, today announced that it plans to launch a new service center located on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa during the fourth quarter of 2007, expanding the Company's global network of marine fuel service centers. The company also announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase a 1985-built 83

Ocean Rig: 3-Year Drilling Contract for Ocean Rig Olympia

Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIG)  received a Letter of Award for its ultra deepwater drillship “Ocean Rig Olympia”, from a major oil company. The Letter of Award is for a three- year contract for drilling offshore West Africa, with an estimated backlog of approximately $652 million. The Letter of Award is subject to completion of definitive documentation and receipt of regulatory approvals. The contract is expected to commence in direct continuation of the Ocean Rig

GlobalSantaFe West Africa and Southeast Asia SCORE Show Improvements

Worldwide oil and gas drilling contractor GlobalSantaFe Corporation reported that the company's worldwide SCORE, or Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics, for March 2003 was flat with the previous month's SCORE. GlobalSantaFe's SCORE compares the profitability of current mobile offshore drilling rig dayrates to the profitability of dayrates at the 1980-1981 peak of the offshore drilling cycle. In the 1980-1981 period, when SCORE averaged 100 percent

Tanker Market: A Pessimistic Outlook

Drewry Maritime Research’s latest Tanker Forecaster report indicates that Suezmax owners got some respite in the first quarter of the year, but things are looking bleak in the longer term. Spot rates firmed on the back of buoyant demand in the Caribs, Arabian Gulf and West Africa, but rising bunker prices would have absorbed much of the increase. US demand for West African crude was the one to watch as it staged a recovery in March and underpinned Suezmax rates on the benchmark TD5 (West

Seabulk Offshore Orders Two

Expanding its presence in the growing offshore West African market, Seabulk Offshore -- a subsidiary of Seabulk International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBLK) -- announced that it has ordered two additional vessels for delivery in late 2004 and mid-2005, respectively. Built at a combined cost of approximately $23.4 million, the new vessels will work under long-term contracts for a major international oil company in offshore Angola.

Global Industries Makes Additions

Global Industries, Ltd. announces the appointment of Craig Milburn as operations manager for Global Divers, based in New Iberia, LA. As Operations Manager, Milburn is responsible for diving operations, personnel, equipment, and the diving facilities at the New Iberia facility. Milburn joined Global in 1982 and has held numerous positions as a diver, Supervisor, Superintendent, and project manager domestically and in Asia Pacific

Suezmax Rates Set To Soar

Surging Suezmax tanker rates are set to soar if Iraqi exports come back on stream next week, shipping brokers said on Wednesday. Rates for the one million barrel tankers have lifted to around 100 Worldscale points on fixtures from West Africa and the North Sea to the U.S., and on cross Mediterranean and North Sea routes, brokers said. "Suezmax rates are going to sky rocket if Iraqi exports come back next week," one broker said.

Are VLCC Rates Poised For Rebound?

Very Large Crude Carriers, which were scraping the bottom of the freight market at the end of January, look set to make a comeback as the pool of available tonnage runs dry. "We currently anticipate a maximum of 54 vessels within the area (Middle East Gulf) over the next 30 days, and it is significant that only 28 of these are modern," said London tanker broker Gibsons. "There is every indication that owners will capitalize on this shortage over the coming weeks," it added

Deepwater Drillship Off Angola Wins Accolade for Maersk

Maersk Drilling takes the first challenging step into deepwater drilling in West Africa, 'Maersk Deliverer' voted 'Rig of the Month'. Maersk Drilling has entered Angola for the first time and after only one full month in operation for Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited, local setup of Chevron Angola, the Mærsk Deliverer has been awarded 'Super Rig of the Month' amongst the six rigs the oil company is operating in Angola.