Accommodation Unit News

UAE-based contractor MAR Marine & Building Contractor has taken delivery of a new cutter suction dredger (CSD) that it will utilize at the Al Hamriyah Port expansion project.Built by Damen Shipyards Group, the CSD500 has been named MAR 22. “We are happy to welcome the MAR 22 to our marine equipment fleet,” said Paul Abou Rjaili, Operations Manager at MAR Marine. “We are further reinforcing our dredging equipment and capabilities, and this customized dredge exactly matches our…

Offshore accommodation rig provider Floatel International has awarded a contract to Semco Maritime for service work on the semi-submersible accommodation unit Floatel Superior.Semco said that the harsh environment accommodation rig is expected to dock at Hanøytangen in Norway, mid-February. According to information on social media, the rig has already arrived.The Floatel Superior rig was last year deployed offshore Norway, supporting Var Energi's Balder FPU work, and, according…

BP Trinidad and Tobago has chartered the Safe Concordia offshore accommodation rig from Prosafe, to provide gangway-connected operations at Cassia C offshore platform in Trinidad. The contract will last around 160 days and will be a straight continuation of Safe Concordia's current engagement at Cassia C. The new contract will run from March 24, 2022, to August 31, 2022. BP Trinidad and Tobago will have options to extend the charter for up to four weeks.The value of the firm part of the deal is $19.4 million.Jesper Kragh Andresen…

Oil and gas company Chevron has chartered Edda Accommodation's Edda Fides offshore accommodation unit for operations support in Australia, starting in the second quarter of 2022.Currently on a charter with Norway's Equinor, mono-hull vessel Edda Fides will provide accommodation and associated facilities for up to 300 people for an upcoming turnaround maintenance event on the Wheatstone offshore gas processing platform, off the coast of Australia."Edda Fides worked at Wheatstone for Chevron back in 2017…

An official naming ceremony was held in Bulgaria last Thursday for Yantra, a new cutter suction dredger (CSD) built to help maintain Danube water depths. Damen supplied the modular CSD 500 dredger following a European tender.The naming ceremony was performed by the Dutch ambassador to Bulgaria, Bea ten Tusscher. As Godmother of the dredger she stated that the task to be performed by the dredger – keeping the Bulgarian stretch of the Danube navigable – is an important one. Even more so as the ceremony took place in Ruse, the largest inland port of Bulgaria.

Dutch offshore self-elevating platform and services provider Jack-Up Barge BV believes innovative and cost-efficient solutions are needed now more than ever across the offshore oil and gas and renewables businesses.The current market faces challenges, from the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices to wind farms that have spiraled in size from 2-3 MW turbines to 12 MW turbines in just a few years. It’s a constantly changing landscape, and the risk is that if the industry keeps doing things the same way, it’ll get the same results, says Jack-Up Barge.

An offshore supply vessel was reportedly attacked offshore Mexico on Friday, July 24, in an incident that was described as a "violent armed boarding and robbery of personal belongings."The maritime safety intelligence company Dryad said Monday that the offshore supply vessel Natalie was boarded while conducting operations in the vicinity of the ODIN Offshore platform 12nm NE of Coatzacoalcos."It is understood that the vessel was boarded early morning within hours of darkness. A channel 16 broadcast received from the vessel stated “We would like to inform you that at this moment pirates are getting on board the ship NATALIE which is near the ODIN platform…

Offshore marine services provider PACC Offshore Services Holdings' (POSH) accommodation vessel has been designated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (“MPA”) to support crew changes for cargo ships calling in Singapore.To date, MPA has approved about 6,000 crew changes for cargo ships since 27 March 2020. For crew change applications made from 19 June 2020, MPA has designated two facilities - including POSH's accommodation unit - to accommodate crew who are unable to transfer directly to his/her vessel or flight and require a temporary rest area of up to 48 hours.

Offshore vessel provider Telford Offshore's offshore accommodation and hook-up unit Telford 28 was attacked earlier this week while anchored in Mexico. One crew member was injured.In an email sent to Offshore Engineer, Telford Offshore said: "We can confirm that the Telford 28 came under attack while anchored at Cuidad Del Carmen, Mexico on the evening of 14th April.""Mexican Navy responded quickly and attended vessel. All personnel are now safe, although one Telford crew member suffered injuries in the attack," Telford Offshore said.According to Telford Offshore, the injured crewmember was quickly transferred to hospital ashore and is recovering well. "Our main concern and always will be is ensuring the continued safety and wellbeing of all personnel onboard our vessels.

Two installations from Spirit Energy’s ST-1 in the North Sea have arrived at the Dales Voe decommissioning facility in Shetland, Scotland, with works set to be carried out by partners Veolia and Peterson.The 45-metre high 1,300 tonne steel jacket and 1,200 tonne topsides structure arrived into Dales Voe in Lerwick.The structures will be dismantled and disposed of by partners Veolia and Peterson. Now at the end of their working life recovering these platforms is important to maximize the value of the materials and assets they contain, and further the sustainability of the offshore industry.With a recycling target of  97% the project includes recovery of approximately 2…

Swedish contractor Floatel International has received a new extension from Equinor for its accommodation unit Floatel Superior at the Martin Linge Field Development in Norway’s North Sea.The onshore operational support and supervision company said in a press release that Floatel Superior started its charter at Equinor’s Martin Linge project at the end of July 2018. The contract has now been extended with four months until the end of March 2020.Floatel also said that six monthly options remain in place for the Floatel Superior.Prior to her contract with Equinor, Floatel Superior worked for Total in the Culzean field in the North Sea in…

A customized Damen Cutter Suction Dredger, type CSD500, has been named by her owner Basra Gateway terminal at the Damen Dredging yard in the Netherlands. Immediately after the ceremony, the dredger was made ready for transport and towed to Rotterdam, from where it was shipped to Port of Umm Qasr, Iraq. The dredger’s first job will be the port extension for Basra Gataway Terminal. The blessing ceremony took place January 9, when the stationary dredger received the name Ishtar – which translates as ‘Goddess of Love’. The owner, Basra Gataway Terminal (BGT), performed the honors. Phillip Marsham, BGT executive officer, said, “We are proud to take delivery of our new cutter suction dredger.

Aker Solutions won a contract from Sembcorp Marine to design the living quarters for the Johan Castberg development's floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO). The work scope includes detailed design engineering of the living quarters and technical specifications for the equipment and supplies required for Sembcorp to construct the accommodation unit for the Statoil-operated development. Johan Castberg is the largest oil discovery in the Norwegian Barents Sea.

Damen has delivered a Cutter Suction Dredger 450 to Vesirakennus Ojanen Oy in Finland. This is the first time a Damen Cutter Suction Dredger has been deployed in the Scandinavian market. The new dredger was delivered in only a few weeks from stock and has been put to work straight away in the Port of Pori, where it is dredging at a depth of 4.5 meters. Olivier Marcus, Damen Product Director Dredging, commented: “We have had a breakthrough with the first CSD in the region. The Damen CSD450…

Where many see challenges, Vilhelm Roberts, CEO and President of ALMACO Group sees opportunity, as his company has carved a niche in providing turnkey accommodation spaces and food handling areas serving the global maritime and offshore markets. He discusses the company’s strategy and future with Maritime Reporter. “We were born global,” said Roberts. The mother company is in Finland, and he leads the company from the company’s office in Florida along with his CFO who is in the office in France.

Singapore’s shipyards are looking to recent investments in capacity, design and newly acquired technology to combat order declines after a decades-long offshore buildup. Sembcorp and peer Keppel are making the most of partnerships in FLNG and showing signs they’ll be okay through the downturn, helped by their gas-hungry Australasian backyard and renewed ties with old charterer parties and suppliers. With drilling contractors unable to pay for the offshore rigs they’ve ordered, Singapore’s heavyweight yards have had to defer deliveries and become defacto rig owners.

Keppel FELS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has delivered Floatel Triumph, a fifth high-specification accommodation semisubmersible (semi), to Floatel International Ltd (Floatel). The semi, which is built to Keppel's proprietary SSAUTM5000NG design, will be chartered by Chevron Corporation for work in the Wheatstone field in Western Australia. Floatel Triumph is scheduled to arrive on location in mid-October 2016. Thereafter, it will work for INPEX Operations Australia in Ichthys Field, off Western Australia.

Saudi Border Guard has acquired two Damen Cutter Suction Dredgers (CSD 450) for harbor maintenance duties. As Damen has a full range of dredgers in stock, it could customize and ship two full option dredgers within a short time span. Being satisfied with quality and services the previous delivery of 6 patrol vessels in 2000, the client approached Damen for dredging equipment. What is more, Damen had the right dredgers on stock: two CSDs 450 with a maximum dredging depth of -12m and a mixture production of 3,000 m3/h.

To support its ongoing dredging activities, Van Oord has commenced an 18-month charter agreement with Damen Marine Services for a Modular Multi Cat (MMuC) 2210. Damen completed construction under a short timescale, delivering the vessel just four months after contract signing. The newly built vessel is the first fully classified Damen MMuC to enter service, making Damen Marine Services the launching customer. Dredging and marine contractor Van Oord has a substantial fleet operating in the Caspian Sea region, to which Damen has contributed six vessels.

The Damen Field Service crew has just returned from commissioning the Barracuda cutter suction dredger in Algeria. The customised Damen Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 500 has been delivered with a complete dredging package including a booster station and dredge piping enabling immediate start up. The CSD500 will perform maintenance dredging in a reservoir. As reservoir dredging can be quite a challenge, the standard dismountable CSD500 has been customised. Its job is to clear a water reservoir in an inland location in Algeria. As it is relatively deep, the CSD500 has been fitted out with a longer cutter ladder for the important dredging depth of -18m working at 45°. Moreover the spuds – normally a distinct feature of any CSD– have been replaced by an X-mas tree.

Two shipyards under Cosco Shipyard Group have pushed back the delivery dates for two converted high-end floating accommodation unit (FAU) at the customer’s request. Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard, a subsidiary of Cosco’s 51% owned subsidiary, Cosco Shipyard Group Co., said the delivery date of a FAU built at its yard will be extended for a period of not more than 12 months from its original delivery date of October 2015. The delayed FAU is the second of two units ordered by the shipowner for construction at Nantong facility, and the first unit has been delivered. The FAUs are converted from semi-completed hulls. In 2013, Cosco Nantong secured the contract to deliver the two FAUs, the first of which was delivered to the shipowner on February 2015.

Cosco Corporation (Singapore) Limited, offshore marine engineering, shipbuilding, ship repair & conversion and dry bulk shipping group, has posted a net profit of SGD4.25 million (USD3.19 million), down 82% year-on-year for the first quarter that ended 31 March 2015. The Singapore-listed Chinese shipbuilding and dry bulk shipping group's turnover decreased 4.6% to $991.2 million in Q1 2015 from $1.04 billion owing to falls in shipyard and dry bulk shipping revenues. The company's revenue from its shipyard operations segment decreased by 4.7% y/y to SGD980.8 million in 1Q15 from SGD1.03 billion in 1Q14, owing to lower revenue contribution from marine engineering and ship repair. This was partially offset by an increase in revenue from shipbuilding.

Petter Sundet, Captain of Edda Fortis, discusses with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News the evolution of top-notch accommodation in the offshore environment. Please provide a brief bio. Specifically, how did you come to a career in the marine industry, and ascend to your current position? I first went to sea when I was 16 years old, to see the world. The first years I sailed as a deck hand, then as an ordinary seaman and then became an Able Seaman which was as far as you could go without any formal education. During this time I worked on general cargo ships, oil tankers, and OBO carriers.