Astican News

BMT was appointed to support Mercy Ships with a life extension program to extend the operational life of the Hospital ship MV Africa Mercy.Following the successful completion of the initial extension program, the vessel is now operational ahead of the next stage of upgrades that will deliver further improvements and allow the vessel to operate until 2035.Described as an essential lifeline for communities in Africa in need of medical facilities, MV Africa Mercy hosts state-of-the-art hospital facilities including five operating theatres…

After being very much on the margins of the offshore wind industry, floating offshore wind now appears to be ready to hit the mainstream. With gigawatt scale developments already on the horizon, what will the infrastructure needed to build and support them look like? Over the past 12 months, the floating offshore wind sector appears to have had a major dose of adrenaline. While the largest development, to date, is the relatively small-scale 50MW Kincardine project off northeast Scotland (which will be outdone by the 88MW Tampen project in Norway later next year [2022])…

Pair of privately owned Spanish yards ready to assist Owners with IMO regulationsNew rules are always a driver for ship refit, and this truly is a transcendent time in maritime history, as rules regarding Ballast Water Management Systems and new emissions regulations are conspiring to create a lot of work for shipyards.As IMO has set a global limit for Sulfur in fuel oil used on board ships of 0.50% m/m (mass by mass) from 1 January 2020, Astander and Astican, the two busiest privately owned ship repair & conversion shipyards in Spain…

Astander and Astican are the two busiest privately owned shipyards in Spain carrying out heavy repairs and special conversion projects with a boutique style attitude towards customers. As part of Lavinia Group, which runs a fleet of more than 70 vessels, the shipyard understand the owner´s needs. Astander, in the port of Santander, has more than 140 years’ presence in the international market and has continually modernized and updatd its facilities. The latest investment program…

Strategically located Spain, linking countries in Europe, Africa and the Americas, along with a dynamic coast line dotted with number of highly proactive ports have bolstered its progress helping it to become a global leader in the ‘ship’ repairs and conversion. Spearheading the ship design and construction operations in Europe, the sector is witnessing an unusual boom with an annual volume of about €400 million. One can find 13 shipyards competing in this ship repair/conversion market. The smaller ones being able to repair vessels of up to 100 meters in length and the bigger ones – considered to be the biggest shipyards in Europe in terms of docking facilities – have dry docks that service vessels of up to 400 meters.

Rolls-Royce yesterday opened a new, custom built, 2,100-square-meter service facility at the Astican Shipyard in Las Palmas, on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The center is a partnership between Rolls-Royce and the shipyard. Las Palmas’ position in the Atlantic allows Rolls-Royce and Astican to enhance their support to rig and drillship owners undertaking ongoing exploration, production and development operations in Europe, Africa and the Americas, Rolls-Royce said, adding the center will also service future growth in the offshore supply and service market as well as the fisheries sector.

How did you find a career in the maritime industry? As a consequence of my father´s dedication to the industry, as founder of a shipping agency in the early eighties as well as partner in a large shipping company and shipyard´s ownership, I grew up in this atmosphere and orientated my academic training towards being able to continuing what he and his business partners created and developed. Although I did start my professional career dealing with other type of businesses within my family, the core root of our family wealth has always been in the maritime industry.

Rolls-Royce announced it has signed a cooperation agreement with the Astican Shipyard in Las Palmas, Canary Islands that it said will enhance the service capabilities of both parties to meet growing demand from rig and drillship owners. A new 1,980m2 service facility will be built by Astican for Rolls-Royce to service and overhaul the complete Rolls-Royce product range, including the simultaneous reconditioning of up to six Azimuth thruster units. Coupled with Astican’s ship repair facilities, the new custom-built service center at the crossroads of the Atlantic, linking Europe, Africa and the Americas, will allow Rolls-Royce to better serve operators with ongoing exploration, production development operations in these regions, the company said.

Fairmount Marine’s tug Fairmount Summit has delivered rig Ocean Valiant safely in the port of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Fairmount Summit has towed the rig from offshore Cameroon over a distance of almost 3,000 miles. The Ocean Valiant is a semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., headquartered in Houston, U.S. The 1988 build rig is 122 meters long, 71 meters wide and 37 meters high, is capable to drill up to 10,000 meters deep and can accommodate 140 persons.

International faith-based organization Mercy Ships has used ships as traveling hospitals since 1978, providing health services to millions of people from the world’s poorest countries. Gathering praise from figures such as Nelson Mandella, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Tony Blair, the organization and its work have had a vast impact globally with more than 2.42 million direct beneficiaries to date and an estimated cumulative work bill near $1 billion. Funded primarily through private donations, Mercy Ships is now operating its fourth vessel, Africa Mercy.

The Spanish shipbuilding industry will be at the forefront of this year's Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology International Trade Fair (SMM 2000), which will be held in Hamburg, Germany from September 26-30. With the efforts of Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior (ICEX), the conference will bring together, in the Spanish pavilion, the biggest ever representation of Spanish shipyards at one exclusive international event. Scheduled to appear are approximately one dozen national shipyards in the Spanish pavilion. Various companies, specifically shipbuilders, will put on the widest-ranging exhibit that the sector has ever mustered at an international event.