East North Africa News

The Dutch family-owned tug and workboat company Herman Senior BV has ordered its 12th Damen vessel, a Multi Cat 2712. Given the very short delivery time, the new vessel will be officially launched and christened Panda on March 23. Herman Senior has a tradition of naming its ships after famous bears. Based in Dordrecht, Herman Senior serves the dredging market, offshore wind farms and the oil and gas industry, with services including towage, plough dredging, anchor handling, geotechnical services, diving support and salvage and anchor recovery, among others.

Export hulls – through the FMS Program, as well as Direct Sales – are a key piece of the business model. Even as the crash in energy prices feeds the oversupply of offshore support vessels – a key staple of U.S. boatbuilding diets – and the dwindling backlogs of some so-called ‘second tier’ yards,  a number of U.S. boat builders are still seeing robust demand for security vessels. Separately, tightening federal, state, municipal and overseas budgets are being trumped by the increased need for security craft that can perform more than one function.

Turkish coast guard teams fired on a cargo ship passing through the Çanakkale Strait on Thursday evening after the vessel failed to comply with a warning to stop and captured some 500 illegal migrants. The 59 meters long cargo ship, named "Doğan Kartal," ignored the security forces' calls to stop off the Gallipoli peninsula on March 12. After halting the sea traffic in the Strait, the Coast Guard fired on the engine room of the ship that was fleeing. Security forces boarded ship at 6.30 p.m. and captured some 400 unregistered migrants. "We want to stop a ship on suspicion of carrying foreign illegal migrants," it quoted the head of the western Canakkale province Ahmet Cinar as saying.

GE Oil & Gas today celebrated the ground-breaking of a new facility that will further expand its presence in the UAE in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza). Scheduled to open in 2015, the new facility spreads over an area of 22,700 sqm and can accommodate over 300 employees. A milestone in the expansion of GE Oil & Gas in the country and the region, the new facility will offer services by GE Oil & Gas’ various business units, thus strengthening customer service standards. Housed in a customized state-of-the-art facility developed by Jafza, the new GE Oil & Gas Manufacturing & Technology Center will offer tailored training programs, and also feature a dedicated repair center that will help improve the speed of service delivered by being closer to the customers.

His Excellency Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Drydocks World and Maritime World and chairperson of the DNV GL Offshore Technical Committee outlined the key focus areas for the Regional Committee meeting that will be held in Dubai on October 23, 2014. This was discussed at a meeting with DNV representatives Mr. Bijali M.P., Regional Manager – Offshore Class, Middle East & India and Mr. Ralph Becker, Regional Manager – Business Development, Middle East & India. H.E. Buamim discussed the importance of constructive cooperation to push the maritime industry and allied operations in developing economic relations and investment activities in targeted areas and emerging markets.

Fossil fuel subsidies cost governments in emerging markets more than $500 billion every year and are a major contributor to climate change, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The biggest subsidies are concentrated in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and parts of Latin America, according to the IEA's Fossil Fuel Subsidy Database (http://www.iea.org/subsidy/index.html). Moreover energy-exporting countries accounted for three quarters of all consumption subsidies in 2012, according to the IEA and OPEC members account for more than half the world's subsidies. Subsidies account for 82 percent of the cost of electricity and fuel in Venezuela…

DNV GL has been recognised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) as the organisation that has contributed most to asset integrity in the Middle East at the 2014 SPE Asset Integrity Workshop entitled “Changing the Culture, Raising the Bar” held on 13-14 May in Abu Dhabi. "It is a great honor and a privilege to have been given this SPE award for the best ‘Company Contribution to Asset Integrity in the Middle East’. Asset integrity is in the DNA of DNV GL, and this award is proof of our Middle East team’s dedication to integrity excellence” said Moss Daemi, DNV GL’s Divisional Director for Middle East, North Africa and India. With the objective of “raising the bar” in asset integrity management in the Middle East…

Dubai Maritime City signed an MOU with Shell to explore the diverse business options related to promoting alternative sources of energy such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The primary focus would be on exploring opportunities that would enable the adoption of LNG as a fuel in markets including marine transportation, road transportation, power and industries in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the wider Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. The team from Shell including Mr Roger Bounds…

Dubai Maritime City LLC (DMC), the world-class mixed-use maritime cluster, announced the signing of long term partnership agreement with Mubarak Marine LLC. The agreement is for the development of an industrial complex project for maritime services, shipbuilding and repair worth AED 130 million. This complex will enable Mubarak Marine to establish their headquarters as well as a major marine workshop and maintenance facility. The agreement is in keeping with the overall promotion…

Tundra International announced it has entered an exclusive partnership with Mr. David Hammond, Barrister of 9 Bedford Row International Chambers to identify and develop new technology based training methods to test personnel on their knowledge and application of the Rules for the Use of Force and the '100 Series Rules' as it applies to the maritime security environment. The 100 Series Rules, created by David Hammond, a U.K. Counsel and barrister-at-law who heads up the maritime practice at the International division of 9 Bedford Row Chambers, are intended to be a model set and example of best practice for maritime Rules for the Use of Force…

'Vale Sohar' docked at Vale's deep-water jetty in the Port of Sohar to unload iron ore on its first voyage from Brazil. The ship, one of the largest bulk carriers in the world with the capacity to transport 400,000 tons of minerals and the length of four football fields, was welcomed to Oman by members of the North Al Batinah community headed by H.E. Sheikh Hilal bin Ali Al Habsi, Wali of Sohar. The two remaining vessels, 'Vale Shinas' and 'Vale Saham' are currently in the final stages of construction and are scheduled to be handed over during the first quarter of 2013.

A energy production technology services company Proserv has bolstered its rapidly-evolving global footprint and specialist integrated services after acquiring major US company Total Instrumentation & Controls (TIC). The acquisition of Houston-based TIC, which specializes in advanced process and control systems equipment and has a second manufacturing facility in Lafayette (LA), also significantly increases Proserv’s talent pool by more than 300 people to over 1600 with the entire American-based workforce joining forces with the company under the Proserv mantle.

Renaissance subsidiary, Topaz Marine Engineering (“Topaz”), a UAE-based full service ship building, ship repair and engineering services company, confirms it has been commissioned by the Kuwait Oil Company (“KOC”) to design, build and deliver 10 Fast Steel Crew /Pilot Boats of 22m LOA (“Crew/Pilot Boats”), market estimates believe the contract value to be in the region of US$50 million. With a focus on high technology and latest design, the Crew/Pilot boat will be designed to accommodate 30 crew, with passengers all seated on the main deck and will be provided with first quality equipment.

Global demand driving consistent year-over-year profits for Tidewater. A more modern fleet riding a rising tide should continue that trend, analysts and company officials say. Tidewater Inc., based in New Orleans, has invested in deepwater, platform supply vessels in recent years, a move that looks to be paying off as demand for those boats improves during a rush to build deep-ocean rigs. The company provides offshore supply vessels and marine support services for the world’s energy industry.

Pipeline engineering company, STATS Group, has appointed Angus Bowie as Regional Director for the Middle East North Africa (MENA) in a move which heralds a major expansion in the region. Mr Bowie was previously Technical Director and has relocated from Aberdeen to Abu Dhabi where he will oversee the opening of new workshop and warehousing facilities and recruiting staff. STATS Group was recently awarded a 10 year multi-million pound contract by Qatargas and views the Middle East…

Dean Taylor bid farewell to his post as Tidewater Inc.'s chief executive officer on May 31, following a prosperous, far-flung career of 34 years at the New Orleans-based company. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Platt, who has worked side by side with Taylor for fifteen years, took the helm. And Jeff Gorski was named the new COO. In his decade as chief, Taylor guided Tidewater's fleet expansion. The company has poured hundreds of millions of dollars yearly into an energetic building-and-acquisition effort.

Trade corridors between China and the MENA region carry huge economic growth potential for businesses, offering the greatest prospects in the commodity and energy sectors said HSBC at its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and China Forum recently held in the UAE. Emphasising the growth of China as a trading powerhouse, HSBC added that China is poised to become the world's largest trading nation by 2016 and will account for 12.3% of world trade by 2026. An HSBC Trade Connections report, also highlighted that China is currently the MENA region's second largest trading partner after the USA. Three out of five of China's overall top emerging importers are oil importers from within the MENA region: Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt.

Wild Well Control, a Superior Energy Services company, announces that James Tuppen has joined the company as Manager, International Well Control Operations. Tuppen has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry involving snubbing services, pressure control and well control operations. “With his strong pressure and well control experience, James will be a great asset to our Middle East/North Africa region and our global operations as well,” said Freddy Gebhardt, President, Wild Well Control.

New Drewry special report examines drivers of container freight rates, provides five year forecasts of major east-west trades and offers suggestions for carriers and shippers on how to smooth pricing volatility. London, UK, 14th March 2011 – Container freight rates go up and then they go down - that’s just the way things are. This almost pathological acceptance that things cannot and will not change is a symptom of a deficiency within container shipping’s DNA that prevents it from being able to break the boom and bust.

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) announced the promotions of Nelson Greer, Mark Handin and Darren Vorst to Vice Presidents of Tidewater companies, effective April 1, 2011. Greer joined Tidewater in 1982, after completing 13 years in the British Merchant Marine. He completed the Harvard Business School General Management Program in 2006, and holds a Chief Engineer Unlimited Class 1 Engineering License. In his various management positions with Tidewater, he has been based in Angola, Nigeria, Congo and Gabon, prior to his current posting in Singapore. His Tidewater experience includes engineering, technical management, operations management, area management and, most recently, regional management, with responsibility for Southeast Asia, Australia, the Middle East, North Africa and India.

Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA (WWH) delivered a substantial increase in operating profit year over year backed by a rebound in its shipping activities. WWH posted an operating profit of USD 57.7 million for the first quarter of 2011, up 31% from USD 44.0 million in the similar quarter of 2010 (corresponding period of 2010 hereafter in brackets). Total income amounted to USD 753.2 which is up almost 18% from 2010 (USD 639.7 million). "Compared with 2010, we have shipped 29% more cars and high and heavy cargo the first three months of the year.

RBG, the leading provider of assess, inspect and repair (AIR) services to the global energy industry that was recently acquired by Stork Technical Services (STS), has appointed Sandeep Sharma as its new finance director. Mr Sharma is responsible for leading RBG’s global financial management, planning, controls and reporting, as the company enters a period of growth and integration with STS. A qualified chartered accountant with an MBA from London Business School, Mr Sharma joins RBG with more than 25 years finance experience and is based at the company’s Aberdeen, UK headquarters.

Tidewater Inc. announced today a second quarter net loss for the period ended September 30, 2011, of $4.9 million, or $0.09 per share, on revenues of $250.9 million. For the same quarter last year, net earnings were $19.4 million, or $0.38 per share, on revenues of $267.1 million. The immediately preceding quarter ended June 30, 2011, had net earnings of $24.6 million, or $0.48 per common share, on revenues of $254.6 million. Included in the current fiscal quarter’s net loss is a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $30.9 million ($22.1 million after tax, or $0.43 per share), resulting from the Company’s decision to change its reportable segments during the September 2011 quarter.