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Masirah News

11 Mar 2024

US-British Forces Strike Houthi Targets in Yemen

© Peter Hermes Furian / Adobe Stock

Yemen's port city of Hodeidah and other western coastal areas were hit on Monday by a dozen airstrikes attributed to a U.S.-British coalition defending ships in the Red Sea, according to Al Masirah, the main Houthi-run television news outlet.The strikes follow the first civilian fatalities and vessel loss since the Iran-aligned Houthis began attacking commercial shipping in November. They also coincide with the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a period of fasting for Muslims.Al Masirah did not specify which targets…

04 Mar 2024

Ships Entering Yemeni Waters Must Obtain Permit, Houthi Minister Says

© Celt Studio / Adobe Stock

Ships will have to obtain a permit from Yemen's Houthi-controlled Maritime Affairs Authority before entering Yemeni waters, Houthi Telecommunications Minister Misfer Al-Numair said on Monday.Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's offensive in Gaza.The near-daily attacks have forced firms into long and costly diversions around southern Africa…

03 Mar 2024

Esgian Week 9 Report: Dolphin, Diamond and Seadrill Updates

© AndSus / Adobe Stock

Esgian reports rig-related updates from Dolphin Drilling, Diamond Offshore, and Seadrill in its Week 9 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDespite Tullow Oil’s recent announcement that it would take a break from drilling offshore Ghana, Noble Corp. has stated that there has been no contract termination announcement and that its 12,000-ft drillship Noble Venturer is currently still contracted to Tullow into March 2025.Masirah Oil Ltd has signed a rig contract with…

02 Feb 2021

UN Bid to Avert Oil Spill Off Yemen Uncertain as Houthis Mull 'Review'

Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies

Yemen's Houthi group has advised the United Nations to pause preparations to deploy a team to assess a decaying oil tanker threatening to spill 1.1 million barrels of crude oil off the war-torn country's coast, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday.The tanker Safer has been stranded off Yemen's Red Sea oil terminal of Ras Issa for more than five years, and U.N. officials have warned it could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.Houthi authorities gave long-awaited approval in November for a visit to assess the tanker. A U.N.

27 Nov 2019

Masirah Contracts Wings Offshore for FSO

Masirah Oil, an exploration and production company operating Block 50 offshore Oman, has awarded a contract to Wings Offshore for a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel, which will be used on a field located offshore Oman.Masirah said it had awarded the FSO contract to Wings Offshore for the Mt Bull Papua, which is an Aframax tanker with a storage capacity of 750,000 barrels.The FSO will be used to store crude oil that will be produced during the early appraisal phase of the Yumna field in Block 50 Oman.Drilling of the Yumna 1 appraisal well is planned to start in December 2019, it said.Masirah Oil holds a 100 per cent interest in Block 50 Oman.

18 Jun 2019

Houthis to Allow U.N. to Inspect Ships in Hodeidah

Yemen's Houthi movement and the United Nations have agreed on a mechanism to inspect ships docking at Hodeidah following the group's withdrawal from three Red Sea ports under a U.N.-sponsored deal, a Houthi official and a U.N. source said.The Houthis' unilateral pullout last month from the ports of Saleef, used for grain, Ras Isa oil terminal and Hodeidah, the main entry point for commercial and aid imports, represented the only progress in implementing the deal reached last December."We agreed with the U.N. on a mechanism to inspect ships docking in the ports of Hodeidah and its implementation will start in the coming days," Houthi…

25 Jul 2018

Saudi Oil Tanker Attacked Off Yemen Coast

© Anatoly Menzhiliy / Adobe Stock

Yemen's Houthis attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, causing slight damage, an Arab coalition said on Wednesday, after the Houthis reported targeting a Saudi warship in the area.Saudi Arabia and its coalition of Sunni Muslim allies have been fighting in Yemen for three years against the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control much of north Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and drove a Saudi-backed government into exile in 2014.One of the coalition's main justifications for its intervention is to protect shipping routes such as the Red Sea…

09 Jan 2015

New RAmparts Tugs for PSA Marine

Photo courtesy of Robert Allan Ltd.

A year after PSA Marine, Singapore took delivery of Rubicon, its first ever RAmparts 3200CL tug from Cheoy Lee Shipyards, Hong Kong in December 2013, the same builder has now put four more similar tugs, OLNG Sur, OLNG Seeb, OLNG Masirah and OLNG Muttrah into the hands of PSA Marine Qalhat SAOC. These tugs are similar to their predecessors in this design series, with modifications to suit the owner's requirements for operations at the LNG terminal in the Port of Qalhat in Oman.

12 Jun 2014

Tropical Storm Expected To Hit Omani Coast

Adverse weather from 15 to 17 June may affect cargo operations & marine movements of Port Sultan Qaboos, as a result of a tropical storm expected to hit the Omani coast on Sunday (15 June). The Omani Metrological Department has this morning issued a weather warning advising that Tropical Storm "Nanauk" is expected to hit the Omani coast between Ras Al Hadd and Ras Madrakah on 15 June. At the time of reporting, the storm was centered about 850km from Masirah Island, and estimated wind surface wind speed were between 35 and 45 knots. If the storm reaches Sharqiyah, it might affect Muscat, particularly northern areas of the governorate. The storm could bring between 100-300mm of rain during the 24-hour period.

11 Jun 2014

All Ports In India Alerted On Cyclonic Storm 'Nanauk'

All ports in India have been alerted about the deep depression over east central Arabian Sea has moved slowly westwards, intensified into a cyclonic storm 'NANAUK' and lay centred at 0530 hours IST of today, 11 June 2014 near latitude 16.50 N and longitude 67.20 E, about 660 km southwest of Mumbai, 590 km south-southwest of Veraval and 990km southeast of Masirah Island (Oman). It would intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm during next 24 hrs. It would move west-northwestwards towards Oman coast during next 72 hrs. Under the influence of this system, rainfall would occur at most places with isolated heavy falls over coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep during the next 24 hours.

06 Mar 2014

First Successful Flow Test from East of Oman in 30 Years

Masirah Oil Limited announced the testflow rates of the previously announced discovery at the second exploration well in Block 50 Oman, were very encouraging. The exploration well was drilled to its final depth into the Cambrian formation. The key objectives of the exploration well were to prove the presence of movable hydrocarbons and a working petroleum system within the block. Several zones in the well show evidence of hydrocarbon presence. During a 48-hour test, hydrocarbons were flowed to the surface and the well achieved light oil flow rate of up to 3000 stock tank barrels per day (stb/d) with no water production. This is the first offshore oil discovery in the east of Oman after more than 30 years of exploration activities.

04 Feb 2014

Oil Discovered in Second Oman Exploration Well

Aban Vll: Photo courtesy of Rex International

Masirah Oil Limited has announced the successful reach of the well target depth in the second exploration well in Block 50 Oman to its final depth of >3,000 metres into the Cambrian formation. Hydrocarbons were discovered in several formations with good oil sample extracted. The well will undergo data acquisition before setting the completion for testing. The well was drilled using the independent leg cantilever jack-up drilling rig Aban VII. Mr Hans Lidgren, Chairman of Masirah…

25 Nov 2013

Rex International Joint Entity Spuds First Well in Oman

Rex International Holding Limited, one of the largest companies listed on the Catalyst of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, announced that its jointly-controlled entity, Lime Petroleum Plc, through its subsidiary Masirah Oil Ltd., has begun drilling and exploration well in Masirah North North #1 (MNN #1), located in the Block 50 Oman concession, on November 25, 2013. This is part of a two-well drilling program in the concession. The prospect MNN #1, which is about 1,000 meters in depth, was selected for drilling after in-depth technical evaluation and verification using the proprietary Rex Virtual Drilling technology, in addition to confirmations provided via conventional methodologies.

13 Nov 2013

First Vessel Launched for Oman's National Ferries

Photo: Strategic Marine

Asian shipbuilder Strategic Marine launched the Shanna, the first of two 45-meter ro-pax catamarans to the National Ferries Company of Oman. The vessel is the first of its kind built by Strategic at its Vietnam shipyard, underscoring the operation's multi-markets shipbuilding capability. The sister vessel, the Jawharat, will deliver at the end of November. "The global ferry market is of significant importance to us and we have strong pedigree in building these and similar types of vessels in our other regional yards," said Reece Newbold, Group Business Development Manager.

03 Apr 2013

Bulk Carrier Catches Fire, Sinks off Oman

'Atlantik Confidence': Photo credit NATO

The Liberian-flag bulker 'Atlantik Confidence' reported an engine room fire and sank over the Easter week-end. Rescue of the 21-member Turkish crew was supervised by USS Nicholas which was dispatched from routine NATO Task Force counter-piracy operations in the area. The U.S. warship  took command of the rescue operation and sent its helicopter to cover the 80 miles to the vessel to assess the immediate needs. Upon reaching the scene it was observed that the merchant vessel was already partially sunk but still floating.

23 Feb 2011

Admiral Provides Details of Somali Piracy Killings

Four pirates are dead and 15 are in custody, but not before they killed four Americans in the bloodiest piracy incident in recent history, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command told reporters in a conference call. Navy Vice Adm. Mark I. Fox, who also commands the Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the pirates shot Scott and Jean Adams of California and Phyllis Mackay and Bob Riggle of Washington state. The surface vessel Quest was sailing around the world when the Somalis hijacked it off the coast of Oman. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Air Force One that President Barack Obama authorized the use of force if there was an imminent threat to the hostages. He said the president was informed of their deaths at 4:42 this morning.

13 Feb 2011

MV Sinin Believed Pirated in Arabian Sea

On the afternoon of 12 February, the MV Sinin is believed to have been pirated approximately 350 nautical miles East of Masirah (Oman) in the North Arabian Sea. The vessel, which has a crew of 23 (13 Iranian and 10 Indian nationals), sent out a distress signal, saying she was under attack, late afternoon on Saturday to which an aircraft from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) immediately responded. The aircraft photographed 2 suspected pirate skiffs on board the vessel. There has been no communication with the ship since the distress signal was sent and the MV Sinin has now changed course towards the Somali coast. There is no information on the condition of the crew. The MV Sinin is a Maltese flagged and owned Bulk Carrier.