East Division News

Germany's largest crude oil and natural gas producer Wintershall Holding has appointed Helge Beuthan as new general manager of its Middle East division in Abu Dhabi.Beuthan, the current vice president for global subsurface evaluation, would take over the duties of Uwe Salge in Abu Dhabi on February 1, said a press release from the wholly owned subsidiary of BASF.The previous General Manager will return to Wintershall in Kassel, where he will take over Beuthan's area of responsibility.Helge Beuthan has been with Wintershall since 1995 and brings with him extensive E&P experience from various positions, such as the German oil and gas activities in Barnstorf…

The global provider of maritime services V.Group has appointed Junshan Zou to build, lead and drive V.Group’s activities in China, including business development, ship management and marine services. Speaking about this appointment, Alastair Evitt, Group Managing Director for V.Group’s Ship Management East division said: “We have made a long-term commitment to growing our business in China and I am delighted that Junshan Zou is joining us at what is an exciting time for the Group. Junshan has more than 20 years’ experience in maritime related businesses, building on his early academic and research career with the Shanghai Maritime University. He is the sole author of the book Port Economics and a co-author of two books – Transportation Economics and Management of China National Economy.

V.Group said it has appointed Junshan Zou to build, lead and drive V.Group’s activities in China, including business development, ship management and marine services.“We have made a long-term commitment to growing our business in China,” said Alastair Evitt, Group Managing Director for V.Group’s Ship Management East division. “This new role will enable us to focus our efforts on growing all aspects of V.Group’s business including expanding our pool of Chinese seafarers to meet the future growth needs of the market.”Zou has more than 20 years’ experience in maritime related businesses…

A U.S. Coast Guard International Port Security team completed a bilateral engagement with the Republic of Singapore officials in May. This engagement involved sharing best practices and visiting with representatives from the Maritime and Port Authority to observe the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code at two port facilities in Singapore: Marina Bay Cruise Center and Universal Terminals PTE Ltd. “Everyone has security responsibilities in our global economy,” said Cmdr. Bryson Spangler, ISPS Program liaison officer, U.S.

A U.S. Coast Guard International Port Security team completed a bilateral engagement with Malaysian officials in April. This engagement involved sharing best practices and visiting with the Ministry of Infrastructure Marine and Ports Division to observe the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code at three port facilities: Northport, Port Klang and two port facilities in Penang; Swettenham Cruise Terminal and North Butterworth Container Terminal.

A U.S. Coast Guard International Port Security team completed a bilateral engagement with Japanese officials during the second week of March. The engagement involved sharing best practices and visiting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Ports and Harbors Bureau to observe the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code at two port facilities in Hakata, Japan: the Hakata Chuo passenger wharf and the Hakata island city area container terminal. “Everyone has security responsibilities in our global economy.

Hallin Marine, a Superior Energy Services Company, has appointed a new managing director for its West Division as it grows the capability and assets of its Aberdeen-based operation. Hallin has promoted Giovanni Corbetta to the Managing Director’s role after he distinguished himself as the division’s projects director. Giovanni has strong, industry-wide experience and is considered ideal to lead Hallin’s expansion in the region as it continues its growth from ROV operations to an integrated subsea contractor. Hallin’s West Division has successfully operated a large fleet of ROV vehicles in the northern hemisphere and is emulating the success of the company’s Singapore-based East Division as it adds specialist DP2 vessels, saturation and air diving and engineering to its offering.

Hallin Marine has commenced a large-scale inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) project off the Malaysian peninsula. The contract centers on the oil rig Cendor MOPU which is undergoing an American Bureau of Shipping UWILD underwater survey for a second year in succession. Hallin is providing saturation diving, cleaning, inspection and reporting services. "Demand for marine-support services in Malaysia is steadily increasing," said Rik Zwinkels, Managing Director, Hallin East Division.

Transocean Inc. said that the its jackup GSF Rig 127 set a world record for the longest extended-reach well ever drilled at 40,320 ft. (12,289 m) MD (measured depth) with a 35,770-ft. (10,902-m) horizontal section. The well was drilled offshore Qatar in 36 days and incident-free. The new record of 7.6 miles is also the first well in the history of offshore drilling that exceeds 40,000 ft. (12,191 m). The well surpasses by approximately 2,000 ft. the prior extended-reach record of 38,322 ft. (11,680 m) MD set by another drilling contractor with a land rig drilling at Sakhalin Island earlier this year. The rig's crewmembers, working with the client, Maersk Oil Qatar AS, overcame many constraints, including high drilling torque throughout certain parts of the horizontal section.

Hallin Marine signed a three year charter on a new subsea operations vessel with Seacor Marine (Asia) Pte Ltd, part of Seacor Holdings Inc. Hallin will take delivery of the new build Seacor Penrith in the second quarter of 2008 and will use the vessel to support its diving and Remote Operated Vehicle operations. The 67-m, dynamically positioned (DP2) vessel, has on board accommodation for 52 personnel and is fitted with a 20T SWL active heave compensated subsea crane. The Seacor…

Tidewater Inc. has promoted Reg McNee, head of the company's Far East division for the last three years, to the office of vice president. McNee joined the company in July 1997, and has most recently been in charge of operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and Dubai. He will continue to be based in Singapore. Tidewater owns and operates over 570 vessels.