Schat News

As maritime markets continue to struggle, merger and acquisition activity should heat up. Today, Austria's Palfinger Group announced that it intends to acquire 100% of the shares in Herkules Harding Holding AS and thus, the globally operating Harding Group. The seller is the Norwegian private equity fund Herkules. Harding is a leading suppliers of lifesaving equipment and lifecycle services for maritime installations and ships. Through this acquisition, PALFINGER will add new products and an international service network to its marine business.

The Ocean Class Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) vessel hull number 27 started its official life as the R/V Neil Armstrong, the first research vessel named after a space explorer. The ship was designed by Guido Perla and Associates and built at Dakota Creek Industries (DCI). R/V Neil Armstrong will replace the R/V Knorr, in service since 1968, one year before Armstrong’s walk on the moon. The R/V Knorr, AGOR-15, is retiring after logging over one million miles in service to the Navy and WHOI.

On March 29, the Ocean Class Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) vessel hull number 27 started its official life as the R/V Neil Armstrong, the first research vessel named after a space explorer. Carol Armstrong, the widow of the famed astronaut, performed the christening duties during a brief sunbreak on a windy and rainy Pacific Northwest afternoon. The number of illustrious speakers highlighted the rich diversity of agencies involved in the design, construction and operation of the vessel.

Since new owners took over Schat-Harding and Noreq in June, Styrk Bekkenes, chief executive of Noreq, has been appointed CEO of Harding – a new large joint company for the development and production of life-saving equipment. Harding will have more than 900 employees in 30 different locations worldwide. Its head office will be at Seimsfoss in Kvinnherad. The new owners, spearheaded by the investment fund Herkules, wish to further develop the best life-saving equipment from Schat-Harding and Noreq.

Indofin Group, the investment company, owned by the De Bruin family, has acquired a majority shareholding of 62% in IHC Merwede. Rabo Capital (10%) and IHC Merwede management and staff (28%) are the other principal shareholders. Indofin has obtained this significant stake in IHC Merwede by partially taking out each of its coshareholders. Indofin’s Chairman, Cees de Bruin, said, “We have already been a shareholder of this great company for eight years and we are in full support of the current direction that continues to pay off. Rabo Capital has also taken this opportunity to announce that it has reached its strategic goal with IHC Merwede.

On Monday, June 10, Herkules signed an agreement to acquire Umoe Schat-Harding AS. The acquisition is being carried out in cooperation with the owners of Noreq AS, who, in parallel, are selling Noreq to Herkules and reinvesting a substantial amount in a new, joint holding company. The transactions are expected to be finalized the first half of July. The intention with the acquisition is to build on Schat-Harding's and Noreq's strong market positions in the new combined company. For 2013 the companies expect total revenues of approximately NOK 1.2 billion.

The world’s leading lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding has strengthened its support for North Sea operators by opening new offices and service centres in Bergen and Stavanger. Both bases will focus on delivering in-service support and maintenance for lifeboats and davits in the North Sea. “Our clients are the major North Sea oil and gas operators and they don’t just want to buy boats and davits,” says Petter Hernaes, Vice President, Nordic region, Schat-Harding Services. “They want to buy a lifetime of safe and trouble-free operation.

Lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding has set a new freefall lifeboat record with its new generation FF1200 boat. The boat was successfully dropped from a freefall height of 60 metres. The world record drop was conducted as part of the certification tests of the boat. “The FF1200 managed this height in an excellent way,” says Geir Arne Veglo, CEO of Umoe Schat-Harding Equipment AS. “The FF1200 entered the water cleanly and made excellent headway.” The boat was loaded with seven tonnes to simulate the full capacity of 70 100kg people.

Lifeboat manufacturer and service provider Schat-Harding has widened the range of its global service network to cover multi-brand servicing and the re-hooking of lifeboats. For the first time, shipowners and offshore operators will be able to get most of their lifeboats, hooks, winches and davits serviced by a trained engineer working to the highest global standards, backed by a global service network. They will also be able to use Schat-Harding’s range of modern hooks to replace older models which may no longer meet IMO standards in most boats.

Leading lifeboat manufacturer and service provider Schat-Harding has completed all tests required by IMO to ensure that its SeaCure lifeboat release and retrieval systems (the new name for hooks) meet the new IMO guidelines for existing and new lifeboats. Reacting to industry requests Schat-Harding has also developed a Secondary Safety System (SSS) for the SeaCure hook. Although not required by IMO guidelines or SOLAS regulations, the SSS is recommended by many shipping industry groups…

Leading lifeboat manufacturer and service provider Schat-Harding says more shipowners are opting to enter into long-term service agreements in order to ensure priority service for the lifeboats, davits and hooks on their vessels. David Torres, vice-president sales, Schat-Harding Service, says, “We see a welcome trend away from ad hoc servicing of key lifesaving equipment and a move towards long-term Fleet Service Agreements. With world trade growing, shipowners cannot afford delays or detentions related to Life Saving Appliances.

Lifeboat manufacturer and service provider Schat-Harding says IMO and some parts of the shipping industry need to move more quickly to a consensus on vital lifeboat safety issues which have important consequences for the safety of seafarers. David Bradley, vice president operations, Schat-Harding Service says, “Good things are worth waiting for. But there is such a thing as waiting too long. The IMO debate over lifeboat hooks has gone on for too long. Seafarers deserve better.

High and increasing demand from international shipowners and local shipyards has led lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding to invest in a state-of-the-art lifeboat servicing facility in Shanghai, China. Umoe Schat-Harding LSA Service (Shanghai) Co Ltd began work as a company in its own right in December 2009. Located in Pudong Shanghai, with service offices in Guangzhou and Qingdao, it is a development of Schat-Harding's fast growing Chinese servicing network. "We started a service station in China in 2006 in Qingdao, moved to Shanghai in 2007, opened a second office in Guangzhou in 2008 and now we have this superb new facility here," said Andrew Lemmis, managing director.

Lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding has delivered the world’s largest lifeboats, complete with unique davit systems, to the Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas. The Oasis of the Seas is equipped with eighteen of Schat-Harding’s unique, 370-person CRV55 lifeboats and LS45 davit systems. The CRV55 has a catamaran hull, which provides excellent sea-keeping capability and maneuverability. The LS45 davit, meanwhile, is a completely new integrated system for cruise vessels.

Schat-Harding is expanding its global service network with a new Italian office and service station in Livorno. It will be a branch office of USH Spain and will be managed by Enrico Venezia, who has experience with lifeboat servicing, and has until recently been based in Miami servicing cruise vessels. "There is a very strong base of Italian owners who are safety conscious, and of course the Italian ports get a lot of cruise calls," explains David Bradley, Executive Vice-President and head of Schat-Harding's service division. Umoe Schat-Harding S.L.

Lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding has set a world record for lifeboat freefall drop by launching its new FF1200 offshore lifeboat from a drop height of 55 m. With an all up weight of 30 tons, the FF1200 was dropped into the sea from a 55 m test rig at Schat-Harding's Rosendal facility in west Norway. The boat surfaced with powerful positive headway and no internal or external damage. Schat-Harding CEO Ove Roessland says that the 55 m drop height was dictated by the height of the crane available for testing and that the lifeboat was designed to be released over even longer distances.

Lifeboat and davit manufacturer, Schat-Harding, has completed the first freefall drop with its new design of lifeboat for the offshore sector, the FF1200. Schat-Harding CEO Ove Roessland said, “We were acutely aware that, in order to satisfy regulations applying to the Norwegian offshore sector, it was necessary to design a completely new lifeboat. Now, after several years of research and development, and the successful completion of high-scale module testing, we have produced what we regard as the safest lifeboat ever developed by Schat-Harding.

Schat-Harding, has been contracted by the oil major which operates the Ekofisk field to refurbish nine lifeboats. The boats, all in use on platforms in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, will to be upgraded to meet today’s regulations and standards with regards to stability. The boats will also be refitted with modern Schat-Harding LHR6 stainless steel on-load release hooks. The LHR6 wearless cam hook system is the safest on-load release hook in production. The boats are MCR28 and MCR30 conventional davit launched types, built by Harding Safety in the 1980s. One by one, they will be transported to Schat-Harding’s Seimfoss factory. The work started in March 2009 and will be completed in a period of around 40 weeks.

The Kristin field in the Norwegian Sea came back on stream on Jan. 22. StatoilHydro has replaced lifeboat components and done extensive testing to ensure that these craft function in all weather and wave conditions. Kristin produces about 10 million cubic metres of gas and roughly 10,000 cubic metres of condensate per day. Production capacity is 20,000 cubic metres of condensate and just over 18 million cubic metres of rich gas per day. Production from Kristin has been shut down since 8 January.

After having been docked for 20 days in dry dock ELBE 17 of Blohm + Voss Repair, a company of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the Queen Mary 2 is planned to be undocked on November 13, 2008 as scheduled. The longest ocean liner worldwide is to be undocked with the morning high tide at 3:30 a.m.* (high tide: 4:01 a.m.) to leave for Southampton to start the next transatlantic voyage to New York on November 15, at 5 p.m. After the period at the Hamburg shipyard Blohm + Voss Repair, the Queen Mary 2 will be fit for service for another five years.

Schat-Harding is to launch a new generation freefall lifeboat for the offshore industry at the Offshore North Sea exhibition. 33 m above sea level in extreme conditions. Association) design criteria for lifeboats in the Norwegian offshore sector, which leads the world in offshore safety standards. The FF1200 has additional clearance inside the boat for safety and comfort with a more streamlined shape and powerful engine to give better headway in waves. Improved structural design will maximize canopy strength during the drop and splash in and a new seat design is based on heavier workers, with an average weight of 100 kg. Five point seatbelts will keep passengers from 1.4 m to 2.1 m tall safe and comfortable even with high drop heights into heavy waves. launched into heavy seas.

Lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding has strengthened its support for cruise ship operators in the area by opening a service base in . The new offices, service base and workshops will be within the facilities of Worldwide Marine Services, the global ship technical support group, and Schat-Harding will train and authorize Worldwide Marine technicians to support its own service engineers. The base will provide quick reaction service and repair support to cruise ship operators and also to ships of  any type calling at ports across the Miami region…

Booming demand for lifeboat and davit servicing in China has led leading lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding to open a third Chinese service station, this time in Guangzhou's busy port area of Huangpu.  The new base is close to all the major repair yards in and ideally suited to offer faster response times for the yards and ports of Shenzhen, Hong Kong and the region. It opens on June 1, 2008 with four service engineers and a service administrator.