Steel Renewals News

World Marine of Alabama (WMA) said it has won a contract to drydock and repair the Dredge Wheeler, a hopper dredge owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Since the Wheeler’s commissioning at Avondale Shipyards in 1982, WMA’s facility in Mobile, Ala. has drydocked and repaired the Dredge Wheeler on many occasions, including a complete repowering of the vessel in 2012. As the largest and most powerful hopper dredge in the USACE fleet, the Dredge Wheeler is a 408-foot trailing suction hopper dredge with a hopper capacity of over 8,200 cubic yards.

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.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Buffalo District has awarded a repair contract to Great Lakes Shipyard for two tugs and two barges from the Corps’ Cleveland Field Station. The shipyard said it has been contracted to perform drydocking, maintenance and repairs of the 109-foot Tug Cheraw and 53-foot Tug Donlon, and the 120-foot Deck Barges BD-6259 and BC-6472. Work includes underwater hull cleaning and maintenance, as well as inspection and testing of propulsion systems…

As part of the Government's investment in its Coast Guard fleet, Federal Ministers Gail Shea and Rob Moore announce the award of a $1.2 million contract to St. John’s Dockyard Limited for Vessel Life Extension (VLE) and refit work to Canadian Coast Guard vessel 'CCGS Cygnus', . In the unprecedented investment to the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet renewal program allocated in Economic Action Plan 2012, the Harper Government will extend the lives of sixteen Coast Guard vessels and complete mid-life modernizations on an additional two existing hovercraft over the next 10 years.

The month of January 2013 was again a very busy month for A&P Shipyards in the northeast of England. Longstone (Andrew Weir Shipping) - undocked early January after      an intensive 12 day programme overhauling the stern ramp, vent fans and      sea valves. The ship sailed away on time on 4th January. Pride of York (P&O) - docked on 22nd January where she underwent her annual refit. She sailed on      the 10th February. The Tyne saw a couple of demobilisation projects for Technip Offshore Wind Limited in January on UR101 and AMT Discoverer. Both projects involved removal of cable carousels and associated equipment. They both successfully completed on time. The same owners have now just stemmed another mobilisation on the Normand Progress.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd's (Keppel O&M) subsidiaries, Keppel Subic Shipyard, Inc. (Keppel Subic Shipyard) in the Philippines and Keppel Verolme BV (Keppel Verolme) in the Netherlands, have secured contracts totalling S$160 million. Keppel Subic Shipyard has been awarded a contract from Shell Philippines Exploration BV (SPEX) to build a Depletion Compression Platform (DCP) to support the recovery of natural gas from the Malampaya gas field near Palawan Island, in the Philippines. When completed, the DCP will be deployed next to an existing shallow water production platform. The DCP is designed to maintain the current availability and deliverability of natural gas from the Malampaya field through regulating the gas export pressure and flow rates.

In just 90 days, the Harris Pye Group successfully completed the survey and upgrade of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc’s (DODI) dynamically positioned drillship, the Ocean Clipper. All work was completed within schedule. Totalling 247,235 man hours and utilising a 600-plus workforce, the contract was one of the largest offshore oil and gas projects for the South Wales headquartered company. Despite the time-critical schedule, extraordinarily high man hours and large workforce, safety standards were superb and there were no serious accidents or injuries to any personnel.

A subsidiary of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. has awarded dockside shipyard work on the Ocean Baroness semisubmersible-drilling rig to Signal International, LLC. The rig is currently docked at Signal’s Pascagoula Mississippi East Yard undergoing mooring chain inspection and chain locker repairs, general steel renewals, piping upgrades and ABS survey work. Ongoing enhancements at the East Yard have enabled Signal to accommodate large semisubmersibles, such as the Baroness, that draw over thirty feet of water depth. A 60-ft water depth by 300 x 500 ft hole was dredged near the dock. Additional dredging, from 35-ft to 42-ft depth, was also completed along a 1,005 ft stretch at the East Yard’s dockside.

Joseph E. Royce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and President of TBS International Limited, stated: "We attribute these record results to the efforts of our worldwide team of shipping professionals delivering our TBS Five Star Service (Ocean Transportation, Logistics, Portside Services, Operations and Strategic Planning) to our global customer base. TBS owns its vessels, deals directly with our clients and presently does not have vessels on long term time charters. "We are in unprecedented times for the global economy and dry cargo shipping industry. The stagnation caused by the crisis in the financial community has interrupted normal trade and reduced cargo movement.

A&P Southampton has recently completed dry docking and repairs aboard the heavy lift ship, Strong Virginian, a vessel owned by Van Ommeren Shipping (U.S.) LLC. The 21,541dwt vessel arrived for dry docking on May 27 following a period alongside in Marchwood Military Port, where she was demobilized prior to refit. A team from A&P Southampton assisted with the demobilization which included releasing sea fastenings and providing support to the ship's staff for removal of US Army landing craft. During this period, emergency repairs were carried out to the electrical supply equipment to the vessel's bow thruster including the supply, installation and commissioning of major switchboard components.

The Empress of the North left Vigor Marine's shipyard with all repairs successfully and safely completed. The project went smoothly, with no unexpected findings over the course of the job. The work package for the dry docking included steel repairs, hull coating, and general inspections. Vigor Marine was able to complete the steel renewals four days ahead of schedule without incident or injury. The Empress of the North will travel to Juneau in preparation for her return to service on July 7. The ship will make 11 roundtrip sailings from July through September.

A new initiative, for closer monitoring of steel thickness measurement companies, has been taken by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). Under a new Procedural Requirement (PR 23), which took effect on 1 August, all IACS members are obliged to report any change in the status of approval of TM companies. A full list of thickness measurement (TM) companies approved by IACS members is now available on the IACS Website (www.iacs.org.uk). These TM companies are approved to take steel thickness gauging of ships subject to the Enhanced Survey Program (ESP). IACS Permanent Secretary Richard Leslie says: “TM companies play a central role in the assessment of vessel condition.

Sun Cruises’ 22,945grt cruise liner, Sundream, has left A&P Southampton’s King George V Dry Dock after completion of a three-week dry dock and repair program. The 1,257 passenger, 1970-built vessel is a regular visitor to the port of Southampton and Harwich, but was its first visit to A&P. In addition to the usual general repairs, the program focused on extensive steel renewals to the vessel’s ballast and fuel tanks, upgrade and renewal of the sanitary pipe work systems, as well as the removal and overhaul of both stabilisers, and assistance with the partial installation of a new sprinkler system. David Parry, managing director of A&P Southampton Ltd is delighted with the outcome of the project. “Pre-docking planning was the key to our success on the Sundream.

ABS has launched a detailed technical investigation into the possible causes of the damage sustained by the 81,589 dwt, Bahamas-flag tanker Prestige, operated by Universe Maritime Ltd of Greece. "Early reports of the incident have been confusing with respect to the type of damage sustained, the possible causes of the damage and the extent of the pollution that occurred," said ABS President Robert D. Somerville. "Now that the salvors appear to have stabilized the vessel, we have asked all the parties concerned for full details, including the initial and damaged loading conditions so that we can conduct appropriate strength and stability analyses," he said. "We have also established a close liaison with the flag State.

Offshore Inland Marine & Oilfield Services of Mobile, Ala., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Offshore Inland Services that commenced operations on December 1, 2000. The fledgling operation timed its entrance into the market perfectly, and despite its short time of operation it is considerably long on references. Offshore Inland Marine & Oilfield Services - which is ISO 9000 compliant - primarily is involved in the following business operations: turn-key hydraulic system engineering; hydraulic/pneumatic tubing & piping; steel renewals & fabrications; inside & outside machinists; and providing class certified welders. The organization's expertise has been utilized on many of the world's most sophisticated offshore structures and vessels.

Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas spent three months in drydock Alabama, at Atlantic Marine's Mobile, Ala. facility, earlier this year. The vessel required approximately 460 tons of bottom shell plating and internals to be replaced as a result of a grounding. Atlantic's hull and production departments were able to average more than 7.3 tons of steel renewals per day, in spite of the requirement to clean and gas-free some 114 compartments and tanks. Initially, Atlantic Marine had guaranteed an average of six tons of hull renewals per day, based on approcimately 350 tons of steel and four compartments and tanks to be cleaned and gas-freed. With the increase of the initial work scope, Atlantic Marine required only three additional days in drydock.

As part of the Partnership Agreement between Grimaldi Group, Naples and the U.K.'s A&P Group signed earlier this year, the Italian shipping company recently awarded repair contracts to both A&P Falmouth and A&P Southampton. The 51,714grt RoRo Gran Bretagna, which dry docked in Falmouth, and the 56,642 grt RoRo Grande America which dry docked in Southampton, completed repairs, the work scope including various steel renewals, mechanical overhauls including work to the bow thrusters, drencher system pipe renewals and preparation and painting of the vessels hulls and associated equipment. Both vessels were completed during their scheduled repair periods (12 and 13 days respectively), with the A&P workforce working around the clock to complete on time.