MENAS Gets New Multipurpose Light Tender

Middle East Navigation Aids Service (MENAS) introduced its new multipurpose light tender vessel Relume in a special naming ceremony at Damen Shipyards’ Royal Schelde facility in Vlissingen, The Netherlands. The vessel, the third MENAS ship to bear the name Relume, was christened by Mrs Chantal E Mitropoulos, wife of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos.

Although the paramount responsibility of the new Relume will be, like that of its predecessors, the provision and maintenance of aids to navigation in the international waters of the Arabian Gulf, the new 82-m long vessel will offer a wide range of related services that neither of the two earlier vessels could perform.

The new Relume has been provided with the following capabilities:

(a) oil spill response and cleanup facilities, backed by accommodation and other onboard arrangements for training personnel from the Gulf region in oil spill response activities;

(b) advanced sonar equipment to enable hydrographic surveying;

(c) an IMO Class 2 Dynamic Positioning System to facilitate functions such as remote-operated vehicle (ROV) operations and geophysical surveys;

(d) multiple electrical power points and a 25-tonne crane to enhance the ship¹s role as a multipurpose field support vessel;

(e) deck space enough for the carriage of up to twelve 20-foot standard containers, 10 of which may be refrigerated; and

(f) a 40-tonne towing winch, the central feature of the ship¹s towage and salvage capabilities.

”The new Relume marks a major transformation in the character of our organization,” said John Gyles, Chairman of MENAS. “The progressive modernization of our aids to navigation equipment and subsequent rationalization of our maintenance practices mean that MENAS can carry out its core activities using less ship¹s time than in the past. MENAS believes that it has a duty to both shipowners and littoral states to promote maritime safety and environmental protection in ways that extend beyond the organization¹s traditional role of maintaining aids to navigation. The new ship, with its wide range of enhanced capabilities, will allow MENAS to achieve this goal.”

Relume has been constructed by Damen Shipyards, the Dutch shipbuilding group that has built more than 3,000 vessels over the past 30 years. Damen specialises in the construction of virtually all types of vessels up to 120 metres in length, including tugs and workboats, high speed and naval craft, fast ferries, offshore support vessels and dredgers.

The 3,529 gross ton (gt) Relume is powered by two Rolls Royce Aquamaster azimuth units of 1,500 kW each. Additional manoeuvring capability is provided by two Rolls Royce Kamewa bow tunnel thruster units of 515 kW each. The Bahamas-flag vessel has a service speed of 13 knots and is classed with Lloyd¹s Register of Shipping as +100A1, UMS, DP(AA), NAV-IBS, Light Tender Occasional Oil Recovery Duties.