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Thursday 24 May 2012

Multraship to take delivery of new Damen ASD 3212 tug.


LEADING towage and salvage specialist Multraship is to take delivery of a new design of ASD 3212 tug from the Galati, Romania yard of the Damen Shipyards Group.

The new ASD 3212 Multratug 19 has been built to a completely new design specification developed after a period of intensive research. Multraship’s specification called for a tug with minimum 80 tons bollard pull (BP), able to serve specific market segments. During its initial sea trials, Multratug 19 achieved over 83 tons BP and a speed of almost 15 knots. Final tests will be carried out in The Netherlands. The new design has been thoroughly researched over an extensive period, resulting in a tug that can perform to maximum efficiency in rough weather conditions.

Multratug 19 performed well in 3.5 m waves and is very suitable for escort services. Exhaustive research went into the design of the tug’s winch, which has been developed by Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam (part of the Damen Shipyards Group) and Bosch Rexroth, in co-operation with Lloyd’s Register.

Multratug 19 is the second vessel to be built by Damen for Multraship, following the 2010 delivery of the newbuilding ASD3213 tug, Multratug 3, built at Damen’s Vietnam yard.  

Leendert Muller, Managing Director of Multraship, says, “This is an industry which requires ongoing investment in order to provide the level of expertise and service which our clients need and demand. This new order confirms Multraship’s commitment to investing in new tonnage, and new technology, and we are pleased to be working once again with Damen Shipyards, following our previous successful collaboration on Multratug 3.”

Damen delivered two ASD 3212 tugs earlier this year to an Australian coal terminal operator, and a further 85-ton BP vessel, a sister tug to Multratug 19, has been sold to Intertug S.A. (Colombia) for delivery in June 2012 from Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania.

Multratug 19 will be unveiled at the opening ceremony of the International Tug and Salvage Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain, on May 28.  

For a photo of Multratug 19, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/Merlinclients/Multraship

Multraship is a leading Dutch towage and salvage company. It draws on a century of experience in the maritime sector. Multraship’s core operations include salvage, wreck removal, harbour towage, ocean towage, services to the dredging, offshore and wind-farm industries, and support for inland navigation. It operates and manages a large fleet of tugs, salvage vessels, floating sheerlegs and other craft equipped with modern towage, salvage and fire-fighting equipment and manned by experienced and highly-trained masters and crew. www.multraship.com




Damen Shipyards Group (est. 1927) is a globally operating company with 37 owned shipyards and numerous partner yards. It is a major international group, but remains a family-owned company with a proud maritime heritage. Damen employs over 6,000 people, has built over 5,000 vessels worldwide and delivers up to 150 vessels annually. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept and short delivery times, Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality. Damen’s focus on standardisation and modular construction results in short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale value, proven technology and reliable performance. Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, patrol vessels, high-speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, offshore support vessels, oil-spill response vessels, frigates and mega-yachts. In addition to shipbuilding, Damen offers efficient customer support, customer financing and complete lifecycle service.




For more information contact:              
Eline Muller                                                 
Multraship B.V.                                           
Tel. +31 (0) 115 645 000                           
                                   


Jan-Hein Reeringh
Damen
Communications Advisor
Tel: +31 (0)183 63 98 82
+31 (0)612 20 77 96


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Tuesday 22 May 2012

Graig secures ten-vessel supervision contract for Global Union suezmax newbuildings


Graig China Ltd (GCL), part of the Cardiff-based Graig Group, has been contracted by Hong Kong-based Global Union Shipping Limited to supervise the construction of ten 157,000 dwt suezmax crude oil tankers building at Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Co Ltd in China. The last vessel in the ten-ship order is due for delivery in January 2014.

GCL is supervising – or has already delivered - forty other newbuildings at the Rongsheng shipyard. The total number of ships in GCL’s newbuilding programme is now nearing 150.

Global Union says that one of the main reasons it chose Graig for the supervision of the suezmax tanker newbuildings was the fact that it had been very impressed by the excellent performance of GCL and the fitting-out evident in other newbuildings in China supervised by Graig.

The Graig Group is a broad-based international ship owning and shipping services group delivering technical and commercial ship management, newbuilding supervision,  lay-up services, ship design, ship owning, ship finance and marine consultancy to global clients who appreciate personal service.

Graig has been building, managing and owning ships since 1919. Today it provides technical management and crewing for a mixed fleet of vessels on behalf of a number of owners. It has supervised over 100 newbuildings for itself and major shipowners and provides technical consultancy and management support services to two major banks with a financed fleet of over 100 vessels. Graig develops advanced designs such as the successful Diamond series of bulk carriers. It can source yards and finance and provide newbuilding supervision and follow up with in service management. Based in the UK, Graig has offices in Cardiff, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Manila. www.graig.com



For further information contact:                       
Chris Williams
Graig                                                                          
+44 2920 440 200                                                     chris.williams@graig.com                                          

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Monday 21 May 2012

RINA Group to project-manage Indonesian FSRU


Italy-based RINA Group will deliver concept selection, FEED, support during negotiations with potential shipyards, project management during construction, and support for commissioning for a new floating LNG FSRU terminal in South Sumatra, Indonesia. RINA has been appointed by PGAS Solution, a subsidiary of PGN, Indonesia’s largest natural gas distribution company, which will own and operate the FSRU.

The Floating Storage and Regasification Unit is to serve as an LNG importing hub for PGN in South Sumatra and will have a storage capacity of 170,000 cu m and a regasification capacity up to 500 mmscfd. FSRU Charlie will be installed at Labuhan Maringgai Lampung in a water depth of about 20 m and linked to the shore by a 21 km pipeline. The terminal is intended to come into service in mid-2014.

Angelo Lo Nigro, energy development manager, RINA, says, “RINA has been selected because we can deliver a wide range of engineering and marine competence and proven experience with offshore gas. Floating solutions for LNG and CNG exploitation and transportation are a fast-growing area. Our experience gives us a lead in helping utilities to bring projects on stream quickly and safely.”

The appointment by PGAS Solution builds on RINA’s recent appointment to deliver the world’s first marine CNG project in Indonesia, and on its experience with offshore LNG worldwide. That includes the world’s first offshore LNG terminal in the Adriatic, which is now on stream, the OLT Livorno, which will be the world’s first floating offshore terminal and which is under conversion under RINA supervision, the technical and economic feasibility study of an FSRU for West Ghana, engineering analyses for the side-by-side configuration of an FSRU off Montevideo, and authority engineering for the Italian Falconara FSRU.

The RINA Group is an international company that helps enterprises and communities to achieve greater competitiveness and effective risk management through the conception, creation, management and assessment of projects. The Group has developed the best competencies and combined them with its own values of integrity and responsibility, gained in over 150 years of experience, into a way of working that meets the highest expectations.  RINA Group delivers advanced technical competency through a network of companies dedicated to different sectors covering Environment and Quality, Energy, Maritime, Ethics and Safety, Food Production and Healthcare, Infrastructures and Constructions, Logistics and Transport. With a turnover of around 300 million Euros in 2012, over 2,100 employees, and 130 offices in 42 countries worldwide, RINA meets the needs of its clients and is recognized by an authoritative member of key international organizations as an important contributor to the development of new legislative standards. www.rina.org



For more information:
Claudia Filippone
Head of Media Relations RINA
+39 010 5385643

Giulia Faravelli
Media Relations Manager
+39 010 5385505

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Thursday 10 May 2012

New davit regulations drive offshore market step change


New regulations on davits used in the offshore industry on both sides of the Atlantic are driving a step change in safe davit design, says Norwegian boat handling specialist Vestdavit. Writing in its newsletter Vestdavit says that in the USA API 2 and in Norway NORSOK R002 regulations will come into force from 2015. Both sets of regulations apply to davits and lifting appliances used on offshore installations and specify many new design features and safety systems.


In Norwegian waters, NORSOK R002 will be retrospective, requiring every davit on offshore platforms in Norwegian waters to be inspected and updated to the new standards. Although strictly applying only to fixed installations, the new standards are already being seen as raising the bar for offshore boat handling systems on ships serving in the offshore industry. It is likely that the majority of offshore contractors and labour organisations will demand the same standards of safety on ships as on fixed rigs, and the first OSV fitted with NORSOK-compliant davits is about to enter into service.


 For a copy of Vestdavit's newsletter e mail john@merlinco.com



Vestdavit designs, supplies and supports tailor-made solutions for launching and recovering boats in difficult conditions at sea. Its range of boat handling systems and davits are the first choice of navies, coastguards, seismic survey operators, pilot authorities and offshore operators who need to be able to operate small boats safely from larger vessels. www.vestdavit.no

Wednesday 9 May 2012

ITIC says ship managers must beware increase in claims by owners

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says it has seen a noticeable increase in claims against ship managers by shipowners who are going through difficult financial times.


In the latest issue of its Claims Review, ITIC notes that, as result of their financial difficulties, owners resist paying for the full maintenance of their ships and also end up owing ship managers not only for their own fees but also for disbursements paid on owners’ behalf. When ship managers try to collect the funds due, they are faced with a claim for negligence in the management of the ship. In ITIC’s experience, once shipowners fail to put managers in funds, the situation rarely improves, and usually deteriorates. The resulting claims are time-consuming and costly to defend.


ITIC says that it is of the utmost importance that ship managers’ records and correspondence with shipowners are clear and in good order. By way of illustration it cites a dispute between the manager and owner of a ship involving a balance of funds owed to the manager. It was agreed that those funds would be put into an escrow account. The matter remained idle for five months, until the owner raised a claim against the ship manager, through its lawyers, for alleged negligence. The owner claimed that the ship manager was in breach of its duty to maintain the ship in an efficient, employable state and that, as a result, it had suffered significant losses. The claim put forward by the ship owner was in excess of $17m and included alleged losses in respect of the vessel’s future employment, expenses paid by the shipowner for repairs/spares/drydockings, reduction in the vessel’s market value, and other additional damages.


The ship manager rejected these allegations in full and lawyers were appointed by ITIC to defend its position. The manager maintained that the vessel’s condition had deteriorated due to age, constraints of trade, and expenditure and maintenance restrictions imposed by the owner. The manager further stated that the owner was fully aware of the deficiencies and the condition of the ship when it was taken under management. Despite this, the owner had not taken the necessary steps to facilitate remedial action.


Lawyers for the owner aggressively pursued the claim against the manager. However, the manager’s files and correspondence on the ship were in good condition, and a thorough audit trail existed for every decision regarding the running and maintenance of the ship. The ship was eventually scrapped, but the owner continued to maintain that it had a claim against the manager, even though it was unable to provide any proof or to document its losses.


Eventually, after two years, the claim was finalised on a drop-hands basis. The total cost of the legal fees to defend the innocent ship manager was $250,000.


Copies of the ITIC Claims Review can be requested from: chris@merlinco.com
ITIC is managed by Thomas Miller. More details about the club and the services it offers can be found on ITIC’s website at www.itic-insure.com
For more information:
Charlotte Kirk
ITIC
Tel. +44 (0)20 7338 0150
Fax. +44 (0)20 7338 0151
charlotte.kirk@thomasmiller.com

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