Marine Log - November 2007 - (Page 34) OFFSHOREENERGY seismic field went to Spain’s Hijos de Barreras SA for its first four cutting edge 12-streamer, 3D seismic vessels, whose hull features the revolutionary Ulstein X-bow. It is now planning to build two more at Dubai Drydocks, following an IPO on the Oslo stock exchange. And Canada’s Davie Shipyard, which not too long ago was on the ICE CLASS TANKERS Canada’s Davie is back in operation, with new owners and an orderbook that includes four advanced offshore construction vessels verge of having its assets put on the auction block, now has new owners, an orderbook that includes three Vik Sandvik design VS4220 offshore construction vessels and an MOU covering construction of two well intervention vessels. Meantime, many of the newbuilding orders that have bolstered the orderbooks at Indian yards have been from the offshore sector. Last month, Norway’s DOF ASA signed contracts with India’s Cochin Shipyard Ltd, covering construction of two supply vessels of Aker PSV 09 CD design. One of the ships will be owned by DOF, the other will be owned by Aker DOF Supply in which DOF has a 50% stake and which has a series of PSV 09 CD’s on order at Aker Yards’ Vietnam yard. A CAUTIONARY TALE Sometimes, though, the quest for alternative yards can bring headaches. Take the cautionary tale of Thule Drilling ASA. It is currently reconstructing a damaged jack-up drilling rig into a modern 250 ft water depth unit with 30,000 ft drilling depth capacity and is also constructing two 300 ft water depth jack-up drilling rigs of Friede & Goldman Super M2 design and a drilling capacity of 30,000 ft. The rigs are being constructed at the QGM-yard in the UAE. Back in July, Thule reported it was taking legal action against the shareholders of QGM, which temporarily closed its fabrication yard in the Hamriyah Free Zone, located in Sharjah UAE, ceasing operations on its contracts for Thule Drilling, effective June 30, 2007. In August, Thule said it had been notified the QGM LLC was “completely out of funds” and, essentially, Thule found itself having to deal with the complexities of a UAE bankruptcy. In mid-September a local court gave Thule access to inspect its rigs and last month reported it had inspected the rigs and associated equipment. Thule said it was “continuously working with the courts in order to gain full access, and to be able to resume maintenance and construction works on its rigs.” It said was “providing all necessary documentation to prove its ownership to the rigs and equipment, and is confident that once the courts have reviewed the documentation 34 MARINE LOG NOVEMBER 2007 www.marinelog.com http://www.lufkin.com http://www.lufkin.com http://www.marinelog.com
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