TUG Magazine June 20062.09 MB

June 2006
The ‘SSP Piranema’ was offloaded in Rotterdam Europoort and towed
to the Keppel Verolme shipyard in Rotterdam Botlek on May 25th, 2006.
More   
Buoyant performance boosts SMIT’s results
2
Expanding the geographical spread of harbour towage
4
Rapid progress in SMIT’s fleet renewal
4
SMIT Terminals wins new long-term contracts
5
New tugs commence long-term contract in Egypt
6
‘Pentow Service’ flies vessel survey award pennant
6
Global spread of SMIT’s salvage operations
7
Preparing to support Caspian oil and gas developments
9
Sheerlegs ‘Taklift 7’ completes German bridge assignment
3
Big day for ‘Smit Kamara’
4
5
Rotterdam fleet replacement
now under way
11
Installation completed for
‘De Ruyter’ field structures
16
Rotterdam success for ITS 2006
page
Rapid progress in
SMIT’s fleet renewal
page
9
‘Giant 2’ completes Alcan transport programme
10
SMIT’s lead role in windfarm project
10
SMIT Amandla Marine: full ahead for future growth
12
Caring for the marine environment
12
SMIT Singapore receives honours
13
Asian Lift celebrates 20 years
13
SMIT Transport & Heavy Lift expands fleet
13
URS: new tugs for Zeebrugge expected by year-end
14
Sharing knowledge of casualty response and pollution prevention 14
SmitWijs expands GTA ocean towage pool
page
15
8
Katrina/Rita: work continues
to speed recovery
page
page
page
w w w. s m i t. c o m
BUOYANT PERFORMANCE BOOSTS SMIT’S RESULTS
In the last issue of Tug Magazine I forecast that SMIT was on course for a significant increase in net profit.
The strong first half was followed by an encouraging second half. The outcome for 2005 saw net profit
rise from €27.4 million to €38.3 million. This result exceeded the 20 per cent increase sought and is firm
evidence of the effectiveness of SMIT’s strategic programme and the skill and dedication of all employees based around the world. We all recognise that we are contributing to a successful business and that
exciting times lie ahead!
here require continuous R&D commitment as
salvage is now knowledge-driven, rather than
asset-driven.
All SMIT Divisions contributed to 2005’s highly
positive outcome. All four core activities are
performing to target, as the Group continues to
invest heavily in fleet renewal and expansion.
Harbour Towage produced excellent results.
This Division benefited from structural changes
in progress in the shipping industry. It is
heartening to see the steady improvement of
efficiency in this highly competitive market. In
the case of Rotterdam-Europort, for example,
high utilisation levels were achieved in 2005.
Terminals Division also performed beyond
expectation. No profitable contracts were lost,
the scope of a number of existing contracts
was increased and new, long term work was
secured.
Salvage Division also enjoyed a good year,
despite the fact that it proved impossible to
match a truly remarkable 2004, with its long
succession of major Lloyd’s Form operations.
During the second half of 2005, SMIT Salvage
joined other salvors responding in the aftermath of the devastating hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. The Division’s busy US workload will have
a positive effect on results over several years.
Looking further ahead, operational demands
are changing in the salvage sector. The
number of salvage services falls as the shipping industry’s safety record improves. On the
other hand, vessels continue to grow in size
and complexity and their operation imposes
increasing pressures on their crews. SMIT
Salvage is well-positioned to provide services
in large and complex salvage operations. It
also has a very strong focus in the vital area
of environmental care. Service enhancements
Improved fleet utilisation underpinned
encouraging results from Transport & Heavy
Lift Division. Fleet optimisation and a clear
commercial focus have transformed SMIT
Transport’s performance and prospects. Fleet
renewal has commenced with the construction
of 10 new large anchorhandling/multipurpose
vessels, most of them dedicated to long-term
contracts and three new smaller workvessels.
This reflects SMIT’s core commercial objective: greater income stability. Transport market
factors in Europe and Asia now have a positive
character.
The position in the heavy lift sector is more
challenging, due to a dearth of large projects.
This climate is not favourable for investment
in new expensive equipment. Therefore, the
present emphasis is on consolidation rather
than expansion. Against this background,
Heavy Lift is seen as a global market and, consequently, the sheerlegs are far more mobile in
the operational sense. At present, for example,
units are working in Venezuela and Brazil.
Future prospects
As this account demonstrates, SMIT achieved
a great deal last year. There is, however, much
more to be done. In the Harbour Towage
sector, for example, further expansion will be
largely a matter of growth by acquisition or
joint ventures on at least a 50:50 basis. SMIT
is not interested in buying “steel” alone but,
rather, looks for proven expertise and presence
in the local and regional market. Our focus is
on the world’s shipping crossroads – the major
ports where our international clients require
a global standard of excellence. In a geographical sense, the emphasis is on the former
Eastern Bloc countries, Latin America and the
Far East. Our growth target is 50% over 5 years
(basis 2005).
Operations at Rotterdam-Europort in 2005
were profitable for the second year running,
following many years of losses. Nevertheless,
even greater efficiencies are required if we are
to invest in fleet renewal to the desired extent
in order to ensure our long-term future in this
market. Here, the testing of two-man operation is an important factor, which is already
having an influence on the design of new
generation tugs. At the same time, profound
changes will not happen overnight. In this
area, we want to go forward in a spirit of cooperation with our crews, the Works Councils and
unions.
In reviewing recent events, this February saw
SMIT complete its acquisition of 50 per cent of
the shares in Rebras, Brazil. This joint venture
has a very promising future. New standard
vessels have been ordered. We plan to commence operations with 18 vessels in this country’s major ports in late 2007. We continue to
regard Brazil as a market of great significance
for SMIT.
In March of this year SMIT sold its 40 per cent
holding in Servicios Mexicanos Remolcadores
(SMR) to the joint venture partner. This decision complies with our strategic policy of holding at least 50 per cent in a joint venture.
The main challenge for the growth of the
Terminals Division is to secure new long-term
contracts. By the very nature of the task, this is
a lengthy process. The clients include some of
the world’s largest oil companies and its joint
ventures. It takes time to develop relationships
based on common procedures and standards.
Furthermore, successful bidding is not simply a
function of the competitive process. Many factors are involved in 21st century deal-making
at this level, not least a strong commitment to
localisation programmes which deliver genuine benefits to local economies combined with
the highest standards on safety, health environmental care and quality assurance (SHE-Q).
Terminals Division has a demanding growth
target: a 50 per cent increase in net profit
over a five-year period, commencing 2003.
Everyone involved in this Division’s activities
is fully committed to the drive to achieve this
goal. New contracts will begin to exert a positive influence on this Division’s results from
2006.
The development of global LNG production,
transport and storage is of first importance
in this sector. There is a growing requirement
for terminal and marine support services, as
evidenced by the recent award to SMIT of the
Damietta contract in Egypt and, in addition,
the deployment of two vessels to serve an
LNG facility in Equatorial Guinea. SMIT intends
to continue to expand the scope of existing
contracts and win new contracts. Substantial
growth in world LNG production and use is
forecast, as LNG increases its market share in
relation to other hydrocarbons. Equally, the
storage and handling of LNG is demanding in
the technical sense and requires terminal and
marine support services of the highest quality.
The “de-bottlenecking” of LNG supply, through
the construction of new and expanded facilities, will continue to generate demand for
SMIT’s terminal and marine support services.
Salvage Division has good prospects, based on
its predominant position in the key disciplines
of environmental care and the strength of its
knowledge management and R&D capabilities. The aims here include a consistent market
share in the 25-30% range and clear recognition as the leader in environmental protection.
In the Transport Division, the objectives
include the achievement of 10% growth and
firm positioning in the top tier of the market
with the advent of standardized multipurpose
newbuildings. This sector can deliver far more
in terms of income stability.
Looking ahead, the next challenge is to generate more growth in those business sectors
offering income stability. SMIT’s workforce has
every reason to be proud of the progress made
in recent years. We have increased profitability
at a pace which has outstripped expectations.
SMIT’s engine is running well, on all cylinders!
Most importantly, we have a workforce displaying high morale and an appetite for further
success. We all share this enthusiasm for more
progress.
Ben Vree
Chief Executive Officer
Colophon
For any information about specific activities,
equipment and services, please apply to:
SMIT Waalhaven O.Z. 85 P.O. Box 59052
3008 PB Rotterdam
Tel
+ 31 10 454 99 11
Fax
+ 31 10 454 97 77
E-mail [email protected]
Editor
SMIT Public Relations
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TRS Public Relations
SMIT Public Relations
Design & production
Studio Clarenburg, Schiedam
Photography
SMIT Public Relations
Roderik van Nispen
Hans de Jong
René Legrand
Edwin Otter
The ABR Company Ltd.
and others
Printing
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Copyright
Texts can be reproduced after
permission from the editor.
tug magazine
Big day for ‘Smit Kamara’
the safe transfer of personnel from vessel to
platform. The marine solution is regarded as
more cost-effective and safe than helicopter
transfers.
The Naming Ceremony for the ‘Smit Kamara’ took place at SMIT’s
quayside in the Waalhaven, Rotterdam, on February 9th. The new
vessel, built by Keppel Singmarine of Singapore, is one of a new
class of three offshore support, anchorhandling and towing vessels.
The ceremony was performed by Mrs Kathy
de Weijer, wife of Robert de Weijer, Asset
Leader for the Shell UK/NAM joint venture
known as Onegas. Robert de Weijer has been
closely associated with the long-term contract
awarded to ‘Smit Kamara’. The new vessel’s role
‘Smit Kamara’ has a length (O/A) of 70.9 m
and has accommodation for 46 persons. The
new vessel has a bollard pull of 80 tonnes
and is equipped with a powerful twin-drum
anchorhandling winch. The main engines are
two 2,460 kW Wartsila 6R32 units. The newbuilding has a deck area of 450 m2 and a deck
cargo capacity of 650 tonnes. ‘Smit Kamara’
also has a Class 1 firefighting capability.
newbuilding team at Keppel Singmarine. He
also acknowledged the efforts of SMIT’s own
team, including Fokke Jan Botke, Newbuilding
Supervisor at the yard, and his deputy, Jan
Koper. Fokke Jan Botke is now Account
Manager for the ‘Smit Kamara’ and the contract
Sister vessel ‘Smit Komodo’ has also been delivered. ‘Smit Komodo’ is now working offshore
Egypt. The third vessel, ‘Smit Nicobar’, is due
for delivery in June. This vessel has a bollard
pull of 120 tonnes. Her first assignment will be
offshore Sakhalin.
Prior to the Naming Ceremony, a traditional Chinese
‘Lion Dance’ was performed for luck and prosperity.
is to act as the marine transfer base for maintenance crews visiting offshore platforms in the
southern North Sea. The vessel operates from
Den Helder and Lowestoft.
Guests attending the Naming Ceremony
were welcomed by SMIT’s CEO Ben Vree. SMIT
Transport & Heavy Lift Managing Director Abel
Dutilh also addressed the gathering. He paid
tribute to the efforts of Hoe Eng Hock and the
with Shell/NAM in the southern North Sea.
The new vessel is commanded by Captain Bill
Haenen.
‘Smit Kamara’ is expected to work in the southern North Sea for five years under the Shell/
NAM contract. Previously, maintenance crews
were transferred to and from the platforms
by helicopter. ‘Smit Kamara’ has an innovative “Offshore Access System”, which permits
w w w. s m i t. c o m
EXPANDING THE GEOGRAPHICAL
SPREAD OF HARBOUR TOWAGE
SMIT Harbour Towage has made major
progress over the past half-year. During this
period SMIT completed the acquisition of 50
per cent of Rebras (Rebocadores do Brasil
SA), owners of three 55 tonnes bollard pull
ASD tugs chartered out on a bareboat basis.
Loek Kullberg, Managing Director of SMIT
Harbour Towage & Terminals, says: “The company is now known as SMIT Rebocadores do
Brasil SA and has a future based on the operation of at least 20 tugs in the 45-65 tonnes bollard pull range. So far, orders have been placed
for 18 newbuildings and the first of the new
units will join the fleet in January of next year.
We plan to provide harbour towage services in
several of the larger Brazilian ports.
The ‘Smit Clyde’ assisting one of the world’s biggest
containerships, the ‘Cosco Guangzhou’, in Rotterdam.
“The key to our strategy is to ‘follow our clients worldwide’. We expect to operate at five
Brazilian ports initially. Broadly speaking, the
harbour towage market in Brazil is similar to
that in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
Typically, there is a home operator and a
number of competitors. In essence, this is the
free market pattern. One strategy, of course,
is to acquire an existing player. If no suitable
candidate is available, the alternative is to join
together and build the necessary infrastructure. In the case of Brazil, all 18 newbuilds will
be constructed in Brazilian yards.”
SMIT Harbour Towage is also preparing to commence harbour towage services at yet another
port in Argentina. Operations will commence
with three tugs, one of which is already busy
with spot work in the area. A full harbour
towage service at an important container
port will commence over the next couple of
months, in addition to services already provided at La Plata.
Looking ahead, SMIT Harbour Towage continues to explore future potential in China. Loek
Kullberg says: “In this market, once again, the
choice is the acquisition of a regional operator
or the establishment of an operation similar
to that in Brazil. In the Chinese context both
options would be challenging, as circumstances are so different between China and
South America.
“We are also seeking to
establish a foothold in
India, where the acquisition route may be a possibility. We see strong
potential in India and,
accordingly, we have
already started to open
an Indian entity. We plan
to begin in the terminals
sector and then expand
into harbour towage
services. This is an interesting prospect as the country has many large
ports and there is strong growth in shipping
traffic.
“We believe that our future development in
India will depend heavily on achieving successful synergies between terminal operations
and harbour towage services, based around
the deployment of highly flexible types such
as Damen 2810s, 3111s and 3112s and similar
Robert Allan designs. These tugs are equally
suited to long-term service for one client, in
the terminal context, and the provision of harbour towage services for many clients. In the
case of India we believe that there are interesting opportunities in both sectors.”
SMIT’s strategy focuses on extending the geographical scope of harbour towage by means
of acquisitions and partnerships. One area of
good potential is northern Canada. In Prince
The ‘Tiger Sun’ assisting a vessel in Canada.
Rupert, for example, a new container port is to
be constructed.
Loek Kullberg adds: “South Africa is another
priority. We already have strong links with port
authorities and provide a wide range of marine
services, from terminal support to bunkering
operations. It would be natural to expand into
harbour towage. This will not be easy but there
are signs that a more positive attitude towards
competition is developing.
“In future years the efficiency of two-man
operation will be crucial to competitive performance. The system is already a success in
Canada and there are plans to do trials with
two-man operation in Rotterdam during next
year. Two of the new 2810s will be equipped
for two-man operation. This whole question
is a sensitive labour relations issue but a new
spirit of partnership is beginning to emerge.”
Rapid progress in SMIT’s fleet renewal
In the two years to March 2006 SMIT and its
subsidiaries and joint ventures placed firm
orders for a total of 80 vessels. SMIT itself
was responsible for 42 orders. Eighteen of
the remainder were accounted for by the
SMIT/Rebras combination, with KST (Keppel
SMIT Towage) and URS ordering another 12
and six vessels respectively.
new tugs. In all probability, the orders will
involve around 20 vessels in the 60 - 80 tonnes
bollard pull range - for service at various locations around the world. There are also plans
to order more anchorhandlers in the 80 - 100
tonnes bollard pull class.
SMIT has already reached agreement to purchase seven newly-built multipurpose work
vessels from Hadi H. Al-Hamman Est. of Saudi
Arabia. These vessels, of 75 tonnes bollard pull,
are a modified version of the ‘Smit Kamara’
and ‘Smit Komodo’. The first two vessels in the
series will join the fleet this year and the final
unit will be delivered in May 2008.
During the six months to this March alone,
15 tugs were ordered from Damen. They consisted of 13 2810 tugs (length 28 m) and two
3211 tugs (with an option for a further two).
These units will be delivered over the 2006
- early 2008 period. SMIT’s fleet renewal programme continues to focus on the construction of standardised multirole vessels offering
a high degree of operational flexibility.
‘Smit Damietta’ and ‘Smit Port Said’
provide terminal assistances in Egypt.
In Singapore, KST ordered a total of six tugs
from Keppel Singmarine over the past six
months. All are in the 45-65 tonnes bollard pull
range. All eleven are ASD tugs.
new tugs will be delivered early next year. The
last of the 18 will join the Rebras fleet in late
2008. All the tugs will be dedicated to work in
Brazilian waters.
During the December 2005 - January 2006
period, SMIT also completed its acquisition of
50 per cent of the shares of Rebras in Brazil.
Orders for 18 new tugs for this operation were
placed with the Detroit Brazil yard. Twelve of
the units are 45 tonnes bollard pull tugs, based
on the Robert Allan 2500 series design. The
remaining six are 65 tonnes bollard pull units
- a Robert Allan 3000 design. The first of these
The past six months also saw the delivery of
the ‘Smit Damietta’ and ‘Smit Port Said’. These
3030 firefighting tugs were purchased during
their construction in a Turkish yard. In addition,
a gravel barge and chip barge were delivered
for SMIT Canada.
Looking ahead, it is likely that SMIT and its
subsidiaries and joint ventures will order more
31st March 2006 - Contract Signing
2 x DAMEN ASD Tug 3211 + 9 x DAMEN ASD Tug 2810
tug magazine
Rotterdam fleet replacement now under way
Traffic levels at Rotterdam-Europoort continue to increase. The growth in vessel calls
over the past six months was spread over all
vessel types, from containerships and bulk
carriers to tankers carrying crude oil and
products.
Joost Lameijer, SMIT Harbour Towage General
Manager for Rotterdam, says: “We are now at
a very important stage in the development
of SMIT’s harbour towage services in the
Rotterdam-Europoort area. Positive factors,
including the increase in vessel calls and reasonable rates for tug assistance, have allowed
us to operate profitably. This, in turn, has created a favourable climate for investment in a
new generation of tugs.
“We expect to order a total of six newbuildings
over the next 12 months. Four of the six - 2810
ASD types - have already been ordered from
Damen. We expect to place orders for an additional two later this year or early in 2007. This
means the new tugs for Rotterdam service
will join the fleet in the mid 2007 - 2009 period.
Significantly, all the newbuildings will be
designed for two-man operation.”
The extent of fleet renewal investments
depends on further increases in traffic at
Rotterdam-Europoort. Under current projections (and assuming that the current steady
increase in vessel calls is sustained), SMIT
Harbour Towage will require a fleet of 15 - 17
tugs to meet demand at the Group’s home
port.
Joost Lameijer adds: “The priority is replacement rather than enlargement of the
Rotterdam fleet. The current fleet totals 16
tugs. The units now being replaced are the
1800 types, conventional tugs built during the
late 1970s.
“SMIT Harbour Towage’s future at Rotterdam
does not depend exclusively on traffic
increases and new tugs. The human element remains crucial to greater efficiency. We
already know the extent to which two-man
operation increases productivity and can alleviate the expected shortages in crews in the
forthcoming years. This will take time to introduce, however, as this is a matter of training
and qualifications. In essence, we need both
individuals on board the tug to be capable of
assuming a Captain’s responsibilities.”
The ‘Smit Clyde’ assisting a vessel in Europoort, Rotterdam.
An additional two salvage operations were
performed during early March of this year.
The first, on March 5, concerned the container
vessel ‘California Luna’. The vessel suffered
engine problems whilst off the New Waterway
and ’Smit Polen’ assisted.
SMIT’s Rotterdam-Europoort tugs performed
a number of salvage tasks over the past six
months. They included the response to the
heavy lift vessel ‘Svanen’, which broke free of
her moorings during a vicious storm in late
November. The vessel began to drift and then
struck a drydock. Three tugs were mobilised;
they connected up and returned this vessel to
the berth.
Three days later the bulk carrier ‘Waterman N’
suffered a blackout when close to the Hook of
Holland breakwaters. Once again, ‘Smit Polen’
SMIT TERMINALS WINs NEW
LONG-TERM CONTRACTS
SMIT Terminals has had encouraging results
over the past 12 months in its drive to win
new long-term contracts and extend the
scope of existing activities. The successes
include the Damietta LNG carrier assistance
contract in Egypt, a new offshore support
programme in Russian waters and a winning
tender in Equatorial Guinea, together with a
number of extensions, including the terminal assistance contract in the Bahamas.
ing the oil port of DeKastri, near Sakhalin. Loek
Kullberg says: “This contract is for five years,
with options for extension. The main task is
SPM support with a newbuild Damen 2208
ice class tug, which will be delivered in July/
August 2006. The contract will be serviced in
association with Femco, our Russian partners.
responded and towed the vessel to a safe
anchorage.
The first quarter of this year also saw four of
SMIT’s Rotterdam-Europoort tugs carry out a
rig move. The jack-up ‘Ensco 102’ was towed
from Europoort to Botlek Verolme for a maintenance programme.
The ‘Smit Diare’ demonstrating her fifi-equipment.
Bonny Island recently. This NLNG contract commenced in 1999.
Other recent successes in Nigeria include the
extension of the Melbourne Marine contract
for support of the FSO Jamestown, stationed
offshore Warri. The ‘Smit Siberia’ began this
assignment in early 2005.
“We are already working on the north east
coast of Sakhalin with three icebreaking vessels, the ‘Smit Sibu’,
‘Smit Sakhalin’ and
‘Talagy’. Their main role
is to assist tankers calling at large offshore
loading terminals.”
The extensive SMIT newbuilding programme
also has consequences for the four-tug operation at Port Gentil’s oil export terminal. This
contract commenced in 1992. A Damen 3509
newbuilding is due to replace the chartered
tug ‘Ievoli Green’, now operating in Gabon
under this TotalFinaElf contract. The newbuilding is a sister vessel to ‘Smit Mandji’, which
entered service in early 2005 and is currently
operating in Gabon. The new vessel is expected
to enter service at Port Gentil during the first
quarter of next year.
SMIT’s successful
tender in Equatorial
Guinea requires two
newly built tugs. These
Damen-built 3211 units
are required to support
a Marathon LNG operation, which has British
The Nigerian crew members who sailed the ‘Smit Diare’ to Bonny Island.
Gas as the major shipping client. The contract
Loek Kullberg, SMIT Harbour Towage &
duration is 10 years and the tugs begin work
Terminals’ Managing Director, says: “We are
in January 2007. Marathon is a long-standing
especially pleased at our successful bid for
client, with SMIT providing a variety of marine
vessel assistance work at the Damietta LNG
support services in West African waters.
terminal. This is an important breakthrough in
Egypt. We look forward to working closely with
Two Damen 3111 newbuildings were on their
our Egyptian partners.
way to Nigeria at the time of writing, to reinforce the four tugs currently assisting vessels
During September of last year SMIT was
calling at the NLNG Bonny Island terminal. The
awarded a contract from ExxonMobil concern‘Smit Diare’ and ‘Smit Owena’ left Rotterdam for
Loek Kullberg adds: “In the Bahamas we have
been active since 1997, assisting tankers and
providing barge-based bunkering services.
This contract requires three Japanese-built
tugs delivered during the early 1990s. In
January we succeeded in obtaining a contract extension of three years from our client
BORCO. The intention is to replace two of the
existing vessels with the higher bollard pull
tugs ‘Smit Mississippi’ and ‘Smit Missouri’,
which will move to the Bahamas prior to March
2007.
“Looking ahead, we have some demanding
commercial targets to meet. Our teams con-
tinue to work vigorously on new tenders for
projects across the world, from Africa and the
Middle East to South America.
“We explore every possibility for viable longterm terminal service contracts. As can be
seen from our achievements to date, the rapid
expansion of global LNG infrastructures is a big
factor in our future prospects. We will continue
to display great flexibility in devising solutions
meeting the exact needs of clients and prospective clients.”
w w w. s m i t. c o m
New Tugs commence longterm contract in Egypt
Newbuild tugs ‘Smit Port Said’ and ‘Smit
Damietta’ have commenced a long-term
contract in Egypt, assisting large LNG
carriers calling at the Damietta terminal.
This LNG terminal came on stream in 2004.
It is situated on the north bank of the Suez
Canal, around 60km west of Port Said. Its
initial production rate is 5.5 million t/yr.
The vessel assistance project was awarded
to a joint venture with a few local partners
amongst which the Damietta Port Authority.
The contract was awarded by shippers calling
at the SEGAS terminal, which is owned and
operated by SEGAS (Spanish Egyptian Gas
Company)- 80% owned by Union Fenosa GAS,
10% by EGAS and 10% by EGPC.
The ‘Smit Port Said’ assisting the ‘Galica Spirit’ in Damietta, Egypt.
EGAS signed agreements with BP and BG to process gas from their operated fields, through EGAS’
share of capacity at the LNG facility and then to lift the produced LNG. The two tugs began working
at Damietta in December, under a contract with a duration of two years with possible extensions.
SMIT was already very active in Egypt prior to the commencement of the Damietta contract. The
newbuild anchorhandler ‘Smit Komodo’, for example, recently commenced a six-month assignment for the support of Egyptian offshore oil and gas installations.
The new tugs are both Robert Allan designs. They are broadly similar to Damen’s 3111 tugs. These
RA 3060 units were constructed by Uzmar Shipping of Istanbul. They were purchased by SMIT as
they were nearing completion. These tugs have a length of 30.25 m a bollard pull of 62 tonnes.
They have tanks accommodating 177 cu m of fuel oil, 27 cu m of freshwater and 8 cu m of foam.
There is also capacity for some 35 cu m of recovered oil.
Terminals Division Managing Director Loek Kullberg says: “Damietta represents a significant breakthrough for SMIT in Egypt. It is not easy to secure a first terminal support contract in any market!
This contract was awarded in recognition of the quality of the combination with our partners. We
look forward to developing activities in Egypt in association with our partners.”
‘Pentow Service’ flies Vessel
Survey Award pennant
Captain Mike Skinner, Master of the terminal tug ‘Pentow Service’, proudly accepted
the Corporate Vessel Survey Award pennant,
for outstanding performance, at a ceremony
in Durban on February 23rd.
The pennant was presented by SMIT Transport
& Heavy Lift Managing Director Abel Dutilh. He
offered his warmest congratulations to Captain
Skinner, his crew and shore-based personnel
closely involved in the operation of this vessel.
Their individual contributions were acknowledged: they received special, hand-made
jerseys emblazoned with the text “Corporate
Vessel Survey Award 2005”.
The Corporate Vessel Survey Award is newly
introduced and will be presented each year to
the vessel with the best overall operational and
maintenance condition. SMIT’s SHE-Q General
Manager, Aart de Glopper, says: “The award is
made on the basis of vessel survey outcomes.
The operational and maintenance condition
during the year is expressed as a rating. In this
way, the top three vessels in the SMIT fleet
are identified. In 2005, these vessels were the
‘Pentow Service’, the Cape Town-based oceangoing tug ‘Smit Amandla’ and, in addition, the
Vancouver harbour tug ‘Westminster Hunter’.
checklist-based audit system. The results are
reported quarterly to SMIT’s Executive Board
and the Division Managing Directors. This
system provides for effective follow-up, where
remedial action is required. The idea behind
this award is to acknowledge positive achievement within the fleet. Flying that pennant is a
genuine mark of excellence.”
“All three vessels had a truly outstanding
record in 2005. It fell to SMIT’s Chief Executive,
Ben Vree, to make the difficult choice. After
due consideration, he named ‘Pentow Service’
as the winner in his New Year’s message to the
Group. This vessel may now fly the coveted
pennant throughout 2006.”
Tributes to the crew of ‘Pentow Service’ were
expressed by Abel Dutilh, together with
Vessel Manager Sean Raath, Corporate Vessel
Surveyor Cor Fontaine and Captain George
Franklin, representing the clients, SAPREF.
Captain Skinner replied on behalf of his crew.
Aart de Glopper adds: “The Corporate Vessel
Survey Award was introduced in 2005. Our
Corporate Vessel Surveyor regularly visits
units in the fleet of over 500 vessels operated
by SMIT and its associated companies and
joint ventures. The Vessel Surveyor applies a
Harbour Towage Division Managing Director
Loek Kullberg and Vessel Surveyor Cor Fontaine
present the Corporate Survey Award pennant.
The crew of the award-winning ‘Pentow Service’ in Cape Town.
tug magazine
Global spread of SMIT’s salvage operations
Many salvage operations were undertaken
during the first three months of this year.
Work also continued on wreck and debris
clearance in the US Gulf following the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
During this period work also continued on
the preparation of tenders for a number of
substantial wreck removal projects around
the world.
Salvage operations during the first quarter of
2006 included the February 4th response to the
LNG carrier ‘Höegh Gandria’, which required
assistance whilst off Singapore, after flooding
in the engineroom. A salvage team from SMIT’s
Singapore base soon reached this casualty.
They dewatered the engineroom and carried
out a programme of machinery preservation.
The ‘Höegh Gandria’ was discharged and was
then taken to a repair yard. Salvage services
concluded on February 14th, bringing to an end
an operation which was rare in the sense that
very few LNG carriers feature in the salvage
track record.
SMIT Salvage also responded when the fully
laden 158,000 DWT crude carrier ‘Kim Jacob’
grounded on January 30th on a sandbank at
Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela, whilst proceeding
to the US port of St. Croix for discharge. This
was a significant operation as very few casualty
salvage tasks today now involve large laden
tankers.
The ‘Twin Star’, however, was severely mauled.
She began to sink and eventually broke in
two, leaving only her antenna above water. A
number of fuel tanks ruptured, causing localised pollution. SMIT Salvage was contracted by
the P&I Club to remove the remaining bunkers
and other pollutants.
All fuel oil, a total of 250 tonnes, was recovered. The remains of this vessel, meanwhile,
have almost completely settled into the soft
ooze of the wreck site. A decision on a wreck
removal has yet to be taken.
Work continued into the New Year at La Spezia,
Italy, following the sinking of the vessel
‘Margaret’ off the breakwater on December 3rd.
A SMIT salvage team carried out a diving
survey. Subsequently, a contract was awarded
for the removal of some 90 tonnes of oil from
the wreck’s double bottom tanks. This task was
performed by means of a pollution-free hottap system, used to penetrate each tank at two
locations - an upper station for pumping to the
surface and a lower station allowing seawater
to enter the space, to replace the oil recovered from the tank. The oil recovery operation
was completed on January 7th, with the team
having pumped all the bunkers to a receiving
barge.
The severely damaged bulk carrier
based on an “upside-down” refloating by pressurisation, a tow to Rotterdam and righting
with the assistance of a floating sheerlegs. The
‘Michelle’ could then be towed to a breakers’
yard.
This operation is to be undertaken by the floating sheerlegs ‘Taklift 7’, which arrived from the
Baltic during April. The sheerlegs will begin
work off Den Helder in June. One challenge
to be faced by the salvage team is the comprehensive filling of this wreck by sand. This
sand has to be pumped from internal spaces, in order to lighten the
vessel.
An accident in August of last year resulted
in a major salvage operation which was still
in progress at the end of the third quarter.
Salvage operations performed
worldwide in the final quarter of
2005 included the refloating of the
container vessel ‘SITC Bangkok’,
which ran aground on Depond
Reef, Cambodia, during November.
This vessel had 530 containers on
board.
The grounding site was hit by bad
weather. Several of her ballast
tanks and two fuel tanks ruptured,
causing some local pollution. The
vessel’s owners contracted SMIT
Salvage on LOF 2000 terms. The
8,200 bhp tug ‘Pacific Champion’ was mobilised
and work began to minimise the environmental impact of this accident.
Container carrier ‘SITC Bangkok’ ran aground in Cambodia.
The vessel sustained some hull damage but
there was no leakage. SMIT Salvage obtained
a Lloyd’s Form contract to refloat the casualty.
This required the ship-to-ship transfer of some
22,000 tonnes of Venezuelan heavy crude.
The salvage team achieved a refloating on
February 6th. ‘Kim Jacob’ was taken to a safe
anchorage, where a full inspection took place.
Subsequently, the balance of the tanker’s
cargo was transferred to the lightering vessel
‘Endless’. The latter then delivered the cargo to
St. Croix.
First quarter operations also included the
response to the January 27th collision between
the 23,701 DWT bulk carrier ‘Twin Star’, laden
with steel coils, and the Cypriot vessel ‘Pintail’.
The accident occurred in dense fog conditions
at a position off the port of Callao, Peru. A third
vessel, the ‘Alice’, was also involved but sustained no damage.
The complex project to refloat and recover
the sunken vessel ‘Michelle’ arose following a
collision off the Dutch coast with the vessel
‘Kiefernwald’. The latter was able to continue
her voyage to Cuxhaven. The ‘Michelle’, however, was left in a part-submerged condition,
within a busy traffic zone.
The offshore workbarge ‘Smit Ibis’ arrived on
site and work began to discharge a total of 168
containers. These containers were transferred
via the ‘Smit Ibis’ to the vessel ‘Korfoer’. The
tug then succeeded in refloating the vessel,
following lightering, dewatering and pressurisation of the damaged tanks. Further temporary repairs were then carried out and ‘SITC
Bangkok’ was redelivered at Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam, in early December.
There was some outflow of bunkers from the
‘Michelle’ immediately after the collision. The
remaining oil was subsequently removed. The
cargo of coal posed no threat to the environment. The Directorate-General for Public Works
and Water Management ordered that the casualty should be taken to a safe position outside
the main traffic lanes. The ‘Michelle’ eventually
sank at a position around 100 km north-west
of Den Helder.
‘Twin Star’ collided with a Cypriot vessel.
from Rotterdam. SMIT’s Brazilian partners
contributed two tugs. The casualty’s bunkers
were removed as preparations for the refloating progressed. The vessel was pulled free on
October 10th.
Meanwhile, SMIT salvage teams were engaged
in the major response to the devastation
caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the
US Gulf. Rita came hard on the heels of Katrina
and SMIT Salvage provided assistance for two
jack-up rigs, the ‘Adriatic VII’ and the ‘High
Island III’. The rigs suffered significant damage
and these operations continued into the New
Year. In both cases the scope of work involved
the removal of fuel and drilling mud, ballasting down, removal of the remnants of the legs,
deballasting and refloating. November saw the
commencement of another such assignment,
involving the jack-up rig ‘High Island II’.
During November, SMIT Salvage completed
two major wreck removals, both in the Far East.
On November 1st the final section of the wreck
of the ‘Everise Glory’ was landed on a barge.
Work had begun in August.
This 23,000 DWT bulk carrier was lost close
to the Malaysian/Singaporean boundary. The
large floating sheerlegs ‘Asian Hercules II’ and
the diving/work platform ‘Smit Ibis’ were mobilised for this operation. This wreck was cut into
three sections, each with a weight of around
2,000 tonnes.
On November 11th the last section of the wreck
of the cruise vessel ‘Royal Pacific’ was cleared
at the Korean port of Kaohsiung. ‘Royal Pacific’
capsized in July of last year - fortunately with
no loss of life. In August SMIT was contracted
for the wreck removal, involving the 1,000
tonnes lift capacity sheerlegs ‘Smit Cyclone’.
This wreck was cut into nine sections.
Operations last October included the successful refloating of the 53,000 DWT bulk
carrier ‘Bulgaria’, laden with a cargo of soya
beans. This vessel grounded in the Amazon
on October 7th. A Salvage Officer/Naval
Architect was mobilised from Belem, Brazil
and he was reinforced by a Salvage Master
SMIT’s team began salvage operations on
December 8th. A diving survey was performed
and a plan devised for the recovery. This was
w w w. s m i t. c o m
Katrina/Rita: work continues to speed recovery
SMIT’s role in assisting the efforts to recover
from the devastating effects of hurricanes
Katrina and Rita were reported in the last
issue of Tug Magazine. This extensive programme of work continued into the first
quarter of 2006.
SMIT Salvage Director Hans van Rooij says:
“Perhaps 3,000 vessels of all sizes became
casualties to some degree in the wake of
these disastrous storms. Much of our work has
focused on the damaged offshore oil and gas
infrastructure in the US Gulf.
“Many platforms and rigs were ripped away
from their legs by the violent winds and 20ft
storm surge. Some were driven ashore. Others
were secured and taken to safe locations for
inspection and repair, or to scrapyards. We
refloated a number of rigs in the final quarter
of last year. Many of these operations were
challenging, with extensive patching required,
together with complex stability calculations
and the removal of broken leg sections, in
some cases fouling the wrecks. The remains of
many legs in the seabed had to be removed in
order to free the wells.
SMIT mobilised two large floating sheerlegs
to tackle these assignments. The 1,000 tonnes
‘Smit Cyclone’ arrived in the US Gulf from
Singapore. In addition, ‘Taklift 1’ was mobilised
from Venezuela. Some broken leg sections
had to be removed from water depths of up
to 150 m. A technique was developed which
involved breaking into lines and injecting air
and water, to put pressure on the spud cans, so
helping to break the powerful suction forces.
The tasks dealt with by SMIT’s teams in the first
quarter of 2006 included engineering preparations for the operation to recover the tension
leg platform (TLP) ‘Typhoon’. This installation,
A salvage team sets foot on the capsized TLP ‘Typhoon’.
with a length of 100 m, capsized when struck
by the hurricane. This TLP is now sitting on its
accommodation, in some 100 m of water, with
its floats still above the surface.
SMIT Salvage’s Commercial Director Geert
Koffeman says: “This project requires some
complex engineering. The preparations on site
began with test drilling, to check pressures
in a range of tanks. The TLP will be refloated
and righted by a combination of techniques
- mainly pressurisation.”
New Year’s Day saw the completion of one of
SMIT’s major rig salvage operations - with the
three-leg jack-up ‘High Island ll’ returned to a
normal operating environment by an innovative recovery method.
This work began in early November. The
project was the fourth rig salvage undertaken
by SMIT in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita.
The jack-up had been hit hard. The legs were
misaligned and the main deck had a trim differential of 5 deg. To aggravate matters, ‘High
Island ll’ was close to a Chevron production
platform. Furthermore, the extensive work
programme had to be carried out in Winter
conditions.
SMIT’s brief was to provide and install a pullbarge on location with a capacity to exert a
pull-force of 1,200 tonnes to the rig. This was
the first use of the pull-barge method. There
were many advantages: lower costs, no further
damage to the rig and the opportunity for
a timely resumption of the jack-up’s drilling
programme.
The main operation commenced on December
30th , when pressure on the bow leg was
achieved. All legs were then correctly aligned
and the rig was then free to commence a
normal jack-down.
Zero cost OPA 90
cover
Donjon-SMIT has now announced a new
arrangement providing free cover for salvage,
firefighting and lightering under the US Oil
Pollution Act 1990 (OPA 90).
Donjon-SMIT’s Commercial Manager, Dick
Fredricks, says: “We are very pleased to offer
this no cost standby coverage to our clients
and prospective customers.”
Most OPA 90 emergency service providers
charge fees for this coverage, especially for
tank vessels. Donjon-SMIT now offers free
standby coverage for all ship types - both tank
vessels and non-tank vessels.
The joint venture Donjon-SMIT was established in 2004 by New Jersey-based Donjon
Marine Co, Inc and Texas-based SMIT Salvage
Americas, with the specific purpose of providing OPA 90 compliance services.
SMIT Salvage aligned the legs of jack-up rig
‘High Island II’ by use of the pull-barge method.
tug magazine
Preparing to support
Caspian oil and gas developments
SMIT’s preparations are well advanced
for the establishment of a joint venture in
Kazakhstan to offer a wide range of transport and associated services to the country’s rapidly expanding oil and gas sector.
Abel Dutilh, Managing Director of SMIT
Transport & Heavy Lift, says: “The prospects
in this market are very lively and we need the
structure in place to make the most of promising opportunities. The key factor here is the
development of the Caspian’s extensive hydrocarbon reserves. The Caspian is said to hold the
world’s second largest reserves of oil and gas.”
“We are already responding to requests for tenders in Kazakhstan. The immediate prospects
centre on the provision of small to medium ice
class tugs and ice-strengthened barges.”
The division is making a growing contribution to SMIT’s drive for greater income stability. In the transport sector, for example, the
introduction into service of the three Keppel
Singmarine-built vessels ‘Smit Kamara’, ‘Smit
Nicobar’ and ‘Smit Komodo’ will open up new
prospects for long-term employment.
‘Smit Kamara’, one of this new class offshore
support, anchorhandling and towing vessels,
is already working under a long-term charter
to the Shell UK/NAM partnership in the North
Sea.
‘Smit Kamara’ features an
innovative Offshore Access
System, a special access
bridge allowing maintenance
crews to transfer safely to
platforms in the southern
North Sea. ‘Smit Kamara’
commenced this charter
on January 1st. The vessel is
based at Den Helder when
operating on the Dutch Shelf
and out of Lowestoft when
working in the UK sector.
tonnes bollard pull class, are of the ‘Smit
Kamara’/’Smit Komodo’ type and were purchased from Hadi H. Al-Hamman Est of Saudi
Arabia. Two of the vessels will join the fleet this
year. The remainder will follow in the period to
May 2008. Three of the newbuilds have already
secured long-term offshore employment, for
Saudi Aramco in Saudi waters, through Hadi H.
Al-Hamman Est.
In the heavy lift sector, the fleet restructuring process has been completed. The smaller
floating sheerlegs ‘Ajax’ and ‘Taklift 3’ have
been sold. ‘Taklift 1’ was also earmarked for
sale but action on this front has been deferred.
This sheerlegs found profitable employment
in Venezuela and will be redeployed subsequently to the Gulf of Mexico to participate in
a range of salvage-related projects associated
with clearance work following the 2005 hurricanes. It appears likely that ‘Taklift 1’ will continue in service with SMIT Transport &Heavy
Lift for at least another year.
Abel Dutilh adds: “The concept here is the provision of a
cost-effective and safe alternative to helicopter transportation of maintenance crews.
The ‘Smit Kamara’ and her
Offshore Access System offers
an attractive alternative.”
Meanwhile, ‘Smit Komodo’
commenced a two-year plus
one contract with Petrobel,
Egypt, during February of this year. The vessel
is working in the anchorhandling, towage and
supply role, supporting a number of offshore
production installations.
June - immediately upon her delivery from
Singapore. The task is to support offshore facilities in the waters off Sakhalin. Consafe’s client
is Sakhalin Energy Investment Co.
A new phase of fleet expansion was marked by
the acquisition of seven new multipurpose
work vessels. These newbuildings, in the 75
In addition, ‘Smit Nicobar’ will commence
an initial six-month contract with Consafe in
Abel Dutilh concludes: “Non-performing assets
in the Transport & Heavy Lift fleet have now
been sold. We are now on the verge of embarking on a newbuilding programme. The main
aim is fleet replacement but there is also scope
for gradual expansion, with the focus on long
term employment opportunities.”
SHEERLEGS ‘TAKLIFT 7’ COMPLETES
GERMAN BRIDGE ASSIGNMENT
SMIT’s 1,200 tonnes sheerlegs ‘Taklift 7’ completed a major German
bridge building programme during April. The crane had spent
several months at the new Stralsund Bridge, on the German Baltic
coast. This suspension bridge links the mainland with the island of
Rügen.
‘Taklift 7’s recent career has focused on bridge projects, including a long
series of heavy lifts for the Rion-Antirion Bridge in Greece. In the case of
Stralsund, the sheerlegs lifted a total of 13 pylon sections and 16 bridge
sections, with maximum weights in the 800 tonnes range.
The lifting programme was completed successfully despite heavy ice
and prolonged periods of poor weather.
‘Taklift 7’ made a valuable contribution to the construction of this
box girder road bridge, which allows the B96 city bypass to cross the
Greifswalder Chaussee. Construction of the four-lane Stralsund bypass
began in 1997. The new bypass had reached the ferry check-in area at
Sassnitz Port by the following year.
The construction of the highest section of the Stralsund Bridge involved
the lift and positioning of the top unit of a 127 m pylon, with a weight of
84 tonnes. ‘Taklift 7’ employed its 175 m long boom for this task.
On completion of the Stralsund project, ‘Taklift 7’ will proceed to
Rotterdam to carry out a number of assignments in the area. During its
demobilization from Stralsund to Rotterdam, it will launch the hull of MV
Magnus at Mützelfeldtwerft in Cuxhaven. Assignments in the Rotterdam
area include participation in the Michelle wreck removal operation. Later
this year the sheerlegs will lift into position the living quarters for the
‘Terra Nova’ FPSO at Keppel Verolme, Rotterdam. This project involves
two contracts. The first calls for the transport of the accommodation
module from Newfoundland. ‘Smit Anambas’ and a large barge will be
deployed for this assignment. Later in July, ‘Taklift 7’ together with the
‘Matador 3’ will lift the living quarters into place.
During August ‘Taklift 7’ will proceed to Rouen, where the
sheerlegs will resume its bridge-building duties. The Rouen
bridge forms part of a scheme to reduce city traffic congestion. The main lifts involve two bridge sections with maximum dimensions of 80 m and 120 m, together with various
other elements. The sheerlegs will be rigged with the long
boom for some of the lifts.
Elsewhere in the world, SMIT’s sheerlegs remain busy in
Brazil. ‘Taklift 4’ is in the Rio area, lifting modules for the
‘P52’ FPSO at Keppel Fels. This 1,600 tonnes sheerlegs
arrived in Brazil during late January and will stay in the
area until June. At that point the ‘P52’ heavy lift work programme will have been completed. It is likely that ‘Taklift
4’ will then mobilise to the Gulf of Mexico to join the longrunning wreck and debris clearance programmes still under
way following the devastating hurricanes of last year.
‘Taklift 6’, with a 1,200 tonnes lift capacity, has been based
in Brazil for some years. This sheerlegs has provided heavy
lift support for a number of FPSO projects, including
Barracuda/Caratinga. ‘Taklift 6’ is also involved in the ‘P52’
project at BrasFels’ Angra Dos Reis integration yard. FPSOrelated work is likely to keep ‘Taklift 6’ in the area for the
foreseeable future.
‘Taklift 1’, with a lift capacity of 800 tonnes, has been lifting
modules for offshore fabricators Jantesa. This work is under
way in the Maracaibo area, Venezuela. The sheerlegs is lifting modules requiring refurbishment. During August the
crane will reinstall these modules. During the intervening
months, ‘Taklift 1’ will proceed to the US Gulf, to assist in the
Katrina/Rita clearance programmes.
Positioning of steel pylon sections of
the Stralsund bridge by the ‘Taklift 7’.
w w w. s m i t. c o m
‘Giant 2’ completes Alcan
transport programme
SMIT’s three Giant class 24,000 DWT barges
continue to find plentiful employment in
the global heavy transportation market.
Giant 2, for example, has been busy with
a programme of voyages in support of a
major project extending the Alcan aluminium refinery at Gove, east of Darwin,
Australia.
Fresh from last year’s drydocking at Batam,
‘Giant 2’s scope of work provides for a total
of five voyages carrying project cargo for the
‘Gove’ project. These cargoes have been loaded
at a variety of fabricators in Malaysia and
Thailand. The final voyage in this series was
completed mid-May.
‘Giant 2’ is earmarked for a fresh assignment
upon completion of the ‘Gove’ project, when
it commences a contract for van Oord to support oil and gas construction projects off
Sakhalin, Russia. Sister barge ‘Giant 3’ has been
busy at Sakhalin since last year, transporting
dredging equipment for van Oord and performing numerous stone transportation voyages. Projects concerning the huge Sakhalin
oil and gas development
programme will provide
continuous employment
for both ‘Giant 2’ and ‘Giant
3’ until at least the end of
this year.
‘Giant 4’, meanwhile, continues to operate
in the north west European region. Recent
assignments for this barge include the transportation of river barges from Rotterdam to
Fos, France. The vessel then loaded more river
barges at Fos, for transport to Le Havre.
‘Giant 4’ is due to commence a charter
for Heerema next month (June). This
concerns the ‘De Ruyter’ oil and gas
project on the Dutch Shelf. The scope
of work here focuses on the transport
of heavy elements for the ‘De Ruyter’
Gravity Base Structure.
Meanwhile ‘Smit Anambas’ activities in
the first quarter of this year included
the move of a 4,000 tonnes, four-leg
jack-up from Piraeus to Rotterdam.
The vessel then proceeded to Norway
for the transport of substructures on
behalf of TP Shipping. The voyages
involve a variety of load and discharge locations in Norway. On completion of this work
programme in early May, ‘Smit Anambas’ proceeded to St. John’s, Newfoundland, to load a
700 tonnes accommodation module, for KBR/
Petro-Canada.
In addition, the DSV ‘Smit Orca’ continues to
operate offshore West Africa. The vessel is
engaged in a wide range of subsea maintenance and repair activities for offshore oil and
gas installations. The ‘Smit Orca’ is frequently
hired by various offshore companies, such as
Perenco, Total Technique, Agip, SHELL, Acergy
(previously Stolt Offshore) and as diving platform and accommodation vessel.
The ‘Giant 2’ transporting
cargo for the ‘Gove’ project.
SMIT’s lead role in windfarm project
SMIT Transport is now engaged in a major
project concerning the construction of a
large windfarm complex at IJmuiden, in the
Netherlands. This is the country’s largest
windfarm project to date.
These barges were selected as they can be
manoeuvred, in the laden condition, inside the
docking station of the Ballast Nedam heavy lift
vessel ‘Svanen’ - which is responsible for lifting
and positioning the heavy units taking the turbines, following pile-driving.
SMIT Transport’s project team is
also responsible for the design,
fabrication and installation of
innovative hinged sea-fastenings, which can be re-used for
each transport, throughout the
contract period, without cutting
and welding.
The development requires the fabrication,
transport and installation of a series of 36
large wind turbines, each rated at 3.6 mW. This
power generation scheme is being developed
by Shell Nuon. Ballast Nedam, SMIT Transport’s
client, has the main contract - a turnkey agreement - for the fabrication, installation and
commissioning of the complex.
SMIT’s contract includes the transport of 36
transition pieces and monopiles from the fabrication yard in Aalborg, Denmark, to the location off IJmuiden. This requires the mobilisation of a 40 tonnes bollard pull tug and three
flat-top barges (‘E3801’, ‘E3004’ and ‘E3001’).
The transports began
in early March and
will continue until July. Each voyage
from Aalborg to IJmuiden takes three
days. The programme is organised to
ensure that one barge is loading, one
is discharging and one is en route at
all times. SMIT’s scope of work also
includes ballasting during load-out
operations.
The second section of the SMIT contract provides for the services of three
shallow draft anchorhandlers. These
units are required for anchorhandling
support for the heavy lift vessel
‘Svanen’. The latter operates within a
pre-laid eight-point mooring system.
The individual anchors have weights of up to
12.5 tonnes.
The units deployed for this work programme
are the anchorhandlers ‘Smit Bever’ and ‘Smit
Bronco’ (a 25.4 m newbuild with a 28 tonnes
bollard pull). ‘Smit Bronco’ represents the first
of a new class of three tugs. The second and
third vessels are ‘Smit Barracuda’ and ‘Smit
Bison’.
In addition, the 1,800 hp tractor tug ‘Eerland
26’ is working off IJmuiden, manoeuvring the
barges at the windfarm construction site.
Heavy lift vessel ‘Svanen’ and anchorhandling
tug ‘Smit Bever’ off IJmuiden.
tug magazine
INSTALLATION COMPLETED FOR
DE RUYTER FIELD STRUCTURES
SMIT Marine Projects has just completed
major assignments associated with the ‘De
Ruyter’ field development - a new oil and
gas field, on the Dutch Shelf some 30 NM
off The Hague. The field developer is PetroCanada. SMIT Marine Projects won two contracts involving the ‘De Ruyter’ field development, relating to the offshore production
facility and the mooring system for shuttle
tankers loading in the field.
One contract was with Heerema, fabricators
for the production facility GBS (Gravity Base
Structure). This contract was awarded in March
2006 but preparations began in September
2005. The GBS installation started in April and
was completed in early May.
The GBS was constructed in Dubai. Heerema’s
yards in the Netherlands will complete the
offshore structure: the lattice is provided
by Heerema Flushing and the company’s
Zwijndrecht yard is responsible for the topside
(Integrated Production Deck), which is to be
installed in June.
In addition, SMIT Marine Projects received
a contract from GB Diving concerning the
‘De Ruyter’ TMLS (Tanker Mooring Loading
System). The TMLS was designed by APL of
Norway, constructed by Bladt in Denmark and
installed during May by SMIT.
The ‘De Ruyter’ Field has two main pipelines.
The oil pipeline runs from the GBS to the TMLS
(shuttle tanker loading system). In addition,
a gas export line connects the GBS to the
Wintershall platform east of the ‘De Ruyter’
field, and then on to the shore.
Sander Korte, SMIT’s General Manager for
Marine Projects, says: “We carried out the
GBS work programme in a joint venture with
Boskalis. Our scope of work included preinstallation preparations ashore, followed by
the towout to location and installation. The
latter phase included fine positioning and ballasting onto the seabed and the pumping of a
grout layer beneath the GBS. Boskalis dredged
the GBS’ reception pit and then started the
rock protection works on Sunday May 7th.
“Preparations ashore included rigging for the
tow and the installation of survey equipment,
suction pumps and umbilicals. The towout to
location was performed in early
April, during a period of welcome
good weather. Two tugs were
mobilised for this operation. Once
on location two more tugs arrived.
All four tugs were then connected
for the next phase and manoeuvred the GBS into a pre-laid mooring system. With fine positioning
achieved, the 80 m by 70 m GBS
was then ballasted down into the
dredged reception pit. Grouting
began when the GBS’ skirts had
fully penetrated the seabed. The
grout filled the void space beneath
the structure. The GBS installation
was completed by the first week
of May.”
The ‘Taklift 7’ with TMLS in Waalhaven, Rotterdam just
before transport to the ‘De Ruyter’ field in the North Sea.
loading hose, the mooring arrangement and
the installation rigging of the TMLS.
The TMLS structure has an arrangement for
loading shuttle tankers by means of a flexible hose submerged at the surface. A shuttle
tanker arriving in the field picks up the loading
hose (with a pick up arrangement connected
to the loading hose). This proven method is
used with success by the (Veba) Hanse F2 platform, also on the Dutch Shelf, recently taken
over by Petro-Canada.
The ‘De Ruyter’ TMLS has four large suction
cans, a deck incorporating a central swivel and
former oil export terminal in Angola. This project, for Total E&P Angola, was undertaken with
SMIT’s Angolan subsidiary, OCTOMAR.
The Diving Support Vessel ‘Smit Orca’ was
mobilised for the removal of two offshore
steel towers. The SMIT team on site, including
a large group of divers from SMIT Terminals
West Africa, also flushed the Cabeça Da Cobra
and Soyo terminals’ lines. Sander Korte says:
“The two towers were cut into sections and
delivered to a scrapping facility in the Soyo
area. The specification for the Angolan project
placed much emphasis on protection of the
environment. The integrity of the lines was
The ‘Smit Orca’ with a tower section in West Africa.
SMIT’s De Ruyter project team then focused on
the TMLS. This unit was transported from the
Bladt Fabrication Yard, Aalborg, by the ‘E1704’ towed by the URS tug ‘Boxer’. This voyage took
three days. The TMLS/barge combination was
berthed in the Waalhaven, Rotterdam, where
the structure was prepared and rigged for
installation. This included the assembly of the
a hose connection unit. Installation involves
penetration of the seabed to the full, 8 m
height of the suction cans. This operation was
scheduled for completion by mid-May. First
oil and gas from ‘De Ruyter’ is expected in late
2006.
During April, SMIT Marine Projects completed
the decommissioning of the remains of a
11
known to be poor and flushing, of course, does
require pressurisation. With these factors in
mind, the flushing was carried out successfully,
with minimal release of oil”.
w w w. s m i t. c o m
SMIT Amandla Marine: full ahead
for future growth
Recognising the South African
Government’s desire to transform the country, SMIT has
proactively addressed issues of
transformation in their South
African operations since investing there in 1999. In November
2005 a multi-million rand Black
Economic Empowerment transaction was finalised, following
successful negotiations between
African Maritime Investment
Holdings (Pty) Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of MION Holdings (Pty)
Ltd, and SMIT Internationale NV.
A key driver in the transaction’s successful
conclusion was the commitment displayed
by both the new black shareholders, African
Maritime Investments Holdings, and SMIT in
their quest to create a company that comprehensively addresses the critical issue of Black
Economic Empowerment. This is not only a
matter of ownership but, just as importantly,
the progress of black management, employment equity, skills development, preferential
procurement, new enterprise initiatives and
corporate social investment.
SMIT Chief Executive Officer Ben Vree says:
“This new company reaffirms our commitment to South Africa and its empowerment
objectives, as well as to the core principles of
broad-based Black Economic Empowerment. It
also meets SMIT’s broader strategic objectives,
to develop partnerships in all major maritime
centres where we operate”.
Under the transaction, the majority of SMIT’s
South African business activities and contracts was acquired by SMIT Amandla Marine,
with SMIT retaining 70% of the ownership of
this company. African Maritime Investment
Holdings has acquired 18% of SMIT Amandla
Marine. In addition, the SMIT Amandla Marine
Employee Trust - the beneficiaries of whom are
the employees of SMIT Amandla Marine (74%
of whom are black) - holds 12 % ownership.
This means that over 550 South Africans will
have a direct interest in the company.
“I need to ensure that our strategy is followed and that performance is monitored. In
addition, our Black Economic Empowerment
agenda needs to be met in terms of training,
identifying new black managers and meeting
the scorecard in terms of preferential procurement. I also need, however, to ensure there is
growth. Even if all scorecard criteria are met,
we cannot move forward without growth.”
SMIT Amandla Marine’s track record spans
some three decades. It now operates a fleet
of 21 owned or managed vessels. Managing
Director Paul Maclons says: “We operate in
a highly competitive environment and our
people are the most important contributors
to success”. Our clients expect and receive
world class operational and safety standards.
Following the finalisation of our empowerment transaction in late 2005, we are geared
SMIT representatives during the
SMIT Amandla Marine launch in
To the sound of an African drum beat, South
African Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe introduced SMIT Amandla Marine to the South
African maritime industry on November 15
2005. The formal launch event was held in
Cape Town.
Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe, Manana Nhlanhla, Sithembiso Mthethwa, Abel Dutilh and Paul Maclons.
SMIT Amandla Marine’s chairperson is
Manana Nhlanhla. Commenting on the
course she has set for the organisation,
Manana says: “Our strategic objectives
focus on three areas: sustainability, transformation and growth.
Addressing the audience, Minister Radebe said:
“The initiative by SMIT Internationale enhances
the participation of the previously marginalized groups in the economy of this country. I
am confident that the successful implementation of the vision of SMIT Amandla Marine will
not only meet the objectives of broad-based
Black Economic Empowerment but will contribute significantly to the overall developmental objectives of our government. SMIT
Amandla Marine has set an example of what
can be achieved when South Africans work
together in making sure that this country is a
better place for all people who live in it.”
for growth and are excited about future prospects”.
SMIT Amandla Marine’s clients range from
private sector to government, including
PetroSA and its offshore support activities
and the National Department of Transport,
with its national pollution prevention function. The company also has long term service
relationships with De Beers Marine and local
oil companies. In addition, it provides vessel
management services for the Department
of Environmental Affairs & Tourism’s fleet of
supply vessels and fisheries research/patrol
fleet. The organisation also represents a critical link between consistent fuel supply and the
country’s economy, through involvement in
the management of offshore tanker terminals for PetroSA and SAPREF and the provision of in-port bunker delivery services for
ships calling at Durban and Richards Bay.
Cape Town.
Caring for the
marine environment
Making history in
service to client
SMIT holds a contract with the South African
Department of Transport for the provision
of standby salvage services. The tug ‘Smit
Amandla’ is in the frontline of the country’s
protective measures against pollution. In fact,
South Africa was the first country in the world
to enter into such an agreement with private
industry, back in the 1970s. SMIT Amandla
Marine recently played host to a two-day
‘Marine Emergency Response’ workshop in
February which focused on providing more
insight into the business of salvage, communication, planning and response.
Six vessels on charter to one client at one
time is no mean feat, but this achievement
was celebrated by SMIT Amandla Marine in
January. The SMIT Amandla Marine team at the
EB-T offshore field began the first ship-to-ship
transfer for client PetroSA on January 31. The
operation involved the tankers Knock Dee and
Nordic Laurita. The three-day STS involved the
‘Pentow Skua’, ‘SMIT Lloyd 33’ and the ‘Kuswag
IV’. A second STS followed in mid-February. In
January, SMIT Amandla’s six vessels on charter
to PetroSA included those mentioned above
and the ‘Pentow Malgas’, ‘Eagle Star’ and ‘Sarah
Baartman’.
Bringing the Moquini
home
The disappearance of the yacht Moquini in
2005, during the Mauritius to Durban yacht
race, was a tragic event that made headlines around South Africa and elsewhere in
the world. The fate of the six crew members
was unknown. In early February reports of a
capsized yacht were received by the Marine
Rescue Co-ordination Centre and the South
African Maritime Safety Authority requested
‘Smit Amandla’ to proceed to a position some
500 miles off East London and investigate.
The yacht was located and confirmed as the
Moquini. The vessel was righted and towed to
Durban, where the families of the six missing
crew members could attain a degree of closure.
A story of subsea
success
It takes a unique kind of individual to pursue
a career as a diver. It requires specialist skills,
intense training and the acceptance of the element of risk. As a training ground for divers to
gain oilfield experience, SMIT’s terminal operation in Mossel Bay is unsurpassed. The diver
training programme has achieved much success, particularly in the training of black diver
candidates.
Participants of the ‘Marine Emergency Response’ workshop.
tug magazine
SMIT
Singapore
receives
honours
In a ceremony last November, held at the
Malacanang Palace - the official residence
of the President of the Philippines - representatives of SMIT Singapore received the
Presidential International Employer Award
from Her Excellency Gloria MacapagalArroyo.
SMIT’s Jan Peter Duijvestijn, Director of Shared
Resources, and Victor Dass, Manager of Human
Resources, represented the Group at the ceremony. The award recognises, inter alia, SMIT
Singapore’s long term employment of Filipino
seafarers, its contribution to the Filipino economy and its cadet-training scheme and training and development programmes for officers
and crew.
The Directors and General Manager of Asian Lift celebrate the company’s twentieth year of operation.
Asian Lift celebrates 20 years
Asian Lift celebrated 20 successful years in
the heavy lift industry in March of this year.
The company was formed in 1985 as a joint
venture between Keppel FELS and SMIT. To
mark the milestone, Asian Lift organized a
golf game for clients and business partners
in the morning, followed by a reception and
dinner.
A total of 42 golfers teed off at Raffles Country
Club for a friendly game. They included Abel
Dutilh, Managing Director of SMIT Transport &
Heavy Lift and SMIT Salvage, and Choo Chiau
Beng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Keppel Offshore and Marine.
The evening dinner reception was held at
Singapore’s Shangri-la Hotel, with about
180 guests and staff attending. In his opening address, Abel Dutilh noted that Asian Lift
now has five floating sheerlegs in its fleet. The
largest unit is ‘Asian Hercules II’, with a 3,200
tonnes lift capacity - the largest sheerlegs in
South East Asia.
Jan Peter Duijvestijn, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas,
Victor Dass and other representatives.
SMIT Singapore has been employing Filipino
seafarers for the past 30 years. The company
currently has 1,235 Filipino personnel in its
regular pool of marine crew. They range from
Masters to cooks.
In a separate ceremony a day earlier, SMIT
Singapore also received a ministerial award
as an outstanding employer of Filipino seafarers, granted by the Department of Labor
and Employment. It was presented by Labor
Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.
Human Resources Manager Victor Dass said
that SMIT employs seafarers of many nationalities, but Filipino staff were prominent. He
added: “Their strong seafaring tradition, ability to converse in English and a positive work
attitude are amongst the reasons for the high
number of Filipino staff employed.”
The awards received were based on employment figures and data on economic and welfare contributions to the Philippines provided
by the Philippines Overseas Employment
Administration (POEA).
SMIT Transport & Heavy Lift
expands fleet
At a ceremony on March 29th, SMIT Singapore signed the contract
for the purchase of seven newly-built vessels from Hadi H. AlHammam Est., of Saudi Arabia.
These vessels are in the 75 tonnes bollard pull class and represent a
modified version of the existing vessels ‘Smit Kamara’ and ‘Smit Komodo’.
The first two units in this series will be delivered this year. The third and
fourth vessels are expected in 2007 and the last three in 2008. These versatile work vessels - with anchorhandling, firefighting, supply, rescue and towing capabilities
- will be managed by SMIT Singapore.
The first of the new vessels was named ‘Smit Lombok’ by Ms Lee Sook
Fung at a ceremony held in Singapore during April. SMIT Chief Executive
Officer Ben Vree and the Supervisory Board of SMIT Internationale N.V.
attended the ceremony.
F.l.t.r. Ms Lee Sook Fung, Manager Finance and Administration SMIT Singapore, Capt. John
Bruinsma, Manager SMIT Transport Asia, Mr TK Rajgopal of Hadi H. Al‑Hammam Est, Mr Robert
Chua of Hadi H. Al‑Hammam Est. and Mr Tony Seah, Legal Counsel SMIT Singapore.
This significant investment represents both
expansion and fleet replacement. Three vessels
have already secured long-term contracts for the
oil and gas sector - working for Saudi Aramco in
Saudi waters, through Hadi H. Al-Hamman Est.
This Group and SMIT have declared their intent
to jointly pursue additional opportunities in
Saudi Arabia.
The acquisition of the new vessels fit SMIT’s
strategy of focusing on the top-sector of the
market, with long-term contracts, autonomous
growth and fleet renewal.
13
w w w. s m i t. c o m
Sharing knowledge of casualty response
and pollution prevention
SMIT’s latest “Managing Marine
Emergencies” (MME) course, held in
Rotterdam during April, brought together
shipping and insurance professionals from
around the world. Delegates attending this
course included P&I managers, hull underwriters, spill responders and representatives of government agencies, port authorities and vessel owners and operators. The
delegates were drawn from eight countries.
The purpose of the four-day course is to share
first-hand knowledge of the operational realities of managing a major incident, including
effective liaison with the media and other
third parties. The course draws on real cases to
explore problems and solutions and, in doing
so, highlights best practice.
This popular course was first established over
a decade ago. It is held twice-yearly at SMIT’s
Rotterdam headquarters and annually in
Singapore. The MME programme has two sections. The first spans three days and explores
the technical, legal, insurance and salvage
aspects of casualty response. This course element is presented by SMIT’s salvage experts
and external specialists.
The final day focuses on the external aspects of
response, including communication with the
media. Delegates participate in a highly realistic casualty simulation, gaining knowledge
which is readily transferable to the workplace.
During the exercise, they learn to balance
operational priorities with the need to communicate effectively with a range of third parties
in high pressure circumstances. This final MME
day is managed by a consultant specialising in
media and marine casualty response.
SMIT Salvage Commercial Director Geert
Koffeman says: “Course participants really
enjoy this challenging last day, as it provides
the complete picture of what it feels like to
be at the centre of a high profile casualty.
The demands of media response require the
response teams to think beyond purely operational aspects and to consider the public and
political consequences of their decisions. Some
tough decisions are required and, as in the
case of a real situation, the participants have
to live with any error of judgement or inappropriate release of information. For this reason,
every decision they take is crucial.”
A new generation
Knowledge-sharing and knowledge management are also matters of great importance
within the SMIT organisation. SMIT Salvage
Director Hans van Rooij explains: “Knowledgesharing is a concept which is
simple to express but much
harder to achieve. In the context of salvage, the biggest
challenge here is to ‘transmit’
knowledge to a new generation. This has become more
difficult in recent years, as
there are far fewer opportunities to gain experience in the
field.
no easy matter. Their expertise must be transferred if we are to do everything possible to
reduce risks to people and the environment.
One way forward is closer personal contact
between people of different generations.
Another approach is to compile databases on
the management of particularly complex and
difficult salvage operations. We are pursuing
both methods.
“Furthermore, every salvage operation now
performed is documented and recorded in
such a way that the key data can be studied
by those who may, one day, find themselves
facing the same situation.”
With pollution prevention now the top priority in virtually every salvage operation, environmental care is the first principle of casualty
response. Care for the marine environment
represents an important market for salvage
services.
Hans van Rooij says: “Our people fully understand the significance of environmental care.
This embraces a number of issues, including
regulatory requirements, political realities and
industry liabilities. In our view, SMIT has much
to offer in sharing knowledge of issues such
as contingency planning, disaster recovery
and new technology, to overcome operational
challenges.”
Participants of SMIT’s MME course in April in Rotterdam.
“Modern marine salvage
requires a high level of academic knowledge. Yet, at the
same time, many salvage skills
can be developed only in the
field. Today, however, there are
far fewer casualties and, therefore, fewer opportunities to
gain operational experience.
“The precious knowledge
gained by an older generation needs to be preserved
and transferred and that is
URS: new tugs for Zeebrugge
expected by year-end
URS is expecting the delivery of a further
two newbuildings by the end of this year.
During 2005 four 33 m ASD tugs, with a 66
tonnes bollard pull, joined the URS fleet
following delivery from Astilleros Armon
of Spain. During mid-2005 URS placed a
second order with the same yard, for two
tugs of 25 m. These units have a similar bollard pull - 65 tonnes - and are designed and
outfitted for two-man operation.
The 25 m tugs have some novel features. The
deckhouse is around 80 cm higher than the
four 33 m units, giving exceptional vision. The
wire runs under the deckhouse to the stern.
This means they can work with only one winch
and tow over the stern. The new 25 m tugs will
be stationed at Zeebrugge, where shipping
traffic levels continue to rise.
URS is reinforcing its competitive position
on the Scheldt and in the ports of Antwerp,
Flushing, Zeebrugge, Terneuzen and Gent. Its
strategy is founded on the ability to compete
successfully on costs and operational efficiency. Increasingly, the status of cost-leader
depends on efficient two-man operation of
tugs. Fleet standardisation is another important issue. The URS fleet’s 3111 and 2801 tugs
are crucial as they offer great flexibility across
a wide range of harbour towage and other
marine services.
Four URS tugs providing harbour towage
assistance in Antwerp, Belgium.
URS, meanwhile, is considering the renewal
of its larger offshore tugs. Studies are now
under way. Options are being explored for the
replacement of vessels in the 80 tonnes bollard
pull class.
Other developments in recent months include
the preparation of a major tender for the longterm maintenance and repair management of
pilot boats on the Scheldt. The outcome of this
bid is awaited. As for salvage activity on the
river and adjacent waters, URS recently joined
Terneuzen-based Multraship in the operation to free the Kuwaiti vessel Fowairet, which
grounded on a bank. The salvage team succeeded in refloating this casualty.
tug magazine
SMITWijs expands GTA ocean towage pool
The SmitWijs - managed Global Towing
Alliance (GTA) pool expanded its fleet of
ocean-going long haul tugs with the addition of a unit from COESS (China Ocean
Engineering Services/Shanghai Salvage) in
2005. This tug is the 2000-built, 185 tonnes
bollard pull ‘De Hong’.
An 89.9m, 200 tonnes bollard pull newbuild is
now under construction at Wuchang Shipyard,
Wuhan, China. This tug is expected to join the
SmitWijs fleet, under the GTA banner, by early
2007. The newbuilding is to be known as ‘De
Zhou’.
SmitWijs was established in 1991. It is a 50:50
joint venture between SMIT and what is now
SvitzerWijsmuller. Its primary market is the
provision of long haul ocean towage services
for FPSO’s and other large floating objects,
including FSOs and semi-submersible rigs.
Assignments also involve floating units such as
large construction barges and floating docks.
During 2005 SmitWijs contributed to the
wider SMIT restructuring programme. It withdrew from the anchorhandling sector and
sold the units ‘Tempest’ and ‘Typhoon’. This
reflects the fact that both SmitWijs partners are
already active in the anchorhandling market
through other companies and operations.
(SvitzerWijsmuller through Maersk/A.P. Moller’s
global infrastructure and, in the case of SMIT,
the build programme for the new ‘Smit Kamara’
Class of anchorhandling/multirole vessels).
SmitWijs now focuses entirely on the core
business of long haul ocean towage. Beyond
the GTA fleet, the joint venture also operates
the Emergency Towing Vessel Waker, based
at Den Helder and operating under contract
to the Dutch Government to provide standby
towage and salvage services. The responsibility
for the ‘Waker’s salvage duties rotates annually
between SMIT and SvitzerWijsmuller.
SmitWijs Managing Director Jord Veldman
says the outlook for SmitWijs/GTA is encouraging: “The market began to improve during
the second half of 2004 and this improvement
continued during last year. We expect further
progress this year and for the foreseeable
future.”
FPSO ‘Erha’ during transport from Singapore to Nigeria.
Assignments in 2005 included a contract with
Heerema for the transport of jackets and decks
for offshore installations in West African waters.
Many of the pool tugs - ‘Wolraad Woltemade’,
‘SmitWijs Singapore’, ‘De Da’ and ‘SmitWijs
Rotterdam’ - were involved in this series of
eight voyages, completed in the November
2004-August 2005 period. Each voyage, towing
laden Heerema barges from the US Gulf to offshore Angola, took around 40 days.
Another notable project during 2005 was the
tow of the newbuild FPSO ‘Sanha’ from Japan
to Angola. This FPSO, constructed by IHI, was
delivered on location during March 2005 by
the ‘Wolraad Woltemade’ and ‘De Da’.
These tugs were entrusted with a very special
asset. ‘Sanha’ is unusual, being an LPG FPSO.
It is required for the ‘Sanha’ gas condensate/
Bomboco project offshore Cabinda, Angola.
The FPSO was ordered by ChevronTexaco’s
Angolan affiliate, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company.
The FPSO now receives LPG from two adjacent platforms (Sanha PCP and F-GP) before
offloading to shuttle tankers. It is capable of
processing over 37,000 barrels of LPG per day
into propane and butane products. The vessel
has storage for 135,000 cu m of these products.
Another SmitWijs FPSO assignment involved
the ExxonMobil-owned ‘Erha’, which was towed
from Singapore to Nigeria, under contract with
Saipem. This project commenced in September
and ‘Erha’ was installed by early January. Three
GTA tugs- ‘SmitWijs Singapore’, ‘SmitWijs
Rotterdam’ and ‘De Hong’ - performed this
voyage. A second contract was awarded by
Stolt to SmitWijs for marine support during the
installation phase. This 285 m FPSO has an initial production capacity of 165,000 bopd and
storage capacity of 2.2 million bbls.
The market for semi-submersible rig moves
was buoyant in 2005. SmitWijs contracts
included the repositioning of the ‘Deepsea
Driller II’ from Singapore to the US Gulf. The
voyage was undertaken by the ‘SmitWijs
London’, 22,000 hp. The rig arrived in the Gulf
of Mexico in May of last year.
Other rig moves included the relocations of
the Pride North America, from Angola to Egypt,
and the Atwood Southern Cross, first from
and the move of Stena Tay from Mauritania
to the US Gulf. This assignment, on behalf
of TotalFinaElf, was performed by ‘SmitWijs
Singapore’. Stena Tay arrived in the US Gulf
during mid-March.
“This was an interesting project. Stena Tay is
self-propelled but towage was required in
order to reduce mobilisation time in the very
strong rig market. In a low market, the rig
would almost certainly have proceeded under
her own power. The fact that towage was
required underlines the strength of the current
rig market. We have seen a number of towage
assignments in recent times with the main
objective of fast mobilisation.”
Rig tows now in prospect include the move
of the ‘Safe Scandinavia’ from the US Gulf to
Norway. ‘SmitWijs Rotterdam’ will commence
this voyage this month (May). Meanwhile,
the pool tug ‘De Da’ has just completed the
relocation of the Sedco 702 from Australia
to Singapore. In addition, the ‘Wolraad
Woltemade’ has also just completed the move
of the ‘Safe Concordia’ from Singapore to the
US Gulf.
Singapore to Egypt and, subsequently, from
Egypt to Malta. After this voyage, ‘SmitWijs
London’ proceeded immediately with the tow of
a floating drydock from Malta to Namibia, completing three successful tows in rapid succession immediately after her drydocking last year.
This busy rig move programme continued
into 2006. Jord Veldman says: “We are still in
a very strong spot market. The semi-sub rig
moves so far this year included the relocation
of ‘Blackford Dolphin’ from South Africa to
Rotterdam, tackled by the ‘SmitWijs London’,
Jord Veldman adds: “FPSO assignments this
year include the P.54 newbuilding, now under
tow by ‘SmitWijs Rotterdam’ from Singapore to
Brazil. This vessel is required for the Roncador
Field, in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil.
Prior to commencing this voyage, ‘SmitWijs
Rotterdam’ assisted in the salvage of the
‘Hyundai Fortune’, a container vessel which
exploded whilst off Aden.
“Looking ahead, we expect the rig market
to remain strong for at least the next 18-24
months. Furthermore, interesting opportunities continue to arise in the FPSO sector.”
The ‘SmitWijs London’ departing from
Malta with a floating drydock.
15
w w w. s m i t. c o m
Rotterdam success for ITS 2006
SMIT played a prominent role in making Rotterdam an
outstanding success as a venue for the 19th International
Tug & Salvage Convention and Exhibition, held in the
city during April.
SMIT tugs participated in a record-breaking event during the five-day programme.
The tugs ‘Smit Loire’, ‘Smit Owena’, ‘Eerland 5’,
‘Eerland 23’ and ‘Rijn’ were amongst a fleet of
over 50 tugs parading at Rotterdam’s Cruise
Terminal. The ITS 2006 organisers have applied
to the Guinness Book of Records for an entry to
mark the world’s biggest parade of tugs, representing old and new and the smallest to the
largest now in service.
join a tour of SMIT’s new headquarters at the
Waalhaven. The conference delegates then
concluded ITS 2006 at an evening reception
hosted by SMIT on board the ‘Admi’, moored
alongside the company’s headquarters.
The ITS 2006 inaugural paper was presented
by SMIT Salvage Managing Director Hans
van Rooij, in his capacity as President of the
Ben Vree interviewed by conference Chairman Mike Allen.
International Salvage Union. The conference
programme included an interview with SMIT
CEO Ben Vree. The interview, before the audience of conference delegates, was conducted
by conference Chairman Mike Allen.
Russia and Turkey. SMIT’s stand was one of the
largest at the exhibition and was frequently
visited throughout the event.
During his address, Hans van Rooij referred
to the new ISU proposals for the introduction
of Environmental Awards for salvage services
which result in pollution prevention. During
March, a meeting of the Lloyd’s Salvage Group
agreed to establish a special subcommittee
to examine these proposals. Under the ISU’s
concept, Salvage Awards would continue to
reward salvors who recover property, but a
distinct Environmental Award would be introduced, to reward those who prevent spills and,
consequently, reduce the burden of clean-up
costs and compensation claims.
During the final day, Friday April 28th, many
ITS 2006 delegates took the opportunity to
SMIT, together with other ISU members, have
a successful track record in preventing pollu-
Hans van Rooij presenting the ITS 2006 inaugural paper.
Hans van Rooij also referred to the emergency
services provided by ISU salvors in the United
States, following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The salvage operations ranged from the
recovery of drifting oil rigs to the refloating of
grounded vessels in the Mississippi.
The ITS 2006 programme also included a
paper on technical developments in salvage presented by Bert Kleijwegt, Business
Development Manager and Senior Salvage
Consultant for SMIT Salvage.
Rotterdam is a natural location for ITS as, in
many ways, it is the epicentre of the international tug and salvage industries. The venue
certainly attracted record numbers of delegates and exhibitors.
The conference venue was the newly-refurbished Beurs-World Trade Congress Centre, in
the business heart of Rotterdam. ITS 2006 was
opened by Dutch Minister of Public Works,
Transport and Watermanagement Dr Karla
Peijs. The exhibitors included no less than 14
tug builders, from Singapore, India, Canada,
tion. Over the past 12 years, nearly 13 million
tonnes of oils, chemicals and other pollutants
have been recovered from over 2,000 ship
casualties.
which produced the “FOR” (Fast oil Recovery)
system. This is a pre-installed connector
system, it allows for rapid connection for the
ship-to-ship transfer of cargo or bunkers, or
the pump-out of pollutants from sunken vessels.
The ITS delegates’ visit to SMIT began during
the late afternoon of April 28th. Guests were
welcomed by SMIT Chief Executive Ben Vree.
They then began a tour of the new headquarters building, quayside facilities and
SMIT’s principal salvage warehouse in the
Netherlands. In this logistics centre, salvage
equipment is held in readiness for immediate
deployment anywhere in the world.
Bert Kleijwegt said there are three main drivers for innovation in salvage: greater efficiency,
new operational needs (including the salvage
of ever larger and more complex vessels) and
public concern for the marine environment.
He described SMIT’s work in developing new
systems for greater efficiency, including the
wreck-cutting wire and the Aqualub water
injection system for the effective pumping
of heavy oils. As for new operational needs,
he cited the development of new systems
for dealing with fires on a new generation of
gigantic container vessels. He also outlined
SMIT’s research concerning the salvage of
double-hulled tankers.
In the area of environmental care, Bert
Kleijwegt told ITS delegates that SMIT’s pioneering work continues in developing systems
for the cost-effective assessment of pollution
threats and the diverless recovery of pollutants
from sunken vessels.
Other innovations on the environmental front
include SMIT’s concept for a mobile, high
capacity system for the treatment of salvage
wastewaters. SMIT is also a partner in a venture
Minister Karla Peijs and Alderman Wim van Sluis made their
presence at the opening of ITS 2006.
The visitors were briefed on how SMIT maintains readiness at a level allowing salvage
teams to intervene and perform several major
operations simultaneously, on a global basis.
The tour concluded with drinks and a dinner
on board the ‘Admi’.