Seadrill and Transocean order jack-up rigs
Two offshore drillers are showing enough faith in prospects for jack-ups to take out their check books. Seadrill is following up its recent drillship splurge at Samsung by ordering two newbuild two
Search Results for: Rem Offshore
ABS fleet sails past 170 million gt mark
The latest statistics show it totaling 11,055 vessels aggregating 170.29 million gt, an increase of more than 9 million gross tons thus far this year.
That makes ABS the the third largest classification society in terms of aggregate gross tonnage. But it believes it continues to be the largest society in terms of the number of vessels and offshore units in its class.
ABS has also held its position as the most favored classification society for new construction, a standing it has held for most of the last three years. The current order book is comprises 2,384 vessels aggregating 50.95 million gt.
“The continued strength of the newbuilding market, given the current global economic uncertainty, is surprising,” says ABS Chairman and CEO Robert D. Somerville. “New orders to ABS class continue to offset the uncommonly high level of deliveries providing a consistently high demand for our engineering and survey services and giving us the youngest fleet profile in our history.” More than 67 percent of the in-service ABS-classed fleet is now ten years of age or less.
Mr. Somerville says he believes that “superior service will remain the principle differentiator between the leading class societies, with ABS setting the standard.”
The latest fleet statistics show that ABS continues to hold the leading market share for newbuildings on order in both Korea and China, the world’s top two shipbuilding nations. The society is equally successful with shipowners with its 30 percent share of all Greek controlled tonnage on order clearly demonstrating its success in this most demanding market.
The recent establishment of a fifth operating division for Greater China, responsible for administering the society’s activities in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan is the latest demonstration of the ABS commitment to superior service according to Mr. Somerville.
November 8,2010
Harris swoops on Schlumberger Satcom business
Harris (NYSE:HRS) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Global Connectivity Services (GCS) business from Schlumberger Information Solutions, an operating unit of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB).
The acquisition will significantly extend Harris’ capabilities as a global provider of managed satellite communications services for customers that include the offshore energy and maritime industries. Schlumberger GCS will be combined with recently acquired CapRock Communications to form Harris CapRock Communications.
Both Schlumberger GCS and Caprock are important players in the VSAT market – an increasingly popular communications option with many shipowners.
Schlumberger GCS provides global communication services for a wide range of customers primarily in the oil and gas industries, including Schlumberger. Its main operations are in the United Kingdom, Norway, Singapore and the U.S., and include 12 globally deployed teleports, a 24×7 Network Operations Center (NOC), worldwide terrestrial infrastructure, and VSAT manufacturing capabilities in the U.K. and Singapore.
The agreement to acquire Schlumberger GCS follows the Harris acquisition of CapRock Communications on July 30. CapRock has four self-owned and operated teleports and 11 regional support centers across North America, Central and South America, Europe, West Africa and Asia Pacific.
“Combining Schlumberger GCS with CapRock Communications will create an organization with unsurpassed global satellite network capabilities, broad service offerings, and a large experienced service team to provide customers with superior remote and in-the-field support,” said Howard L. Lance, chairman, president and CEO of Harris. “Harris CapRock Communications will be able to use its capabilities and expertise to offer customers the most secure, reliable and efficient solutions in the industry.”
“Schlumberger has successfully developed its Global Connectivity Services business over the past 10 years to reach an extensive global products and services offering. This acquisition by Harris will ensure continued growth and new technology deployment in a focused communications organization,” said Tony Bowman, president of Schlumberger Information Solutions. “Schlumberger will continue to take advantage of these capabilities once the transaction is concluded through a long-term contract with Harris CapRock Communications.”
November 8, 2010
$2.1 million penalties in Gould pollution case
Galliano, La., headquartered Offshore Vessels LLC (OSV), formerly Edison Chouest Offshore Vessels LLC, was on Thursday sentenced in U.S. District Court in New Orleans to pay a criminal fine of $1,750,000 and remit a payment of $350,000 as community service to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The community service funds are to be used to study polar water pollution and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the Antarctic region. OSV also will serve a period of probation for three years, during which it will be required to operate under an Environmental Compliance Plan.
OSV pleaded guilty on July 22, 2010, to knowingly discharging waste oil from one of its vessels, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
“The criminal fine in this case will serve as a strong deterrent to all vessel companies, American and foreign, against deliberately violating the laws enacted to protect oceans,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The required payment will provide a means of studying polar water oil pollution and its impact on Antarctica’s fragile marine ecosystem.”
OSV owned and operated the R/V Laurence M. Gould (R/V Gould). The R/V Gould was a 2,966 gross ton American-flagged vessel that served as an ice-breaking research vessel for the National Science Foundation on research voyages to and from Antarctica. In its guilty plea earlier this year, OSV admitted that crew members knowingly discharged oily wastewater from the bilge tank of the R/V Gould overboard to the high seas, in violation of APPS. In doing so, they bypassed the ship’s oily-water separator, a pollution-control device. Regulations promulgated under APPS require that oily wastewater be discharged only after it has been sent through an oily water separator.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Dooher of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dorothy Manning Taylor.
November 6, 2010
$2.1 million penalties in Gould pollution case
Galliano, La., headquartered Offshore Vessels LLC (OSV), formerly Edison Chouest Offshore Vessels LLC, was on Thursday sentenced in U.S. District Court in New Orleans to pay a criminal fine of $1,750,000 and remit a payment of $350,000 as community service to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The community service funds are to be used to study polar water pollution and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the Antarctic region. OSV also will serve a period of probation for three years, during which it will be required to operate under an Environmental Compliance Plan.
OSV pleaded guilty on July 22, 2010, to knowingly discharging waste oil from one of its vessels, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
“The criminal fine in this case will serve as a strong deterrent to all vessel companies, American and foreign, against deliberately violating the laws enacted to protect oceans,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The required payment will provide a means of studying polar water oil pollution and its impact on Antarctica’s fragile marine ecosystem.”
OSV owned and operated the R/V Laurence M. Gould (R/V Gould). The R/V Gould was a 2,966 gross ton American-flagged vessel that served as an ice-breaking research vessel for the National Science Foundation on research voyages to and from Antarctica. In its guilty plea earlier this year, OSV admitted that crew members knowingly discharged oily wastewater from the bilge tank of the R/V Gould overboard to the high seas, in violation of APPS. In doing so, they bypassed the ship’s oily-water separator, a pollution-control device. Regulations promulgated under APPS require that oily wastewater be discharged only after it has been sent through an oily water separator.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Dooher of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dorothy Manning Taylor.
November 6, 2010
Marine Log In Print, In Person & Online. Your Marine Media Marketing Partner
When you advertise with Marine Log, you become part of an exclusive business community of maritime decision-makers. Our circulation is fully audited by Verified Audit Circulation, which has been providing third party
Tidewater to raise $425 million in private note placement
Closings are contemplated October 15, 2010 and December 30, 2010, when the company expects to issue a multiple series of notes totaling $310 million and $115 million, respectively. The notes will have maturities ranging from 5 years to 12 years and have a weighted average life to maturity of approximately 9 years. The notes may be retired before their respective scheduled maturity dates subject only to a make-whole provision. The weighted average coupon on the notes is 4.25 percent.
Dean Taylor, Tidewater’s Chief Executive Officer, noted “Tidewater’s ability to access the credit and capital markets on very favorable terms reflects the company’s strong financial position. In recent quarters, the company’s focus has shifted from fleet renewal and earnings replacement to longer-term growth initiatives. Competitive financing arrangements allow us to opportunistically acquire and/or build vessels that address changing customer requirements and to best position our company for a future market recovery.”
Proceeds from the note sales will be used to refinance borrowings under Tidewater’s $450 million revolving credit facility, which remains available until May 2012, to fund capital expenditures related to the Company’s on-going fleet enhancement program and for general corporate purposes.
The notes will be sold in a private placement to purchasers that are accredited investors and are restricted securities that may not be resold by such purchasers except pursuant to an exemption from registration under the federal securities laws.
Damen books order for first Twin Axe Catamaran
More than a year in development, the Twin Axe HSSV design is a further development of Damen’s successful Sea Axe concept and the HSSV 2610 is particularly suited for offshore wind industry support.
Martijn Smit, Damen Sales Manager for Europe, says: “Given the tremendous potential growth in the offshore wind industry there is a great need for vessels to access turbines and this can often be in constraining weather conditions. We were driven to find a concept that improves on conventional catamaran designs.”
Managing Director of Marineco UK, Mike Conafray, adds: “As a company we have been monitoring the current vessels available that service the offshore wind farms but we never felt comfortable joining in with the existing vessels. When Damen came along to us with their proposals we quickly realized that by introducing them we would be able to offer the market a much enhanced vessel that would suit most of its needs.”
The Damen HSSV 2610 has been undergoing thorough testing at Delft University in the Netherlands.
“There have been ‘stunning’ results in the vessel’s seakeeping behavior, resistance and at the same time, it has much lower fuel consumption,” Mr. Smit says, adding that the design is an extension of the Damen enlarged ship concept.
“The raised work deck and sea axe bows enable the vessel to keep up its speed in a higher sea state and that is crucial for the offshore industry. And as many of the wind turbines will be located in challenging seas, this greatly extends the operating window.”
The new vessel has dimensions of 26 m x 10 m. It has accommodations for four crew and can transport 12 passengers.
Features include a 20 tm deck crane, a spacious diving platform, HP cleaning unit and extra mooring winches.
The vessel is thus suited for a diverse range of activities for supporting and supplying the offshore wind industry, as well as the wider offshore sector. Ample working and storage space on deck make it suitable for a variety of cargoes, including containers.
With a fuel capacity of 12,000 liters, t can be used tio transfer fuel to wind turbines.
Classed by Bureau Veritas, the vessel operates under the Workboat Code, Category 1.
Depending on the sea state, the maximum speed will be 26 knots with a range of 640 nm.
Currently under construction at Damen Gorinchem in the Netherlands, the vessel is expected to be ready by June 2011.