Maritime
Vessel bids farewell to Tyne after refit
BP oil tanker the British Serenity has sailed out of the Tyne after a £1m refit. The 47,000 tonne vessel has been undergoing maintenance at MDC member, A&P Tyne. A&P beat off stiff competition from around the world to secure the contract, which has now drawn to a close.
It comes after the firm secured a series of other deals from BP to refit smaller vessels, which demonstrated to the multi-national oil giant the work should come to Tyneside. Managing director, Stewart Boak said: "A&P Group has been working hard over the last six months to secure work from BP and convince them we can deliver our promises." Mr Boak believes BP's confidence was gained by recent refits to the vessels Border Heather on the Tyne and to the Border Thistle on the Tees and, in particular, by a team of A&P Tyne steelworkers who carried out repairs on the BP shuttle tanker Loch Rannoch in atrocious conditions at Sullom Voe on the Shetland Islands.
BP said the Tyneside yard won the contract after proving it could compete against other European yards "on safety, quality, time and cost".
Source: Marine Design Centre
Norwegian satellite succesfully launched
The Norwegian observatiion satellite AISSat-1 was successfully launched from Sriharikota, India on Monday. The satellite will greatly improve surveillance of maritime activities in the High North.
As we reported earlier, this is the first Norwegian satellite developed in Norway.
The AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a short range coastal traffic system used by ships and Vessel Traffic Services around the world.
AIS is required to be fitted on every seagoing vessel of 300 gross tons or more. Its purpose is to help ship crews to avoid collision with other vessels as well as to allow maritime authorities to track and monitor ship movements.
AISSat-1 will operate in a polar orbit at an altitude of 600 km.The Norwegian Space Centre is project owner. The Norwegian Coastal Administration will receive the data and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) is responsible for the technical implementation
The total cost of the satellite is approximately NOK 30 million.
Source: Norway Post
Award presented for seabed technology
FMC Technologies Norway have received the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate's 2009 IOR award for outstanding technology development of seabed production systems. FMC has carried out focused work to develop cost-efficient solutions to improve recovery from seabed wells since 1999.
”The award is a recognition of our status as an established player in the IOR area, which is becoming increasingly important, both in Norway and globally,” says Rasmus Sunde, managing director of FMC Kongsberg Subsea. ”It is also an encouragement to stay our course.”
At present, there are more than 700 seabed wells in the Norwegian shelf, and the number is rising. Drilling cost-efficient sidetracks provides great opportunities for improving recovery from fields with seabed wells.
Improvement for the shipbuilding industry
So far this year Norwegian shipyards have received new orders worth NOK 7 billion. This is twice the value of the total number of orders received in the whole of last year.
The shipbuilding industry is hopeful that this is a sign of a new period of prosperity fior the industry.
- It looks a bit brighter. We now hope for new orders worth another NOK 10 billion for the rest of the year, says Norsk Industri spokesman Egil Holland.
The development in Norwegian shipbuilding industry so far this year is somewhat better than for yards in the rest of Europe, NRK reports.
Source: NorwayPost
Norwegian maritime satellite to be launched
AISSat-1, the first Norwegian satellite developed in Norway, will be launched from India in the beginning of May. The satellite will be used to improve surveillance of maritime activities in the High North.
AISSat-1 is a nano satellite measuring 20 x 20 x 20 cm. It weighs six kilograms and is shaped like a cube.
The purpose of the satellite is to improve surveillance of maritime activities in the High North.
Source: The Norway Post
Skagerrak conversion goes to UK yard
Britain's Cammell Laird shipyard has landed a major deal to carry out a conversion work on Norway's Nexan's Skaggerak cable lay ship which involves inserting a new hull section to extend the ship by 12 metres.
Source: Offshore247
U-boat Found In Bergen
During a routine exercise in Byfjorden earlier this year, naval divers found by accident what they believe is the wreck of the German U-boat U-1053. Navy press and information officer Commander Per Rostad says that experts are reasonably certain that the wreck stems from the German U-boat that sunk during a test-dive in February 1945.
Source: Aftenposten
Sales up at Norway International Boat Show
Exhibitors at Sjøen For Alle report better business than last year, even with visitor numbers slightly down over the first weekend.
The mood at the ongoing Norway International Boat Show in Oslo is positive following its first weekend, with sales up despite a drop in attendance.
Source: Maritime and Energy
New Guidance Notes for border fields
The Norwegian and British authorities have prepared new Guidance Notes with the intention of helping companies through the process of seeking Government approval for the development of trans-boundary fields.
The Guidance Notes will now be submitted for consultation, with comments to be submitted by 1 April.
In 2005, a framework agreement for projects that extend across the median line between Norway and the United Kingdom was signed by both countries. The Guidance Notes are a concrete result of this joint effort, and are based in part on experience gained from several trans-boundary projects in the North Sea.
”The intention is to create predictability for the licensees who are developing trans-boundary fields. We hope that the guidelines will create more efficient processes for both the companies and the authorities," says the NPD's Eva Halland, who has coordinated the work on behalf of the Norwegian authorities.
Source: maritimeandenergy
New commercial director to expand UK Business
Cosalt Offshore, a provider of lifting, tooling and marine services to the oil and gas industry, has announced the appointment of Lisa Mitchell as commercial director.
Lisa, 36, has worked for the company since 2000, when it was gtc Group and then became Cosalt Offshore in 2007, following acquisition. Her previous roles included contracts manager and commercial manager.
Cosalt Offshore Chief Executive Calum Melville said: “Lisa's appointment to Commercial Director is richly deserved. Her expertise has played a critical role in helping Cosalt Offshore to secure valuable, long-term clients across the whole of the North Sea industry, building a strong platform for additional future growth.
“We have an excellent reputation for high-quality products and service which surpass the expectations of our clients again and again and Lisa has continually strived to raise the bar.''
Source: maritimeandenergy
AF and Lerwick Port Authority To Develop Deep-Water Decommissioning Base
AF Decom Offshore UK Ltd., a subsidiary of AF Gruppen ASA, and Lerwick Port Authority are delighted to announce that they have entered into an Exclusivity Agreement with the intention of developing a deep water quay facility at Dales Voe, Lerwick, Shetland, as a decommissioning centre capable of meeting the growing UK requirement for the decommissioning of major structures located in the Northern North Sea.
Source: NewsWeb
In-depth Articles On Technical Issues
Wilhelmsen Ships Service has created a web page where the latest technical articles are published. Read about hydrogen cracking in welding, the safe handling of gas cylinders, microbial infections in lubricating oils on ships in lay-up, oxygen and acetylene, to mention a few.
Source: Maritime and Energy
"Norway as a maritime host country"
The Norwegian government aims to top the maritime industry with their new information campaign "Norway as a maritime host country". The campaign focuses this campaign to bring in more shipping companies to the country.
"We'll try to bring back Norwegian shipping activities to Norway. We'll also try to arouse interest among foreign players to choose Norway as their location for maritime shipping activities", said Trond Giske, the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry.
The new campaign is not the first shipping campaign launched by the Norwegian government; in fact the government has made shipping a preferred industry.
This campign doesn't stand as the first one in Norway as in June, the Secretary of State Rikke Lind presented a report on the Norwegian government's maritime strategy. According to the report Norway's position as a maritime nation had been strengthened in several important respects and that the government had granted NOK 200 million extra to the maritime strategy Stable Course (Stø Kurs) over a two-year period.
Among other things, the report also explained that several shipping companies have joined the new tax regime, the number of registered ships in NOS has increased seven per cent, the number of Norwegian seafarers has increased 15 per cent between 2006 and 2008 and in IMO, Norway has been one of the key players in the introduction of environmentally friendly recycling.
Source: www.maritimeupdates.com
Ship design centre funding boost
A pioneering hub to help North East companies tap into lucrative international marine design contracts has received a funding boost until 2012, which will continue to put the North East at the forefront of the marine design sector.
Funding of £900,000 has been secured to meet future centre running costs and further boost existing design skills at the International Marine Design Centre based in Newcastle, bringing the agency's total investment in the Centre to £2.4m.
The centre provides a focal point for the North East marine industry, marketing its combined strengths to the world in a bid to land major new design contracts in the defence, commercial shipping and offshore energy markets.
It also provides easy access facilities for local firms to carry out project work under one roof.
The centre - the first of its type in the country - is staffed by industry experts in offices in central Newcastle.
The centre showcases regional marine design capability, substantially raising the chances of North East marine sector firms landing lucrative new work.
Source: www.northeastengland.co.uk
Norwegian maritime industry is to be the world`s most environmentally sound
The Government's vision is that Norway will continue to be a world-leading maritime nation. The Norwegian maritime industry will provide the most innovative and environmentally friendly solutions for the future, Mr Dag Terje Andersen says.
The maritime strategy will be supported by a government allocation of 252 million Norwegian kroner (NOK) in the 2008 Budget for research, innovation and efforts to improve competence and skills in the maritime sector. This is an increase of 100 million NOK from 2007. The net wage scheme for seafarers will be continued. The Norwegian Government has announced that it will propose a new tax regime for Norwegian shipping companies. The proposed tax regime will be similar to tax regimes available for the shipping industry in the European Union.
The Government's maritime strategy highlights five main challenges facing the maritime sector: Globalisation and national policies; environmentally sustainable maritime industries; maritime competence; maritime research and innovation; and short sea shipping.
Environmentally sound growth is a main priority in the strategy. The Norwegian maritime industry shall be the world's most environmentally friendly and shall be in front in developing new and innovative solutions, says the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Dag Terje Andersen.
Source: Regjeringen