June

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2

page 4

page 9SMIT Subsea busy throughout

European winter

page 8West of Duddon Sands: off shore

contract for SMIT and Boskalis

page 11Milestone contract for SMIT Amandla Marine

page 5SMIT’s immediate response to

Costa Concordia grounding

page 12Asian Lift’s giant sheerlegs

takes shape

More

SMIT's harbour tugs 'Smit Cheetah', 'Smit Schelde', 'Smit Ebro' and 'Texelbank' assisted

the world's largest bulk carrier ‘Vale Rio de Janeiro’ in the port of Rotterdam.

A new structure designed for growth 2

Harbour towage: major ports present stable picture 3

SMIT’s prompt response to emergencies at sea 7

Salvage team assists the bulk carrier ‘Ocean Corona’ 7

Busy work programme for SMIT Transport 8

First N-Class vessel on schedule for delivery 10

Asian Lift plays major role in gas platform load-out 11

Fleet Survey Award goes to KST tug ‘Kejora Enam’ 12

Implementing Smit Lamnalco’s strategy for growth

smit.com

SMIT’s harbour tugs ‘Smit Cheetah’ and ‘Smit Schelde’ assisting Dockwise’s heavy transport vessel ‘Blue Marlin’ in the Europoort, Rotterdam.

SMIT Rebras tug ‘Smit Carajà’ and the TugBrasil (SAAM) tug ‘Bernard’ assisting

platform P-55 at arrival in the port of Rio Grande, Brazil, in January 2012.

Harbour tug ‘Smit België’ operates in Antwerp.

Newly built ‘Smit Kiwi‘ and ‘Smit Emoe’, at arrival in their home

port Zeebrugge.

Boskalis and SMIT experienced an event-

ful year in 2011, achieving good results in

a difficult economic climate. The highlights

of the year focused on the integration of

Boskalis and SMIT activities, with the pro-

cess drawing towards a conclusion in the

second half of 2012.

Highlights first half 2012SMIT Harbour Towage underwent significant

restructuring during 2011, reflecting the

Boskalis corporate strategy, which focuses on

those areas with strong growth potential. The

way forward was underlined by good pro-

gress in the development of our agreement

to establish a SMIT-SAAM joint operation for

towage in the Americas. The intention is to

create the lead provider for towage services

in Central and South America. SMIT will con-

tribute three regional positions: Panama,

Brazil and, in North America, our operations

in Canada. SAAM is a major player in Mexico,

with extensive businesses in Brazil, Chile and a

number of other South American countries.

This joint venture will make an important con-

tribution to the optimal positioning of SMIT

Harbour Towage at a global level. During 2011

SMIT and SAAM signed a Memorandum of

Understanding. We now expect to reach a final

agreement with SAAM in the course of this

year.

Looking at the harbour towage market world-

wide, the situation appears reasonably stable.

At the same time, SMIT has taken firm action

to strengthen its Harbour Towage activities to

take advantage of an upturn. We are expand-

ing our fleet in Brazil, for example, with six new

tugs that are currently under construction.

All the newbuildings will be delivered and in

operation by October of next year.

During the final quarter of last year the URS

exclusive concession for harbour towage ser-

vices at Zeebrugge was extended for a fur-

ther seven years. The operations in Dutch and

Belgium ports have been integrated under

the banner SMIT Towage North West Europe.

Investments took place in two new large har-

bour tugs (80 tonnes bollard pull).

A new dawn for Smit LamnalcoSMIT’s terminal activities were transferred to

Lamnalco (in which Boskalis has a 50 per cent

share) during 2011. This harmonises with our

vision for the integration of SMIT within the

Boskalis Group and its joint ventures.

Smit Lamnalco began integrated operations at

the beginning of this year. The new company

has a fleet of around 180 vessels and is active

in more than 30 countries. The creation of Smit

Lamnalco heralds the start of a major new-

building programme, to service new terminal

support contracts around the world.

Busy schedule SMIT SubseaSMIT’s subsea activities continue to be very

successful. Its two large vessels, ‘EDT Protea’

and the ‘Constructor’, were fully occupied

during the European Winter months.

Furthermore, SMIT Subsea has a substantial

programme of ongoing work for Maersk Oil

in the North Sea, running into the Summer

period. This is a major Inspection, Repair,

Maintenance (IRM) contract involving attend-

ance at around 20 oil production platforms on

the Danish Shelf. The scope includes air diving,

saturation diving and ROV inspection and the

work content includes both inspection and

construction-related tasks.

Responding to a tragedySMIT Salvage had a busy start to the year.

Lloyd’s Open Forms included two simultane-

ous salvage cases on the Brazilian Parana River,

in January. There was also continued involve-

ment in salvage-related activities concerning

the container vessel 'Rena', in New Zealand.

SMIT and Svitzer now have a project venture

for the recovery of the containers carried by

the casualty.

Without doubt, the event with the highest

profile so far this year was the tragic accident

involving the cruise vessel ‘Costa Concordia’, off

the Italian island of Giglio. SMIT carried out a

successful bunker removal.

Growth in wind park workloadOffshore wind park developments in

Northwest Europe continue to provide major

contracts for Boskalis and SMIT. One recent

success was the contract with DONG Energy

and Scottish Power Renewables for construc-

tion work required for the West of Duddon

Sands offshore wind park in the Irish Sea. The

scope of work requires seabed preparation and

the transportation and placing of 108 wind

turbine foundations.

This contract will be taken forward by Boskalis

Offshore and SMIT Marine Projects together

with Volker Construction International. Work

begins during the first quarter of next year,

for completion in mid-2014. The foundations -

monopiles and transition pieces - will be trans-

ported from Aalborg to Belfast by SMIT barges

and tugs. A Boskalis fallpipe vessel will place

an initial scour protection layer on the seabed,

at each monopole location. Following the

installation of the foundations, further scour

protection will be laid.

Meanwhile, Boskalis has been awarded a

stone-dumping contract, on behalf of Seajacks,

for the Meerwind offshore wind park. This is

being developed by WindMW in the German

Bight. A fallpipe vessel will lay a scour protec-

tion layer. Following the installation of the

80 monopiles, a further erosion protection

layer will be placed. Work will commence

this August, with completion expected in

mid-2013.

SMIT Transport vessels continued to be busy

for various clients in the energy sector during

the first half of this year. This includes anchor

handling and barge-towing services for BARD’s

offshore wind farm construction project in the

German Bight and Saipem’s Burullus project off

Alexandria, Egypt. A more elaborate overview

of SMIT’s transport activities can be found on

page 8.

A new structureThe restructuring and integration of SMIT

Business Units, combining specific Group activ-

ities, is maximising synergies, broadening the

service range and generating greater added

value from an all-round, global maritime ser-

vices provider.

These developments are especially significant

in the energy sectors, where the Business Units

Boskalis Offshore, Transport and Heavy Lift,

Marine Projects and Subsea are now being

clustered within a separate line of business

that focuses on the Offshore Energy market.

This offers clients important advantages. They

now have access to a fully integrated maritime

services provider, offering full project manage-

ment, the main contractor role, often in a turn-

key approach – backed with all the inherent

advantages of efficiency and innovation.

The remaining lines of business – Dredging &

Dry Infrastructure, Towage and Terminals (with

their natural synergy) and Salvage – all contrib-

ute to all-round maritime service capability.

Investing in the futureAs we move into the second half of 2012,

the integration of SMIT and Boskalis is near-

ing completion. The Group’s combined strat-

egy is proving succesful. The moves to the

Boskalis headquarters in Papendrecht and the

Waalhaven office in Rotterdam will take place

in the second half of the year.

Prior to the merger, SMIT invested heavily in

Terminals and Towage, exploiting a boom in

these markets. Boskalis is now investing in

Subsea, Transport and Heavy Lift, with the

emphasis on major project capabilities. The

rapid advance of SMIT Subsea offers fresh

evidence of this strategy in action.

Frank Verhoeven

Chairman, SMIT

A NEW STRUCTURE DESIGNED FOR GROWTH

SMIT Harbour Towage saw a good open-

ing of the year. With the total number of

ship movements remaining at a stable level

compared to the end of 2011 SMIT Harbour

Towage experienced increased demand

during the first quarter of the year. This

was due, to a large extent, to the high level

of special assistances rendered during the

period.

Loek Kullberg says: “We continue to concen-

trate on those strategically important areas

which serve as the crossroads for the world’s

shipping networks. This means giving promi-

nence to ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp,

Panama, Singapore and the main Brazilian

centres. At the same time we have withdrawn

from certain markets - such as the Baltic and

Argentina – where we see more challenging

market conditions.

“We are also concentrating on developing

major joint ventures across the world regions.

In this context, the KST (Keppel SMIT Towage)

joint venture performed strongly in the first

quarter. KST was on budget and we expect this

high performance to continue during the rest

of this year.

“One particular feature of KST’s business is its

relatively strong level of ‘spot’ activities. There

are three elements to KST: the ongoing har-

bour towage business in Singapore, Malaysia,

Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries; time

charters for oil and gas terminal support; and,

thirdly, a substantial volume of spot work -

including towage services for Keppel Shipyard

and coastal towage.”

SMIT-SAAM SMIT and SAAM are making good progress

in establishing an important joint venture.

The intention is to create the leading harbour

towage operator in Central and South America,

with operations extending into North America.

Loek Kullberg explains: “This is an important

step in our long-term programme to explore

opportunities to develop large joint ventures,

based on world regions. In this case, SAAM

has existing operations in Mexico, Brazil, Chile,

Peru and various other countries in Central and

South America. SMIT Harbour Towage has a

substantial operation in Brazil, together with

businesses in Panama and the Canadian West

Coast.

We are joining forces with SAAM in terms of

network, coverage and tugs. We will work

together to serve new, large contracts con-

cerned with harbour towage and terminal

support. We aim to have the SMIT-SAAM joint

venture running by the end of this year. In all

probability, our Brazilian activities will be inte-

grated. We have yet to take a decision on the

location for the joint venture’s headquarters. “

“SMIT Harbour Towage will contribute around

60 tugs to the joint venture: 27 in Brazil

(including six newbuildings), 10 based in

Panama and another 20 in Canadian ports.

SAAM will add another 90 tugs, bringing our

total fleet to around 150 tugs in all.”

Six ASD tugs are now under construction for

SMIT Harbour Towage’s operations in Brazilian

ports. The first of the 47 tonnes bollard pull

tugs, 'Smit Pataxo', is due for delivery this

October. Keppel Singmarine’s Brazilian yard

will deliver the remaining five over the 12

months to October 2013.

New developmentsRecent developments relating to SMIT Harbour

Towage during the first half of 2012 include

SMIT Amandla Marine’s success in

obtaining a new contract to service a

HARBOUR TOWAGE: MAJOR PORTS PRESENT AN ESSENTIALLY STABLE PICTURE

SMIT Rebras tugs during operations in the port of Santos, Brazil.

smit.com3

tug magazine

On January 13, 2012, the cruise vessel ‘Costa

Concordia’ was involved in a tragic accident

off the Italian island of Giglio. The vessel

went aground and took on a pronounced

list. 'Costa Concordia' was very close to the

shore and this, undoubtably, saved many

lives. In a gripping account, Richard Janssen

of SMIT Salvage gives his impressions of the

immediate aftermath of the grounding, (at

the scene) of the emergency.

“We became aware of what was happening at

Giglio very early on and watched the unfold-

ing news coverage from a salvor’s perspective.

We reacted immediately and offered services

to Costa. We could see from the TV footage

that ‘Costa Concordia’ had a 15-20 degrees list

– very considerable for such a vessel. During

the night, however, the list increased to 45

degrees. It was fortunate that the rock shelf

prevented her rolling over completely. At

another location, she might well have rolled

over, trapping many people inside.

“During the first night we were already pre-

paring equipment for dispatch from Livorno

and our Rotterdam warehouse and organised

a team to travel to the scene. They arrived at

Giglio the next morning. Our response was

closely coordinated with our long standing

partners, Neri. Our team included a Senior

Salvage Master, a Naval Architect, salvage engi-

neers and technicians.

“Meanwhile, our Italian partners – Tito Neri –

were already busy at the scene. We wanted

to open direct lines of communication to the

Coast Guard, local emergency services and

the many governmental agencies already pre-

sent. In situations like this, very early on, it is

often a challenge to find out who is actually in

charge and making the decisions. Everyone,

of course, has a clear priority: to save lives. We

had arrived in the middle of a gigantic rescue

operation.”

Moving from chaos to controlGiglio is a very small island. Within a matter of

a few hours around 4,000 people came ashore,

packing the town's small square, church

and other buildings. They were assisted and

comforted by the emergency services and

the volunteers from the local community. As

might be expected, the initial hours were cha-

otic. Gradually, however, things became more

ordered. It became easier for SMIT Salvage and

Neri to reach out to the Coast Guard and shore

authorities.

“We received the go-ahead to continue

with our full mobilisation for the immediate

response. Although we had no contract at

that point, we mobilised 80 tonnes of salvage

equipment to Livorno (where Neri has its head-

quarters). Our equipment was then loaded

onto a crane barge, for transport to Giglio.

“We got the contract for the recovery of over

2,000 tonnes of bunkers during the night of

January 16. This is one of the largest bunker

recovery contracts yet awarded to SMIT

Salvage. Our next challenge was to ensure that

we had a safe work environment for our sal-

vage team. Meanwhile, the rescue operation –

the search for the missing – was still under way

and this took priority. As this continued, we

used the time to assess that ‘Costa Concordia’

was stable enough to work on. Here, we coop-

erated with our parent, Boskalis – joining

forces to carry out a subsea inspection of the

vessel, the seabed and the nature of the rock

formations supporting the casualty. At the

same time, at the request of the Italian authori-

ties, we rigged a double oil boom around the

ship.”

The scope of work for recovering bunkers

from the ‘Costa Concordia’ involved pumping

out a total of 17 tanks. Subsequently, the con-

tract was extended to ensure the recovery of

“black water” from the vessel’s sewerage tanks.

SMIT mobilised a flotilla of vessels for pollu-

tion control and oil reception. In cases of this

type, it always takes some time to complete

the rescue/recovery phase and assess the

risks related to working on the casualty. Once

the authorities declared the rescue operation

terminated, by January 28, everything was in

place for pumping to begin. The weather then

intervened. It was not until February 12 that

the weather cleared and the bunker recovery

could begin. The crane barge ‘Meloria’ was

moored alongside the cruise ship’s hull, to act

as a surface platform for the project team. SMIT

now had pumping equipment, a steam heat-

ing plant and a diving spread on scene. A small

lightering tanker, chartered from EMSA (The

European Maritime Safety Agency), was posi-

tioned to one side of the crane barge, ready to

receive recovered oil.

Pumpout completed“The log states that we started pumping from

the forward bunker tanks at 16.55 on February

12. We found we could achieve acceptable

pumping rates without the need to heat

the bunkers. We used the hot-tap system to

penetrate and pump from each of the tanks.

Gradually, the tanks were signed off as free

of pumpable oil. We finished the recovery at

07.30 on March 24.

“We remained on site in a ‘caretaking’ role,

maintaining the oil boom and collecting and

removing floating and seabed debris. We

were also on standby for pollution response

and perform watchkeeping/security duties.

Looking back, one outstanding aspect was

the generosity of Giglio’s small community. In

those first few days, they fed rescuers, respond-

ers and rescued alike. It was very crowded and

hundreds of journalists and camera teams

soon arrived. We had the satisfaction of a job

well done. There was over 2,000 tonnes of oil

in ‘Costa Concordia's tanks – a huge threat to

Giglio’s economy, which relies almost exclu-

sively on tourism. We removed that threat.”

Smit Lamnalco, a world leader in the opera-

tion and management of onshore and

offshore terminals, began operation as an

integrated company on January 1, 2012.

The new terminal services company has an

extensive, modern fleet of nearly 180 ves-

sels and around 3,000 personnel. It is active

in over 30 countries. CEO Daan Koornneef

heads a three-man team on the new Board

of Management.

Smit Lamnalco currently operates more than

50 terminal contracts around the world. The

organisation has an ambitious growth strategy

for the coming years aiming to considerably

increase activities worldwide.

Looking to the combined fleet, two 4011 class,

70 tonnes bollard pull stantugs are now being

built for Smit Lamnalco at Damen Galatz. The

first will be delivered during February of next

year, the second unit by the end of 2013. These

tugs will replace two existing 50 tonnes bol-

lard pull tugs now servicing Smit Lamnalco’s

contract at Total’s oil and gas terminal in

Gabon.

The new company’s activities, beyond the core

service of berthing and unberthing oil and gas

tankers, also include a range of support ser-

vices, such as bunkering, firefighting and crew

and cargo transportation. Operations world-

wide are grouped into four regions: Nigeria,

Africa, the Middle East and Rest of the World

(principally operations in Russia, The Americas

and Australia).

The headquarters of Smit Lamnalco will be

based in The Netherlands, as well as the two

management units responsible for Africa and

Rest of the World. Nigerian activities are con-

trolled from offices in Lagos and activities in

the Middle East are managed from offices in

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

IMPLEMENTING SMIT LAMNALCO’S STRATEGY FOR GROWTH

SMIT’S IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO THE ‘COSTA CONCORDIA’ GROUNDING

coal export terminal at the port of Beira, in

Mozambique. Loek Kullberg comments: “This is

a very encouraging development, as we intend

to extend our activities throughout Southern

Africa. We are now looking hard at Angola,

where we already have a track record in termi-

nals support and transport activities but have

yet to secure a harbour towage contract.”

In Northwest Europe, following the award

of a new, seven-year concession for harbour

towage at the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, two

new 85 tonnes bollard pull Rotor tugs have

been deployed to this port. They began work

at Zeebrugge in early May. The 'Smit Kiwi'

and 'Smit Emoe' are newbuildings purchased

from KST’s yard in Singapore. They succeed

'Smit Onyx' and 'Smit Topaz' which are being

deployed to Australia, to work on a new

Boskalis project.

In Australia, there have been positive develop-

ments surrounding the existing GPC contract

at the port of Gladstone. Here, SMIT has been

requested to begin preparations to build two

new tugs for the British Gas LNG Terminal at

Gladstone. It is likely that these 70 tonnes bol-

lard pull tugs will be built in Turkey.

In the Far East, the KST joint venture is now

responsible for harbour towage operations

in Chinese ports (which currently involve

six tugs). Furthermore, KST will shortly take

responsibility for the SMIT Kueen Yang harbour

towage joint venture in Taiwan.

Two harbour tugs provide assistance to a container vessel in

the port of Panama.

A view on the Island of Giglio. A SMIT diver during an inspection of the ‘Costa Concordia.

Crane/work barge ‘Meloria’ moored alongside the casualty.

Assistance of an FPSO in Singapore.

The first of the 4011 tugs for deployment

in Gabon under construction.

smit.com5

tug magazine

The most common salvage incidents involve

vessel groundings but, occasionally, fire

casualties also occur. These require a major

response if lives, the environment and

property are to be safeguarded. One such

accident occurred during March, when the

chemical tanker ‘Stolt Valor’ suffered a mid-

ships fire and explosion whilst in Middle

Eastern waters.

SMIT Salvage was awarded a Lloyd’s Open

Form and organised a decisive response. SMIT

mobilised five tugs and various (fire-fighting)

equipment. With the fires extinguished, the sal-

vage team set to work to prepare this vessel for

a ship-to-ship transfer of cargo to a lightering

tanker. This open ocean STS took place from

March in to April and involved the discharge of

two chemical parcels, MBTE and IBAL. As the

STS began, efforts continued to find a place of

refuge for this severely damaged tanker.

As this operation unfolded, another SMIT

Salvage team – based in the Far East –

responded to the bulk carrier ‘Ocean Corona’

(see page 7), following reports of an unex-

pected trim. Once again, a transfer of cargo is

required. This will involve a part discharge of

the casualty’s iron ore cargo.

Also in the Far East, work continues on a major

wreck removal, concerning the vehicle car-

rier ‘Hyundai 105’. This vessel went down off

Singapore in 2004, following a collision with

a Japanese tanker. The wreck, fully inverted

on the seabed, at 90-metre water depth, con-

tained over 5,000 cars.

This project is a substantial enterprise, simi-

lar in scale to the removal of the wreck of the

vehicle carrier ‘Tricolor’ in the English Channel

some years ago. SMIT Salvage began work on

the ‘Hyundai 105’ contract in mid-2010, deploy-

ing the floating sheerlegs ‘Smit Cyclone’ and

‘Taklift 1’, together with a fleet of six barges.

The first phase involved the horizontal chain

cutting of the vessel’s double bottom, engin-

eroom and main engine. The wreck was then

chain cut vertically into sections, for removal

by SMIT’s 600 tonnes hydraulic wreck grab.

This grab was modified from its original

mechanical configuration for this project. It

was tested successfully during February of this

year and mobilised to ‘Smit Cyclone’ in early

March. This gigantic grab is now removing cars,

deck sections and accommodation. It will then

clear debris at the site. It is expected to finish

the contract over the next few months.

The big grab’s powerful bite has done much

to progress the work; average production

achieved on site has exceeded all expectations.

The ‘HDW1’ is a powerful wreck removal tool –

in one grab it removed 45 cars.

The remains of ‘Hyundai 105’ are being trans-

ported by barge to a local scrapyard. Large

sections are lifted onto a Giant Class barge,

functioning as a floating work platform. They

are then separated, cut up into smaller sec-

tions and loaded onto the barges.

The production rates on site have been

boosted by Boskalis’ survey and monitoring

instrumentation, now fitted to the big grab.

This allows for precise positioning and has

greatly reduced the number of unproductive

grab cycles.

Bunker recoveriesSMIT Salvage assignments during the first

quarter included pollution prevention activi-

ties at the island of Giglio, Italy, following the

tragic accident involving the cruise vessel

‘Costa Concordia’ (see page 5). There was also

a bunker recovery operation near the port of

Augusta, Sicily, following the grounding of

the chemical tanker ‘Gelso M’ during a violent

storm. First quarter operations also involved

another fire case, the ‘Buenos Aires Express’.

This vessel reported fire in the engineroom at

a position 60 miles off the Brazilian coast. The

fixed CO₂ system extinguished the fire and the

casualty was towed to safety.

Operations in February included the general

cargo vessel ‘Le Shan’. This ship grounded off

Tema, Ghana, whilst laden with steel products

and a deck cargo of dumper trucks. The vessel

refloated on February 14.

There were two salvage cases in the Brazilian

Parana River in January. The laden bulk carrier

‘Aristeas P’ grounded at Km 310 and blocked

the channel. SMIT Salvage received a Lloyd’s

Open Form 2011 contract and the salvage

tug ‘Alianza Rosario’ and support tugs were

mobilised. The ship was refloated success-

fully, following the discharge of 2,000 tonnes

of her cargo of 30,650 tonnes of soya pellets.

The second Parana case concerned the 37,000

DWT bulk carrier ‘Nord Barcelona’, with a grain

cargo. This vessel grounded at Km 396. In this

instance, the casualty was refloated without

cargo discharge. This operation – a Lloyd’s

Open Form 2011 contract – was performed by

the tugs ‘Zonda l’ and ‘Alianza Rosario’, with the

ship freed only hours after the grounding.

The January workload also included the oil/

chemical tanker ‘Dattilo M’, which suffered a

blackout during severe weather in the Aegean

Sea. This vessel was fortunate. She was drifting

towards the rocky island of Kythnos as the tug

‘Aegeon Pelagos’ was despatched from Piraeus,

following the award of a Lloyd’s Open Form.

Despite the difficult conditions on-scene, the

tug succeeded in connecting up and pre-

vented a grounding. ‘Dattilo M’ was towed to

Piraeus, for redelivery to the owners.

Operations in January took place on a world-

wide basis. Cases included the backhoe

dredger ‘Jin Tai’, which experienced prob-

lems at the South African port of Coega on

January 1. There were difficulties with one of

the portside spud lifting wires and matters

deteriorated, producing a 25 degree list and

eventually sinking the dredger.

The priority was to remove bunkers. This was

carried out and the vessel was then prepared

for refloating. The operation ended success-

fully, with ‘Jin Tai’ redelivered within a month of

the incident.

The busy first quarter of this year followed a

hectic final quarter in 2011. The end-year casu-

alties included the ‘TK Bremen’, which beached

near Lorient, France on December 16, during a

severe storm. An inspection revealed substan-

tial damage, which ruled out a conventional

refloating. With the ship’s bunkers removed,

the vessel was cleared from the shore within

a month of beaching. This operation was

conducted in association with Les Abeilles

International Towage and Salvage from France.

SMIT’S PROMPT RESPONSE TO EMERGENCIES AT SEA

A challenging salvage response took place

in March following a call for assistance

by the 180,000 DWT bulk carrier ‘Ocean

Corona’. This vessel, laden with iron ore, got

into difficulties some 700 NM south-west of

the Sunda Strait, Indonesia.

SMIT Salvage, together with Nippon Salvage,

mobilised under a Lloyd’s Open Form contract.

This casualty had developed a forward trim

problem. The salvors dispatched a 211 tonnes

bollard pull tug from Singapore, the ‘Posh

Constant’, together with a salvage team led by

a Senior Salvage Master. The salvage spread

includes pumps, diving gear and patching cut-

ting equipment. Work also began on arrange-

ments for a part transfer of cargo, if required.

‘Ocean Corona’ is a large, 2009-built bulk car-

rier. This Japanese-owned vessel was on a

voyage from South Africa to China. Water

ingress induced the trim problem – the Master

reported that his ship was around 3 metres

down at the bow.

It is essential to respond quickly in such situa-

tions. If water enters the holds, bulkheads are

not constructed to withstand sustained, large

hydrodynamic forces. It would have been a

race to rescue the crew, had there been water

ingress into cargo holds. Fortunately, ‘Ocean

Corona’s cargo holds remained dry.

The Lloyd’s Open Form was awarded on March

19. Tug and casualty arrived in Subic Bay

during the night of April 14-15.

At the time of writing, prepara-

tions were under way to carry

out temporary repairs. The aim

is to improve this vessel’s condi-

tion, to the point where approval

can be obtained to continue

the voyage to the Chinese port

of Beilun, for full discharge fol-

lowed by a drydocking. Another

option is to perform a part-discharge, to

reduce hull stresses.

A detailed salvage inspection of the ‘Ocean

Corona’ revealed damage to five water ballast

tanks. This vessel may have touched bottom on

a shallow bank or uncharted object. The equip-

ment on board the tug includes power packs,

welding and cutting gear, together with patch-

ing material. The team can fabricate steel/

rubber patches on-scene. This is necessary

as the damage is too extensive for a solution

based on pressurisation alone.

As this major salvage operation unfolded, the

crew of ‘Ocean Corona’ remained on board.

They are assisting in work to return this vessel

to a safe condition, so allowing her voyage to

be completed.

SALVAGE TEAM ASSISTS THE BULK CARRIER ‘OCEAN CORONA’

ColophonFor 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 company@smit.com

Editor

SMIT Public Relations

Texts

TRS Public Relations

SMIT Public Relations

Design & production

Studio Clarenburg, Schiedam

Photography

SMIT Public Relations

and various SMIT colleagues

Roderik van Nispen

Steven Snoep

Flying Focus

Printing

HENK Grafimedia Center, Belfeld

Copyright

Texts can only be reproduced after

permission from the editor.

SMIT Salvage came to the aid of chemical tanker ‘Stolt Valor’ that suffered a fire and explosion on board.

Tanker ‘Dattilo M’ was towed to safety after it suffered a blackout in severe weather.

Laden bulk carrier ‘Aristeas P’ grounded in the Brazilian

Parana River blocking the channel. The vessel was successfully

refloated by a SMIT Salvage team.

The ‘HDW1’ grab is deployed to remove cars, deck sections and

accommodation from the ‘Hyundai 105’.

After a bunker removal operation the ‘TK Bremen’ could be

cleared from the beach near Lorient, France.

‘Smit Cyclone’ lifting one of the wreck sections of ‘Hyundai 105’.

General cargo vessel 'Le Shan' was successfully refloated after

it had run aground in Tema, Ghana. Smit Lamnalco tug 'Fisa'

provided operational support.

smit.com7

tug magazine

SMIT Subsea recovered a subsea trenching plough lost during operations in the North Sea.

SMIT’s Schilling HD Work Class ROV was successfully deployed

in the Baltic.

Transition pieces for the Lincs project are loaded onto ‘Smitbarge 12’ for transport to location.

SMIT Marine Projects has won a large con-

tract together with Boskalis Offshore: the

transport and installation of 108 mono-

piles and transition pieces for the West of

Duddon Sands wind park development. The

location is south of Walney, in the Irish Sea.

The contract was awarded by project joint ven-

ture Dong Energy/Scottish Power Renewables.

Work on location, off Belfast, will begin next

January and will end with the completion of

scour protection works by mid-2014. This con-

tract will be executed in a project partnership

known as Offshore WindForce, involving SMIT

Marine Projects, Boskalis Offshore (responsible

for scour protection) and Volker Construction

International (piling and grouting specialists).

This new wind park is large by current stand-

ards. Developments in the North Sea tend to

be in the 30-80 turbines range. When com-

pleted, the 108-turbine West of Duddon Sands

park will have an installed capacity of 389 MW.

The scale of this project is substantial, involv-

ing nearly 80,000 tonnes of steel and concrete

(monopiles, 43,000 tonnes; transition pieces,

37,000 tonnes) and almost 260,000 tonnes

of scour protection (a filter layer of 160,000

tonnes and an armour layer of 95,000 tonnes).

The client is providing two newbuild, self-

propelled jack-up vessels for the foundation

works: Swire Blue Ocean’s 'Pacific Orca' and

A2Sea’s 'Sea Installer'.

The project spread will include Boskalis’ new

fallpipe vessel, ‘Rockpiper’, together with three

barges, three tugs and various support vessels.

The SMIT Marine Projects scope includes trans-

port of the monopiles and transition pieces

from Aalborg to Belfast, logistics at the project

site in Belfast Harbour and the transport and

installation of elements at location.

The preparations for the project are already

under way at SMIT’s offices in Rotterdam. The

project team currently consists of around 20

people and, once in full swing next year, will

rise to around 100 people.

Onshore at BelfastDong Energy is a major wind park developer

and operator. This Danish group is engaged in

oil and gas projects, gas sales and the renewa-

bles market. At present, preparations are under

way to ready the large project site at Belfast.

This will have two main areas, one earmarked

for foundation elements and the second for

reception and loadout of nacelles and turbines.

Offshore WindForce is responsible for the

loadout and seafastening of monopiles and

transition pieces at Aalborg and subsequent

transport to Belfast, together with discharge

at the newly-created storage facility. This will

be followed later by the preparation of the

seabed, loadout onto the jack-up vessels and

WEST OF DUDDON SANDS: A MAJOR OFFSHORE CONTRACT FOR SMIT AND BOSKALIS

‘Union Sapphire’ is the latest SMIT vessel

to join BARD in its offshore wind park con-

struction programme in the German Bight.

The SMIT Transport Belgium vessel com-

menced this charter in April. It runs until

August and calls for support for the ‘JB 117’

jack-up barge working on BARD’s Offshore

1 project. ‘Union Sapphire’ is engaged in a

range of anchorhandling and barge-towing

tasks.

This deployment follows the involvement of

‘Smitbarge 7’ and ‘Smitbarge 9’, together with

the two B Class vessels ‘Smit Barracuda’ and

‘Smit Bulldog’, in a range of BARD wind park

activities. The B Class vessels are still busy sup-

porting these projects.

Another SMIT Transport vessel, ‘President

Hubert’, recently returned from Angola,

on completing a one-year assignment for

Heerema in Block 31. The anchorhandler towed

the large crane vessel ‘Balder’ to Rotterdam, via

Nigeria and Gibraltar.

Following its return to Europe and a drydock-

ing, ‘President Hubert’ returned to Heerema,

to assist the 'Balder' during operations in the

North Sea. This programme opened with an

assignment at Stavanger which will run for the

rest of 2012.

The ‘Union Manta’ has also returned after 18

months working with Heerema in Block 31,

Angola. This vessel had partnered the Heerema

crane vessel ‘Thialf’. It then proceeded to Cadiz

for barge-towing duties, for the same client.

Following its scheduled drydocking, ‘Union

Manta’ is booked for another Heerema charter,

with assignments in the Mediterranean and

the Gulf of Mexico.

SMIT Transport’s 90 tonnes bollard pull vessels

are keeping busy. ‘Union Wrestler’ and ‘Union

Warrior’ continue their activities for Total in

Block 17, offshore Angola. They are assisting

the FPSOs ‘Dahlia’ and ‘Girasol’. Meanwhile,

‘Union Boxer’ is supporting Seaway Heavy

Lifting operations off Liverpool. ‘Union Fighter’

is now chartered to Centrica, assisting the

jack-up barge ‘JB 114’ off the UK east coast. The

vessel will then join sister ‘Union Boxer’, for a

Seaway Heavy Lifting programme in the North

Sea.

The Lincs project, off Lincolnshire, is keeping

‘Smitbarge 11’ and ‘Smitbarge 12’ occupied,

together with the B Class vessels ‘Smit Bison’,

‘Smit Beluga’ and ‘Smit Buffalo’.

Elsewhere in the world, ‘Smit Bronco’ is attached

to Boskalis for a long-term assignment in Brazil

– the Nordeste Project. ‘Smitbarge 8’ and ‘Union

Diamond’ are deployed for Saipem’s Burullus

project, off Alexandria, Egypt. ‘Smitbarge 8’

loaded umbilicals and reels at Rosyth, for the

tow to Alexandria. ‘Union Diamond’ is booked

to assist on-scene. It will then return with

‘Smitbarge 8’ and re-deliver empty reels.

At the time of writing, ‘Giant 2’ was finish-

ing a charter with Newcruz. The big semi-

submersible barge is booked to Saipem, to

load an 8,800 tonnes topsides for the Jasmine

Field, in the UK sector of the North Sea. The

topsides is to be discharged by the Saipem

‘S7000’. This assignment is due for completion

in the September/October period.

Two 100 tonnes bollard pull AHTS newbuild-

ings are now under construction for SMIT

Transport at the Chinese yard of Wuzhou.

The ‘Smit Sendosa’ and ‘Smit Seraya’ are the

first SMIT vessels to be built at this yard. The

51-metre ‘Smit Sendosa’ will be delivered by

the end of this year. The second newbuild-

ing will join the fleet during early 2013. These

AHTS vessels will have Kawasaki propulsion

and Rolls Royce winches.

BUSY WORK PROGRAMME FOR SMIT TRANSPORT

installation at the location off-

shore followed by further scour

protection around the piles.

The voyage from Aalborg to

Belfast, around 1,200 NM, will take eight to 10

days. The self-propelled jack-up vessel 'Pacific

Orca', 8,500 tonnes payload, will transport five

monopile/transition piece sets per voyage, at

a transit speed of 13 knots. This vessel will be

deployed from mid-April 2013 to the begin-

ning of October, matching the installation

phase at location. For much of this period

'Pacific Orca' will be joined by the second self-

propelled jack-up, the 5,000 tonnes payload

'Sea Installer'. This vessel will transport three

foundation sets per voyage cycle.

Offshore WindForce’s scope also includes the

acquisition of hydrohammers, piling frames

and grouting systems. The S2000 hydroham-

mer – the largest type currently in use – will

be procured, together with large piling frames

with weights of up to 250 tonnes. There is

a 9-metre tidal range on site and the piling

frames, accordingly, will be unusually tall and

complex.

Integrated servicesWim Vogelaar, SMIT Marine Projects’ General

Manager, regards the West of Duddon Sands

contract as significant: “It is a good example of

our ability to offer integrated services in the

renewables sector. Two of our business units

are participating in this wind park develop-

ment. This trend will continue in the future,

as we move towards total package provision,

including cable-laying.

“There are some interesting new develop-

ments in the Northwest European wind park

market at the moment. Some developers are

now forming new alliances. These groupings

are moving towards Round 3 solutions, based

on next generation gravity base structures

and steel jackets. We see major opportunities

ahead for towout and installation services for

GBS developments, as well as jacket installa-

tion opportunities.”

Decommissioning worksFollowing the successful completion of last

year’s dismantling project for NAM (the

removal of the subsea protection structure for

the Dutch Shelf’s L13-FH gas well), SMIT Marine

Projects is now engaged in two more decom-

missioning assignments in the Dutch Sector. In

this instance the client is Wintershall Noordzee

B.V. The contract calls for the removal of the

Q8-A and Q8-B platforms. This involved two

floating sheerlegs, ‘Taklift 7’ and ‘Taklift 4’.

‘Taklift 7’ mobilised for this project from the

Waalhaven, Rotterdam. Its task is to perform

two of the lifts. ‘Taklift 7’ was engaged on this

project throughout May. ‘Taklift 4’ was required

for 10 days and mobilised from Rotterdam to

remove the larger Q8-B platform (topsides

and, jacket in one lift). The Ampelmann system

A-XL was used for safe, direct access to the

decks from the ‘Taklift 7’. The redundant struc-

tures were transported in the sheerlegs’ hooks

to IJmuiden, where they were loaded onto a

barge for onward transport to a scrap facility at

Flushing, The Netherlands.

Work continues on a major North Sea IRM

(Inspection, Repair and Maintenance) con-

tract, awarded by Maersk Oil in Denmark

to SMIT Subsea. The 2012 Maersk IRM pro-

gramme, in the Danish Sector, has several

primary elements. They include: air diving

for inspection and construction work (such

as grouting works and the installation of

support clamps), the saturation diving con-

tent (inspection and various construction

tasks) and ROV structural platform inspec-

tions from the vessel ‘Smit Komodo’. Both

diving support vessels (DSV) ‘Constructor’

and ‘EDT Protea’, are also mobilised for this

assignment. The ‘EDT Protea’ recently com-

pleted a drydocking and now has a second

offshore crane installed.

The two-month Maersk programme began

in early May and requires attendance at 25

Maersk Oil platforms on the Danish Shelf. Much

of the work content concerns non-destruc-

tive testing (NDT), weld and other structural

inspections, carried out on a cyclical basis.

This extensive IRM contract follows the suc-

cessful completion of another Maersk Oil

contract, involving the removal and tow-in

of the Regnar Control Buoy. This was the first

SMIT saturation diving task undertaken from

the DSV ‘Constructor’ - which proved to be an

excellent work platform. SMIT Subsea’s South

African team provided valuable input for

the saturation diving operations. The Regnar

diving team, working at a depth of 50 metres,

detached the buoy’s umbilical and midwater

arch and severed the mooring chains. The

buoy was then towed to port.

This work was performed in Winter North Sea

conditions, during December and January. The

project was completed successfully, despite

a number of weather interruptions during

December. ‘EDT Protea’ then mobilised, follow-

ing its drydocking, to undertake the Harald

platform’s internal pile inspection. With ROV

assistance, a specially designed weld inspec-

tion tool was lowered into the foundation piles

of the platform, to perform an internal weld

inspection.

New Work Class ROVsDuring the first quarter of this year SMIT

Subsea kept the DSVs ‘EDT Protea’ and

'Constructor' working on various projects

throughout the North Sea Winter. Milestones

in Europe included the first assignment for

SMIT Subsea’s new Schilling HD Work Class

ROVs. One of the units - working from ‘Smit

Komodo’ - was deployed for ordnance clear-

ance work in the Baltic (on behalf of 50Herz).

This work is required to clear munitions from

areas designated for wind park construction

works. SMIT’s second Work Class ROV became

operational during May.

SMIT SUBSEA BUSY THROUGHOUT THE EUROPEAN WINTER

Boskalis fallpipe vessel 'Rockpiper'.

Anchorhandler 'President Hubert' with large crane vessel 'Balder'.

smit.com9

tug magazine

European activities in the first half included

SMIT Subsea’s on-going programme for

Wintershall, involving subsea assistance for the

K-18 Field gas installation. Various campaigns

for this client included the installation of spool

pieces. There is likely to be a follow-up cam-

paign in September, involving the installation

of further spool pieces.

Other projects included the repair of an FPSO’s

mooring wire, with both ROV operation and

saturation diving, and the recovery of a subsea

trenching plough lost during operations in the

North Sea. In addition, SMIT Subsea mobilised

the ‘EDT Protea’ for a pipeline inspection in the

Dutch sector of the North Sea, for Chevron

Exploration & Production Netherlands.

During the European Summer, projects

booked for SMIT Subsea include a programme

of IRM works for ConocoPhillips, in the south-

ern sector of the North Sea. The work is part of

a five-year IRM contract with this client.

At the time of writing, 'EDT Protea' was

deployed for the Camelot platform decommis-

sioning on behalf of Helix Energy Solutions.

SMIT Subsea tasks include disconnecting

pipelines and risers and the recovery of spool

pieces and mattresses. During this campaign a

further intervention is scheduled at the Leman

platform, on behalf of Perenco.

‘Smit Komodo’ scheduled for long term contract in DubaiFollowing a busy season of work in the North

Sea region, ‘Smit Komodo’ is to sail to Dubai

to replace a frontrunner vessel on a five-year

IRM contract with Dubai Petroleum that com-

menced in January. This long-term project

requires the conversion of ‘Smit Komodo’ to

the DSV role. This involves the installation of a

crane, second stern thruster, HPR and taut wire

systems, mezzanine deck and surface gas dive

system and the upgrade of the DP system, for

enhanced diving support station-keeping.

In the Middle East, SMIT Subsea has been suc-

cessful in expanding its long term dive team

on the Dubai Petroleum dive services project,

from six to nine divers, and has recently suc-

cessfully completed an emergency 30 inch

pipeline repair for its UAE-based client.

At the time of writing the Seaeye Surveyor ROV

and crew mobilise for Horizon Survey, to carry

out well stimulation ROV support services.

There are extensions from the head client, RAK

Petroleum, to carry out saturation hot tap-

ping ROV support activities offshore Ras Al

Khaimah, UAE.

In West Africa, SMIT Subsea has signed an

agreement with Marathon Oil for assistance

in the repair of a 20 inch export riser. In the

Far East SMIT Subsea is partnering Australian

ROV specialist TSMarine in an extensive IRM

programme for Shell Sarawak and Sabah Shell

Petroleum Company, offshore East Malaysia.

SMIT’s advanced SAT4 saturation diving system

is now stationed on board TSMarine’s DP2 DSV

‘Rem Etive’ for a four-year period. With this new

saturation diving system, project teams can

work to depths of up to 300 metres. The activi-

ties off the East Malaysian coast includes struc-

tural/riser inspections and anode replacement.

The IRM tasks involve a total of 41 structures, in

a number of Shell fields with water depths of

up to 130 metres. SMIT’s air dive and split-level

saturation diving teams will work in tandem

with Work Class ROVs.

During the early months of this year there was

a fresh assignment for the SAT3 saturation

diving system. This contract was for Punj Lloyd

in Indonesia. Using a barge as a work platform,

the SAT3 team assisted the Indian main con-

tractor by installing spool pieces and protect-

ing frames for the APN gasfield in the Java Sea.

Offshore EnergySMIT Subsea is now part of the the Boskalis

Offshore Energy line of business. This con-

sists of Subsea and a combination of SMIT

Marine Projects and SMIT Transport and

Heavy Lift, together with Boskalis Offshore.

The units encompass both the oil and gas and

renewable energy markets. SMIT Subsea will

maintain its existing operational locations in

Europe, West Africa, the Far East and Australia

whilst, at the same time, developing a broader

portfolio of clients in the Asia-Pacific area and

other world regions. With this in mind, SMIT

Subsea will continue to pursue new business

opportunities in markets such as Brazil.

Asian Lift recently completed a series of

lifts required for the load-out of modules

for the Kinabalu Gas Processing Platform

B (PNPG-B) topsides and jacket. This forms

part of a major gas production project off-

shore Sabah, Malaysia.

Petronas Carigali awarded Phase 1 of the

Kinabalu non-associated gas development

project. This phase concerns PNPG-B. The

load-out contract was awarded to Malaysia

Marine & Heavy Engineering (MMHE). Asian Lift

is a preferred contractor for MMHE, which is

located across the Straits, north of Singapore.

Sound project planning and good coordi-

nation on site contributed to a successful

series of operations. This called for the load-

out of eight modules and a flare boom onto

four transport barges. The heaviest module

weighed 2,081 tonnes.

Due to the sheer size and heavy weights

involved, fabrication was not confined to one

area. The challenges on site included lifting

restrictions - some lifts were confined to High

Water conditions. There were also extreme

centre of gravity offsets. Good engineering

met all the challenges over the course of the

10-day lifting programme.

ASIAN LIFT PLAYS MAJOR ROLE IN GAS PLATFORM LOAD-OUT

SMIT Amandla Marine continues to broaden

its regional portfolio beyond South Africa,

with the start of an important marine ser-

vices contract at the coal export port of

Beira, Mozambique.

This three-year contract (with two one-year

options) was awarded by Vale. The contract,

finalised in early April, calls for the provision

and maintenance of an offshore mooring

facility for coal carriers, together with the

operation of two vessels: a newbuild 2,000 bhp

general purpose tug and a 3,000 bhp offshore

support vessel. The scope also includes the

technical and contractual management of this

major coal export facility.

Mozambique is a leading regional exporter of

coking coal. Vale, with two significant coal-min-

ing concessions in the country, is the world’s

second largest mining group. Paul Maclons,

SMIT Amandla Marine’s Managing Director,

says: “This contract success is satisfying, as it

underlines what we have to offer, in bringing

South African expertise and maritime skills to

neighbouring countries throughout Southern

Africa. We will be working very closely with

Vale and the Government of Mozambique in

areas such as skills transfer, training and devel-

opment for Mozambique nationals. Success on

these fronts will be a significant measure of our

contractual performance.

“We regard Mozambique as an important

growth area for SMIT Amandla Marine. This

contract from Vale, which is headquartered

in Brazil, follows the 2010 award of our first

harbour towage contract in Mozambique,

which was signed with CFM. The significance

of Mozambique stems from the fact that the

ports of Maputo, Beira and Nacala are strongly

positioned as import and export hubs for the

four surrounding landlocked countries, where

Brazilian and Australian mining majors are

active.

Investing in peopleDuring the first quarter of this year an addi-

tional 10 cadets entered SMIT Amandla

Marine’s accredited Cadet Training Scheme.

They joined eight existing cadets, who will

continue their training during 2012.

Paul Maclons says: “Skills development is at the

heart of South Africa’s economic transforma-

tion and the maritime sector has much to offer

in this area. Our Cadet Scheme contributes to

the sustainability of the maritime sector and,

at the same time, helps to train, develop and

retain our industry’s future leaders.”

The Cadet Scheme is open to young men and

women who have completed maritime-related

university courses or maritime college educa-

tion and now need to gain practical shipboard

experience. Shipboard placements are also

made available to the South African Maritime

Safety Authority’s Cadets. Both Deck and

Engineering Cadetships are offered.

MILESTONE CONTRACT FOR SMIT AMANDLA MARINE IN MOZAMBIQUE

Good progress is being made in the con-

struction of Boskalis Offshore’s first of the

new “N Class” cable-laying vessels, now

building at ZPMC, Shanghai. This vessel will

undertake cable-laying activities in Europe

upon joining the Boskalis fleet early next

year.

The N Class diesel-electric vessels may be

outfitted for cable-laying or a wide range of

other tasks, including diving support, rock-

dumping, offshore construction and salvage

assignments.

The new 7,500 DWT vessels have a length of

99 metres, breadth of 30 metres and a design

draught of 4.7 metres. The latter characteristic

reflects the importance of shallow water capa-

bility – particularly for inshore cable-laying for

offshore wind parks.

The first of the new vessels is now taking

shape; a total of 24 modules are under con-

struction. The testing of main engines, electri-

cal systems and other equipment is under way.

Meanwhile, steel-cutting for the second vessel

recently commenced.

The second vessel is likely to be deployed by

Boskalis Offshore in the rock-dumping role, fol-

lowing its delivery and commissioning in the

first quarter of next year.

The design of both vessels is rooted in opera-

tional flexibility, built around a DP2 platform

with accommodation for up to 104 personnel.

The outfitting options include a helicopter

deck, a large, heave-compensated crane and

moonpools.

FIRST N-CLASS VESSEL ON SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERY

Using a barge as a work platform SMIT Subsea

deploys its SAT3 diving system for the installation

of spool pieces in Indonesia.

Artist's impression of the new N Class vessels.

smit.com11

tug magazine

A Keppel SMIT Towage (KST) tug operating

in Malaysian waters has received SMIT’s

2011 Fleet Survey Award. The winner was

the harbour tug ‘Kejora Enam’, based at the

port of Tanjun Palapas.

SMIT’s Fleet Survey Award is made annually

to the vessel judged to exhibit the highest

standards of maintenance. The Award also

recognises improvements in overall condition,

appearance and safety performance.

The 'Kejora Enam' belongs to the fleet of

SMIT's longstanding joint venture Keppel SMIT

Towage, which operates in the Asian Region.

A major factor in the selection of ‘Kejora Enam’

was the high level of commitment shown

by the crew and, in particular, strong safety

awareness and adherence to safe practices.

SMIT surveyors regularly visit vessels in the

fleet operated by SMIT and its associated

companies and joint ventures. These visits take

place within a rolling programme, to verify

the application of high safety standards and

maintenance procedures. The vessel surveyors

assess performance by reference to a checklist-

based audit system. Overall vessel condition,

maintenance and safe practices are tested

against 12 criteria reflecting SMIT’s corporate

standards and expectations.

When assessing vessel candidates for the Fleet

Survey Award, the surveyors take into account

factors such as age, intensity of workload and

the distinct characteristics of the operating

environment. The Award was introduced in

2005 to promote a uniform, high standard of

maintenance and safe practice across the fleet.

Loek Kullberg, Managing Director of SMIT

Harbour Towage and Terminals, presented the

Fleet Survey Award to KST General Manager

Ben Chew last December. ‘Kejora Enam’ will

fly the coveted Fleet Survey Award pennant

throughout 2012.

FLEET SURVEY AWARD GOES TO KST TUG ‘KEJORA ENAM’

Last November saw the keel-laying of the

world’s largest self-propelled floating sheer-

legs, the ‘Asian Hercules lll’. The fabrication

of large hull sections is progressing well.

This huge sheerlegs, with a lift capacity

of 5,000 tonnes, is under construction at

Keppel Nantong Shipyard, near Shanghai,

for Asian Lift Pte Ltd – a joint venture

between SMIT and Keppel Fels. Asian Lift

was established in 1985 to serve the rap-

idly growing Singapore heavy lift market,

especially the lifts required for the construc-

tion of offshore units – rigs and FPSOs.

The size of the new sheerlegs reflects the

demand for increasingly heavy lifts at Keppel,

Jurong, Sembawang and other yards in

Singapore, now constructing and outfitting

over one-third of the world’s FPSOs and rigs.

These units are growing in size and module

weights in the 2,000-3,000 tonnes range are no

longer exceptional.

The current Asian Lift fleet includes ‘Asian

Hercules’, with a lift capacity of 1,600 tonnes,

and ‘Asian Hercules ll’, rated at 3,200 tonnes

and having a reach of 172 metres. The new

sheerlegs combines a lift capacity of 5,000

tonnes and a reach of at least 172 metres,

within a relatively compact configuration.

‘Asian Hercules lll’ was designed by the same

design bureau responsible for the design of

the other sheerlegs in the SMIT/Asian Lift

fleets). The latest project was something of a

challenge. Singapore is a busy port, with little

room to manoeuvre. The design for this ultra

large sheerlegs, therefore, is based on a rela-

tively compact hull platform.

Stability parameters are met by the sheerlegs’

skidding A-frame, within a design solution

offering an unusually large number of lifting

positions. Extremely heavy lifts will be per-

formed with the A-frame (rigged with the fly

jib) in the central position.

The SMIT sheerlegs ‘Taklift 6’ and ‘Taklift 7’ were

the first to adopt the skid solution and the

skid-mounted A-frame proved to be the key

to success for ‘Asian Hercules lll’s design. Other

innovative features include ‘Asian Hercules lll’s

ship-shape bow, allowing a transit speed in

excess of eight knots (with A-frame forward

and tilted towards the stern).

The new diesel-electric sheerlegs is expected

to join Asian Lift’s fleet in early 2014. At that

point ‘Asian Hercules lll’ is likely to be lifting

FPSO and rig modules with weights exceeding

3,000 tonnes.

Around 90 per cent of Asian Lift’s workload

consists of FPSO and rig heavy lifts in the

Singapore area. Yet, Asian Lift’s sheerlegs are

also available for heavy lift work elsewhere in

South East Asia, whenever work programmes

in Singapore permit. This flexible deployment

policy will create opportunities for platform

installation and decommissioning work for the

3,200 tonnes ‘Asian Hercules ll’, when the 5,000

tonnes sheerlegs enters service.

ASIAN LIFT’S GIANT SHEERLEGS TAKES SHAPE

The 3,200 tonnes ‘Asian Hercules II’ installing a module on to an FPSO in Singapore.

The 'Kejora Enam' crew with the pennant.