Arab Shipbuilding And Repair Yard Officially Inaugurated At Bahrain

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Co. (ASRY) was inaugurated at a ceremony presided over by His Highness the Ruler of Bahrain. The Ruler, Shaikh Isa bin Sulman Al-Khalifa, blessed the yard by pouring holy water from the Well at Zam Zam into the drydock and declared it officially open. His Highness the Ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Rashid, attended the ceremony. Dubai also has a large drydock project which is expected, according to reports, to come into operation sometime during 1979. Many dignitaries of the Arab world were present, notable among whom was His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum, as well as all Ministers participating in the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) Conference which took place in Bahrain the previous day.

Although the Inaugural Ceremony took place December 15, ASRY commenced docking of VLCCs in October 1977. The Mobil Pride (212,000 dwt), the vessel in the dock on the day of the ceremony, was ASRY's fourth VLCC. She had been preceded by the Ambrosiana (231,048 dwt), the Esso Dalriada (259,042 dwt), and the Stavros GL (357,054 dwt).

The Mobil Pride was immediately followed into the dock on December 16 by the Texaco Japan (263,- 599 dwt), which in turn has been followed by the Safina Salamah (99,000 dwt), Berge Prince (284,- 002 dwt), and the Saudi Glory (276,386 dwt).

Principal Characteristics of Drydock The new dock has a length of approximately 1,230 feet, breadth of 246 feet, sill level 30 feet below datum, and floor level 33 feet below datum. The dewatering time is approximately three hours without vessel, three pumps. Cranes are 100 tons and 15 tons.

The dock gate was built in Lisbon by Lisnave, who also have a 10-year contract to provide management expertise for ASRY. The gate is made of shipbuilding steel and measures approximately 253 feet (77 meters) by 21 feet (6V2 meters) by 46 feet (14 meters).

It is hinged at the bottom and is opened and closed by pumping ballast water out of it or into it. Similar designed gates have been successfully installed at both Lisnave and Setenave yards in Portugal.

The reinforced concrete floor slab is founded directly on the natural sands, although those have for the most part been excavated to a depth of about 7 feet and have been reinstated by compacting in layers to achieve appropriate density.

The dock pumphouse is also of reinforced concrete construction and measures approximately 164 feet by 79 feet. The main dewatering pumps, three in number, are vertically mounted singlestage with concrete volute and syphon discharge. In addition to those pumps, the pumphouse accommodates pumps for the underfloor drainage, firefighting, general general service water and ballast water. The layout of the pumphouse has been so arranged as to facilitate connection to a second drydock should this at some future date be built alongside the first.

ASRY is very grateful to the shipowner acceptance which has accrued so early to a new repair yard. It seems that owners not only are satisfied with the quality of ASRY's repairs, but find its location adjacent to the loading terminals in the Arabian Gulf of great advantage. ASRY has set a target of more than 40 VLCCs for 1978.

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 22, Mar 1978

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