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Comex. She was converted at HMD to a specialized offshore pipelay ves- sel for use under a charter to

Petrobras off the Brazilian coast.

Aside from the possible threat from China, competition has emerged from the Middle East, where two large yards at Dubai and

Bahrain have undertaken expan- sion plans to increase capacity. Price differentials regarding scheduled repair contracts between the two areas are becoming narrower, al- though conversion work still favors the Singapore area. The main ad- vantage the Middle East appears to have is that there are no limitations on the influx of foreign labor, as is the case in Singapore.

Dubai Drydocks inaugurated a new 40,000-dwt-capacity floating drydock, and Bahrain's Arab Ship

Repair Yard (ASRY) over a year ago purchased two floating docks from the U.S. Success for the two Ara- bian Gulf yards has come in two areas — the westbound indepen- dents and the Arab-owned vessels.

The majority of the yards operat- ing in the Mediterranean area have suffered over recent years, follow- ing the development and expansion in the Middle East. This has led to closures, privatizations and reorga-

One of the world's most significant conversion contracts has been placed with Avondale

Industries nizations. The majority of the yards still operating have now found a fairly good chance of survival; but added competition, especially for the more fundamental repair operations such as steelwork, is increasing com- ing from the former Soviet states such as Ukraine, Georgia and former

Eastern Bloc countries such as Bul- garia and Romania.

The main story concerning the southern European area over re- cent months has been the progress made by Portugal's Lisnave to reor- ganize its existing three yards —

Margueira, Mitrena and Setubal— while the Rocha yard in Lisbon will remain active for smaller ships.

Meanwhile, Spain's Astilleros

Espanoles SA (AESA) has been busy recently in the conversion market, especially the completion of the $30 million contract for Bluewater Ter- minal Systems regarding the con- version of the 99,800-dwt conven- tional tanker Dirch Maersk to a specialized offshore floating produc- tion and storage offloading unit (FPSO), for use in Amerada Hess's

Fife Field in the U.K. sector of the

North Sea. Northern Europe's on- going battle with lower-priced com- petitors has led to several closures and reorganizations; however, the conversion industry has made some- thing of a rebound. The main com- petition has come recently from yards in former Eastern Bloc coun- tries such as the Baltic States, Po- land and Russia, all trying to make an impact on the international mar- ket, although price levels in Poland have risen slightly over recent months.

One area of optimism is the U.K., where ship repair yards have be- come very competitive on the inter- national market. A&P Appledore has been active, with the reorgani- zation of its three yards and the purchase of the Neptune yard from

Swan Hunter.

The U.S. is making a comeback into the commercial market. One of the world's most significant conver- sion contracts has been placed with

Avondale Industries, a U.S. yard.

When the OPA 90 regulations gov- erning double-hulled tankers came into force this year, many believed that it would result in a number of

Circle 233 on Reader Service Card conversion projects involving exist- ing tankers. Avondale Industries is the first to be awarded such a con- tract involving Jones Act tankers by an American shipowner, American

Heavy Lift Shipping (AHL). The $160 million contract involves the forebody conversions, stern modifi- cations and some house arrange- ments to the 34,723-dwt King and

Knight and the 30,806-dwt Solar and Spray.

TIME TO TRUST THE ORIGINAL

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BOAT SHARING 1 Crucible • Materials

June, 1995 63