Page 22: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 1996)

insurance plan designed to meet the debt protection and credit information needs of the interna- tional bunker industry. Risk

Services Limited, established in

September 1995, has taken over the management role previously conducted by Clausius Skan- dinavia AS, Oslo. Risk Services

Ltd. is a subsidiary of MRC

Business Information Group Ltd.,

Oxford-based international credit information specialists. CRIS has also settled its first claim, which was for $350,000. An addition to the provision of full MRC reports on all the insured's customers within CRIS has been added as a free service.

NOL To Call Shanghai Direct

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. (NOL) has announced its commencement of a direct weekly call at Shanghai on its Japan-California Express (JCX) service. The upgraded JCX service is scheduled to begin on

April 20, with the call of California

Luna V83 at Shanghai. The new

JCX service will call Shanghai in addition to the current ports of

Hakata, Kobe, Nagoya, Shimizu,

Tokyo, Los Angeles and Oakland.

A total of five vessels will be deployed, and the roundtrip voy- age will take 35 days.

New Amsterdam Tunnel On

Schedule For Spring 1997

Opening

Amsterdam's Piet Hein Tunnel — reportedly the largest of its kind in the Netherlands — is on schedule for a spring 1997 opening. The tunnel is now a "walk-through" structure, and work is progressing on the installation of all internal systems and construction of associ- ated service buildings.

The Piet Hein tunnel scheme is a $150 million project designed to relieve road congestion between

Amsterdam's city center and its eastern suburbs. The 4,921-ft. (1,500-m) road and tram tunnel — named after a 17th century Dutch admiral — crosses the Amsterdam

Rheincanal, linking the city with the A10 orbital motorway.

The design and build contract was awarded to the Belgian con- sortium CPHT (Combinatie Piet

Hein Tunnel v.o.f.) in 1992. CPHT comprises the Belgian contractors

CFE, Strukton De Meyer, Dredg- ing International, Besix and Van

Laere.

The tunnel is constructed of eight concrete elements, each weighing 40,000 tons. The rectangular ele- ments — measuring 525 x 105 x 262 ft. (160 x 105 x 26.2 m) — were constructed at the Verrebroek

Building Dock. Each tunnel ele- ment consists of three "tubes," allowing for two road lanes in each direction, and tram lines. Each was fitted with ballast tanks and advanced positioning equipment.

Over the course of 1996 and the first quarter of 1997, the final installation tasks are scheduled to be completed. Bouyancy will be eliminated by a 2.6-ft. (.8-m) layer of concrete on the floor of the ele- ments. Inside the tunnel, electri- cal and mechanical equipment will be installed. The tunnel elements beneath the shipping channel will be covered with a layer of sand to protect the structure from poten- tial danger.

Shell GM, U.K. Energy

Official Visit AESA Yard

British Minister of Industry and

Energy Tim Eggar and General

Manager of Shell Heinz Rother- mund, along with top mangers of

Shell, have visited Astano, the off- shore construction yard of Astil- leros Espanoles in Ferrol, north- western Spain.

Chairman and CEO of Astilleros

Espanoles' Group Carlos Albor- noz, Executive Vice President in charge of offshore construction Mr.

Gavito, and General Manager of the yard Mr. Dopico held a meet- ing with the visitors to explain the evolution of Astano from a conven- tional shipyard into an offshore units builder and commissioner.

FLOATING PRODUCTION SYSTEMS an analysis of construction and conversion opportunities over the next five years

May 1996 — $675 per copy o H

IMA has just completed an in-depth assessment of one of the most attractive market sectors available to builders, manufacturers and system suppliers in the marine business. Construction and conversion contracts for floating production systems now in hand total $7.2 billion. Additional orders totaling $10 to 16 billion are in the planning stage.

Our new report captures information needed by business planners, forecasts the available market and provides a roadmap to this burgeoning sector.

I. OVERVIEW OF THE MARKET • Current Offshore Development Activity • Projected Growth in Offshore Production • Trend Toward Production in Deeper Waters • Need to Reduce Costs • Production Options • Trend Away from Traditional Fixed Platforms • Advantages of Floating Production • New Construction vs. Conversion of Floaters • Future for Floating Production

H. EXPANDING ROLE OF FLOATING

PRODUCTION • Early Floating Production Systems • Second Generation Floaters • Systems Since the Early 1990s • Historical Rate of Equipment Deliveries • Floating Systems Now in Operation • Current Orders for Floating Production Systems

III. REPRESENTATIVE CURRENT AND

PLANNED PROJECTS • FPSO Vessels — 35 Projects • Production Semisubmersible — 9 Projects • Tension Leg Platforms — 6 Projects • Production Spars — 3 Projects • Production and Storage Barges — 2 Projects • Multipurpose Shuttle/Production Tanker • Floating Storage and Offloading Vessels

IV. FORECAST OF CAPITAL SPENDING • Publicized New Floater Projects • Future Mix of Production Systems • FPSO Vessel Construction Outlook • Production Semi Construction Outlook • Tension Leg Platform Forecast • Outlook for Production Spars • FSO and Shuttle Tanker Requirements • Summary of Available Market

V. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS • More Economical TLP Designs • Mini Tension Leg Platforms • Unmanned Wellhead TLPs • Triangular Tension Leg Platform • Tension Raft Jacket • Flotels to Production Semisubmersibles • 5™ Generation Drill/Production Rigs • MST Shuttle/Production Tankers • High Capacity, Pipeline Capable FPSOs • Gas Conversion or Liquefaction Barges • Advances in Subsea Technology • Consolidation and Alliances

VI. KEY PLAYERS IN THE BUSINESS • Ship Shape Builders • Semi, TLP, Spar and Barge Fabricators • Turret Mooring Suppliers • Other Major Suppliers • Major Floating System Users

To order the report, just fax us at 1-202-333-8504. Or mail your order to IMA Associates, Inc. — 600 New

Hampshire Ave., NW — Suite 140 — Washington, DC 20037 USA. If you prefer, call us at 1-202-333-8501.

The report will be sent immediately on receipt of your order. 24 Circle 247 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News