Page 133: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1998)

complemented its broad-based naval construc- tion, shiprepair and engineering activities with the development of fast commercial vessel tech- nology.

In the space of four years, its San Fernando yard in Cadiz has consecutively produced a trio of Maestral-class, 40-knot monohulled passen- ger/car ferries and the very much larger

Alhambra-type, followed last fall by a B60-des- ignated catamaran vehicle ferry for the

Uruguayan-Argentine company Buquebus. The 252.6-ft. (77-m) Luciano Federico L, offering capacity for 446-passengers and 52-cars, became the world's fastest ferry at 57-knots. A second, similar vessel is under construction at

San Fernando for the progressive South

American owner.

AESA again proved a thorn in the side of Far

East shipbuilders this year when it landed a deal from Transocean Offshore for the con- struction of two 54,000-gt drillships, to be undertaken by Astano at El Ferrol, the show- case offshore yard located on Spain's north- west tip.

While the potential buyers, at the time of writing, were exercising the accepted 'due dili- gence' prior to formal purchase, the group's sale of the well-regarded Barreras facility at

Vigo to a private consortium is expected to be a highlight of structural changes in the industry during 1998.

Barreras has a rep- utation for quality and delivery perfor- mance with projects in technically-chal- lenging areas, includ- ing ferries and RoRo ships, chemtankers and the largest types of deepwater tuna fishing vessels.

Indicative of the diversity of produc- tion, output this year will feature a 973-

TEU cellular contain- ership for Naviera del

Odiel of Madrid, an 8,300-dwt chemical carrier for a French owner, and a diesel- electric train/RoRo ferry for New

Zealand.

The successful bidding group comprises two clients of the yard in the shape of Naviera del

Odiel and one of the world's biggest operators of deepwater tuna freezer fishing vessels,

Naviera Albacora, along with the locally-based

Garofa Costas industrial group and a yard management team.

The new venture has an evidently sound plat- form on which to build in the shape of a prof- itable business, good production facilities and motivated personnel, and an orderbook extend- ing through 1999. Leading on from this year's boxship, chemtanker and ferry deliveries, the

June, 1998 65

AESA again proved a thorn in the side of Far

East shipbuilders this year when it landed a deal from

Transocean

Offshore for the construction of two 54,000-gt drill- ships, to be under- taken by Astano at

El Ferrol

Vigo yard's commitments include a tuna purse seiner in excess of 100 m for Albacora and two 1,250-unit capacity vehicle carriers ordered by

Vapores Suardiaz.

Tuna catchers in the 344.4 to 354.3-ft. (105 to 108-m) range delivered in recent years by

Barreras to Albacora and French-owned

Saupiquet rate as the largest ships of their type worldwide, giving new dimension to Spanish prowess in the design, construction and equip- ping of the gamut of fishing vessel types.

The scale of activity generated by the fish- eries industry remains substantial, but the impact of quota regulations and other factors has depressed overall demand for new fishing vessels, necessitating changes in business emphasis for large parts of the supplier indus- tries.

A number of privately-owned yards in Spain have proved very effective in developing new lines of specialization, a case in point being the

Astilleros Zamakona enterprise, which has emerged in the 1990s as one of Europe's most prominent tug builders after many years of concentrating on fishing vessels.

Located in the north-east at Santurce, in the

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