Page 31: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2, 2006)

x 7.2 ft. (70 m x 8 m x 2.2 m) is wider than the previous to better allow maneu- vering tests of, for example, ships dock- ing with Arctic offshore caissons.

Recent projects designed by AARC include the FESCO Sakhalin icebreak- ing supply and stand-by vessel and the containership Norilskiy Nickel. The

USCG Great Lakes Icebreaker

Mackinaw in currently in the ice trial phase. This icebreaker is also designed to AARC's double-acting principle, and is fitted with two electric Azipod drives.

AARC provided consulting icebreaking design services including performance evaluations through extensive ice model tests. AARC is currently active with its recent design contracts and licenses for 70,000 dwt Arctic tankers under con- struction both at Korean shipbuilder

Samsung Heavy Industries as well as for

Russian Admiralty Shipyards. The three

Samsung tankers are intended for exporting oil produced by a joint ven- ture between Russian Lukoil and U.S.

ConocoPhillips from the Varandei ter- minal in the Barents Sea. The ships will be built to ABS class except for the hull, which is built to Russian ice class LU 6.

The two tankers being designed by

AARC together with the Admiralty

Shipyards are intended for the

Prirazlomnoye offshore oil field in the eastern Barents Sea, which now is being developed. The oil shipping agreements for both projects will be handled by

Russian Sovcomflot.

Potential future Arctic projects for

AARC are related to Arctic LNG trans- portations, new activities in the Yamal area, the offshore developments around the Sakhalin Island and through the new activities in the Caspian Sea.

SPAR-Rigs: Standing Strong Against

Hurricanes

The offshore fabrication yard Technip

Offshore Finland, on the west coast, has for several years successfully designed and built truss spar-type deep-water drilling platform hulls for the major oil companies operating in the Mexican

Gulf. Current production includes a con- tract for engineering, procurement and construction of the spar hull and moor- ing systems for Chevron's deepwater

Tahiti Field Development Project in the

Gulf of Mexico. The hull, with a length of about 557 ft. (170 m), a diameter of 128 ft. (39 m), and a steel weight of approximately 24,000 tons, will be com- pleted in spring 2007 after which it will be transported by a heavy transport ves- sel to the Gulf of Mexico, floated into vertical position, moored to the seabed, after which the topside modules, also fabricated by Technip, will be installed.

The Tahiti field lies in 4,000 ft. of water and is one of the U.S. Gulf's largest deep-water discoveries. The previous delivery of a spar rig was the 554 ft. (169 m) long, 98 ft. (30 m) diameter

Constitution hull for Kerr-McGee Oil &

Gas Corporation. To date, altogether ten spar rig hulls have been delivered by

Technip Offshore Finland for this area, which all seem to have sustained well without any major damage in the 20-30 m waves from the hurricanes that swept over the Mexican Gulf last fall.

Wärtsilä Looks East

In line with the shipbuilding orders placed in the world, Wärtsilä

Corporation has shown record figures in recent reports. The company recently noted, however, that due to full order- books at the yards, new orders for large ships have declined. The offshore explo- ration segment has compensated for that, with up to a third of the order intake of medium-speed engines coming from this sector in Q3 2005. The order- book of Wärtsilä's Ship Power Business increased in that period by 96.3 percent to approximately $1.75 billion, com- pared to that of the year before, and net sales for the first nine months of the year increased to approximately $540 million.

In recent years, the company has strategical- ly focused on its target areas for growth, by estab- lishing factories for propeller manufacturing and tunnel thruster manufacturing in China, and is cur- rently setting up a factory for diesel generating sets in China. In India, the company is setting up a plant for manu- facturing marine reduction gears. The company strongly focuses on expanding its Service business where it has shown double-figure sales growth rates. A recent deal was the acquisition of Deutz marine engine service business.

February 2006 31

Circle 243 on Reader Service Card www.stromme.com

Innovative and approved immersion suits

Detachable Gloves for Increased Safety

High quality immersion suits for maximum safety and flexibility, manufactured by Helly Hansen Spesialprodukter. The N6 Basic model is made from watertight, flame retardant, high-quality neoprene, providing insulation, buoyancy and long lifetime.

The detachable gloves ensure free use of hands.

Features N6-Basic: • Watertight cuffs • Gloves attached by elastic band • Attached hood • Leg straps • Face seal • Approved type of reflectors

The suit is approved in accordance with IMO/SOLAS and the Marine Equipment Directive 96/98 EC.

To be used with an approved life jacket. Also available in a Nordic version for use without life jacket.

Head office: tel. + 47 67 52 60 60, [email protected] NME office: tel. + 47 53 47 95 00, [email protected]

Branch offices: United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Spain, Singapore and USA

Need anchors and chains?

G.J. Wortelboer Jr. B.V.

P.O. Box 5003

NL-3008 AA Rotterdam

Tel: +31 10 429 2222

Fax: +31 10 429 6459 [email protected] www.wortelboer.nl

Circle 221 on Reader Service Card

Technip

Offshore

Finland continues deliveries for the Mexican Gulf.

Spar hull being loaded.

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