Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2006)

News

Bourbon Sets Course for

Massive Expansion

Bourbon plans to invest more than $1.7 billion in new vessel construction through 2010, according to the compa- ny's CEO Jacques de Chateauvieux, who held a conference call from his

Paris office last month.

The company, which has been on a major newbuild spending spree in its transformation to a maritime power- house, at the end of 2006 will own a fleet of 264 vessels, including 192 in its

Offshore division, 66 tugs in its Towage and Salvage division, and six bulk carri- ers in its bulk division.

The company is particularly bullish on prospects for the offshore business, as nearly $1.46 billion of its investment through 2010 will focus on the offshore market. In assessing the near and long- term future of the offshore business, de

Chateauvieux said the company sees "strong and continued demand" for oil, as declines in production output from existing offshore wells will pressure the oil majors to step up efforts to find new reserves. The company projects that the world's production of oil will increas- ingly come from offshore sources, rising from 34 percent today to 39 percent by 2010, and increasingly that share will come from deepwater developments, based largely on the fact that 65 percent of new discoveries are coming from deepwater searches.

In addition to vessels, the company plans to increase its number of employ- ees by 80 percent, and is embarked on an international quest to recruit and retain top marine industry talent from

Europe and the Americas, as well as increasingly from Africa and Asia.

PRESCO to Build Tankers

Primorje Sea Shipping Company

OJSC (PRESCO) signed an agreement for the construction of five product car- rying tankers with STX Shipbuilding.

Under the contract these ice-class tankers of the deadweight of 52 thou- sand tons each are to replenish the

PRESCO fleet by 2009.

Crowley Russian Flagged

Vessel Starts Work

Crowley Maritime Corporation's

Marine Services unit announced the deployment of the Crowley Alliance, the company's first Russian flagged and crewed vessel serving the offshore oil industry near Sakhalin Island, Russia.

The vessel is owned and operated by

Crowley Far East Services, a Crowley subsidiary formed and incorporated in

Sakhalin State, Russia. The subsidiary, which is part of the corporation's marine services segment, offers marine and shore side logistics and transportation services to the energy and construction industries in the region. The Alliance is a UT 708 design 12,000 bhp AHTS that is Lloyds Ice Class 1A Super.

SNAME Provides

Research Funds

Shipboard oily water separators are internationally mandated as engine room equipment and are intended to allow engine room crews to clean engine room bilge water prior to dis- charge into the world's oceans. This

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