Noordhoek Orders Vessel

Noordhoek Offshore B.V., based in Zierikzee – The Netherlands, ordered a newbuild diving offshore construction support (DOCS) vessel for itsNorth Western European operations.

The delivery of this new vessel is scheduled for the second half of 2009, followed by its delivery it will join the Noordhoek fleet. This new, state-of-the-art vessel is, specifically designed for efficient diving operations in the harsh North Sea environment. The new vessel will have an 76 metres overall length, 18 metre beam, 100 tonne main crane and accommodation for 70 people. The 12-man, single bell, saturation diving system will utilise the latest technology.  The vessel will have Class 2 Dynamic Positioning and be in compliance with the most demanding maritime and environmental regulations worldwide. The vessel’s design will reflect Noordhoek’s 47 years experience of successful diving operations in the North Sea and it will greatly enhance Noordhoek’s diving capabilities.

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Chinese fishing boats sink off Philippines

Two Chinese fishing boats sank in rough seas in a typhoon off the Philippines and at least 12 people are missing.

The ships sank off Palawan island, in the South China Sea, on Tuesday night. Earlier, Chinese official media said Beijing had sent three vessels and a helicopter to pick up more than 700 fishermen left stranded by the typhoon on and around islands in the South China Sea. Typhoon Hagibis, which has weakened to a tropical depression, killed 14 people in the Philippines last week, went west toward Vietnam and then made a dramatic U-turn over the South China Sea before returning to the Philippines. More than 400 fishermen from the southern province of Hainan province and 29 from the Philippines remain stranded in the Nansha area.Storms regularly batter the Philippines. Last year, Typhoon Durian killed 1,200 people and left 120,000 homeless when it crashed through Bicol in December.

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BP fined for oil pollution

British Petroleum pleaded guilty to breaking pollution laws when one of its crude pipelines leaked and spilled oil in Alaska.

BP agreed to pay a 20 million dollar fine because of this, according to the US justice authorities. The company “pleaded guilty today in federal court to a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act for spilling 200,000 gallons (760,000 liters) of crude oil from a pipeline onto the tundra and a frozen lake” in March 2006, the Justice Department, said in a statement. The leak, in the North Slope region, was due to BP’s failure to notice signs of corrosion inside the pipes. The company was not charged for a second leak in August 2006 at its Prudoe Bay oil field, since it acted quickly to stop the flow of oil. Around 1,000 gallons of oil escaped in that leak.

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