Great Offshore forays into port management

Great Offshore, a port and terminal and offshore logistics player, has forayed into port management.

 

The company has signed definitive agreements for acquisition of 100 per cent equity stake in two companies — KEI — RSOS Maritime and Rajamahendri Shipping & Oilfield Services. The company will pump in Rs 160 crore for the deals. The transaction is on an all cash basis and is expected to close within two months from now. In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said that the acquisition will provide it an entry into emerging opportunities in port and terminal administration which is a derivative business arising our of trade growth and port infrastructure development. “The decision to acquirer an existing running business is with a view to broad base earnings without diversifying core business risks and ensuring sustainable cash flows and earning,” said Vijay K Sheth, vice chairman cum managing director of Great Offshore. KEI and RSOS are in the maritime services business providing offshore support, single point mooring operations and port management services. They have a diverse fleet of 9 offshore support vessels and 10 harbour tugs. The companies have their presence in the east coast of India.

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ST Marine lays keel for first Singapore-built Ropax

Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine) has laid the keel for Singapore’s first Roll-on/Roll-off passenger ferry (ropax) at its main yard in Benoi.

The contract, worth approximately S$168 million (US$117.4 million) to design and build the Ropax for the French trading and shipping company, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), was announced in July last year. The 4,900DWT ropax, measuring 161-metres-long and 25.6-metres-wide was originally targeted to carry 930 passengers to operate in the English Channel for day and night crossing, but it will now be built to carry 1,300 passengers after LDA’s additional requirement and injection of S$5 million (US$3.49 million). Equipped with passenger lounges and cabins, restaurants and bars, and a summer deck, the passenger vessel has also been designed to carry both trailers and cars, with a Roll-on/Roll-off (ro-ro) lane capacity of about 1,500 metres and car lane capacity of about 2,290 metres. The ropax is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2010 to increase LDA’s fleet of Ropax ferry to five, all trading in the English Channel.

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Shell brings Gulf production back online

Shell will begin to restart offshore oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company also said that it expects full restart of offshore production in the area will take three to five days. Shell said that it found no damage to major units at its 235,000 barrel per day joint venture Motiva oil refinery in Convent, Louisiana, though the restart of the plant depended on the restoration of reliable power supplies. The company reiterated it could begin restarting some processing units at its 220,000 barrel per day oil refinery in Norco, Louisiana, in the “next couple of days” and added it is ramping up production rates at its 290,000 bpd joint venture Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.

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