ABB to wire six rigs in Asia

Engineering group ABB said it had won contracts worth $150 million in the third quarter to supply main electrical systems to six drilling rigs and drillships being built in Asia.

The company said the orders included contracts for three deep-water rigs being built at the Jurong shipyard in Singapore, as well as the Sten DrillMax ICE and Pride 4 drillships to be constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. It would also fit out a further drillship to be built for Metrostar at Hyundai Heavy Industries, also in South Korea. ABB said it would supply generators and medium- and low-voltage power systems for the vessels, as well as thruster drive and drilling drive systems. The company has supplied electrical systems to about half of the deepwater drilling rigs commissioned since 2005, it said.

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First Saudi Arabian Ferries Delivered

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomed the delivery of its two Austal-built 289 ft high speed vehicle-passenger catamarans, ‘Riyadh’ and ‘Cairo’ during a handover ceremony in Jeddah attended by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak.

Ordered by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance in 2007, the vessels are a gift to the Egyptian Government, and will assist in improving the standard of ferry services across the Red Sea. Operating on a 100 nautical mile route between Dibba in Saudi Arabia and Safaga in Egypt, the vessels are intended for Pilgrims travelling to Mecca, Egyptian workers travelling to and from Saudi Arabia as well as business and leisure travellers. Both vessels carry 1200 passengers, 120 cars and 15 trucks and recorded impressive service speeds of 37 knots during recent sea trials, three knots in excess of contract requirements. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Ibrahim Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Assaf, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance said that the inauguration of the two vessels represented a qualitative leap and would establish a new phase in marine transport between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, reducing the current eight-hour trip between Dibba and Safaga by about two hours. The vessels will contribute in transporting about 1 million passengers every year, he added.

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Somali pirates release Hellenic ship

The East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) issued a statement yesterday confirming that the bulk carrier CAPT. STEFANOS (sometimes spelled CAPT STEPHANOS) was released by its hijackers yesterday.

The vessel was captured by Somali pirates in September along with her crew of 19 in the Gulf of Aden. “The Greek ship-owner’s company Chartworld Shipping Corporation (Athens) finally confirmed that the Greek ship MV CAPT STEFANOS, with a Ukrainian citizen as a crew member, one Chinese and 17 Filipino seafarers, captured by Somali pirates September 21, was set free following 11 weeks of captivity.” said the statement. Crew members are reported to be in good health and the ship is said to be heading for the port of Brindisi in Italy. The EU has now officially started maritime operations in the Gulf of Aden to try and combat the rising number of pirate attacks. Over 330 sailors on board some 15 ships are still held hostage by gunmen operating from the lawless regions of Somalia. Increasingly the crews of ships are seen as the best bargaining counters by the pirates, as opposed to the ships and cargos. However, the capture of the SIRIUS STAR, which is still being held, and its cargo of $100,000 of oil has shook many as has the taking hostage of the mv FAINA which is loaded with Soviet-era armaments.

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