June
201
1
page 3
Gladstone operation in full swing
page 7SMIT Salvage responds to
vessel groundings
page 6SMIT Terminals: energy demand
drives forward new projects
page 10‘Taklift 4’ installs Egyptian
platform’s topside
page 4Harbour Towage: the pathfinder
in “focus areas”
page 12Marine project contracting:
exploiting fresh opportunities
More
SMIT transports wind turbine foundations for
the new Lincs offshore wind farm in UK waters.
Integration: the pace quickens 2
New orders for anchor handlers and tugs 3
SMIT’s total commitment to the brazilian market 5
New vessels join the URS fleet 5
Transport fleet supports Lincs windfarm construction 9
Singapore-based vessels support major wreck removal 11
New generation sheerleg will have 5,000 tonnes lift capacity 11
Successful topside installation Asian Lift 11
SMIT Subsea installs protection for dutch shelf subsea wells 12
SMIT Amandla Marine pushes for further growth in 2011 13
Bringing together operations and engineering 14
A plan for integration and expansion 15
Be prepared! Reducing the piracy threat 16
Royal Naming ceremony ‘Smit Panther’ 16
smit.com
Loek Kullberg gives a speech.
One of the five sponsor ladies cuts the ribbon during the official ceremony.
It is pleasing to report that we are making
good progress following the Boskalis SMIT
merger in March of last year. The pace of
integration is quickening. We have already
achieved synergies which exceed our initial
expectations.
The integration process is overseen by a
Steering Group, which leads working groups
from Boskalis and SMIT. Together, they con-
tinue to find significant market and cost syner-
gies. Their work will continue throughout this
year and during 2012.
Strong working partnerships have already
blossomed at the management, contracting
and operational levels. SMIT equipment, for
example, is at work at Rotterdam - Europoort’s
Maasvlakte 2 project, through the PUMA
Consortium. Meanwhile, Boskalis’ advanced
survey equipment and soil expertise have
found an important role in SMIT wreck removal
projects.
Integration will enhance our capacity to
deliver added value, a critical success factor
in a challenging market. We are optimistic for
the future, as Boskalis and SMIT both gener-
ate around 80 per cent of their business from
the ports and oil and gas sectors. The com-
mercial drivers in these areas look strong
for the medium and longer term. With this
in mind, both Boskalis and SMIT will ben-
efit from integration, as an integrated group
delivering enhanced added value is far better
positioned to prosper in a competitive global
environment.
SMIT enhances Boskalis by adding new opera-
tional capabilities and it will broaden the scope
of the offering, by developing fresh opportuni-
ties for contracting. Boskalis, in turn, provides
the expertise which allows SMIT to be more
comfortable with contracting risks. The trans-
port and heavy lift market is a case in point.
SMIT has excellent hardware and expertise but,
in the past, has tended to supply equipment
rather than become involved in lumpsum con-
tracting. Boskalis has a track record of tender-
ing for and executing major projects on a turn-
key basis. Through the vehicle of SMIT Marine
Projects we can utilise equipment and exper-
tise within a lumpsum contracting context.
There is also significant added value to be won
from the integration of our international net-
works. Without doubt, the major outcome will
be a substantial increase in the commercial
opportunities open to Boskalis SMIT.
We have to consider these events in the con-
text of the times. Over the last couple of years,
SMIT was successful with much improved com-
mercial performance and investments in new
equipment, especially in harbour towage. At
the same time, the assumption of contracting
risks was not on the agenda. This was a sound
strategy - at that time - given SMIT’s limited
experience of total package contracting and an
essentially benign commercial climate. Today,
however, we need a revised strategy, based
on added value and more project contracting.
There will be occasions, for example, when it
will be possible to combine the dredging and
wreck removal tasks within the scope of a main
contract. Here, the geographic strengths of
Boskalis SMIT offer great potential, with one
having the capacity to “introduce” the other,
opening the door to new harbour towage or
dredging business.
Performance 2010Markets were down in 2010, yet SMIT had
sufficient commercial vigour to make a good
contribution to Boskalis’ record results in its
centennial year. Boskalis SMIT worked together
with great enthusiasm and this positive out-
come provides hard evidence of real com-
mitment. Building on this promising start, we
recently adopted a new three-year Corporate
Business Plan - a platform for further progress
(see page 15).
Looking ahead, we see an improving picture
on the Harbour Towage front. Freight levels
are recovering, with traffic volumes on the
increase at strategic locations around the
world, from Rotterdam to Panama. Against
this background, SMIT’s Harbour Towage
Division performed well in 2010. Taken over-
all, this Division put in a good performance.
One recent highlight was the acquisition of
the remaining 50 per cent of the SMIT Rebras
joint venture. SMIT has been active in Brazil
since 2006, when the joint venture was first
established. Today, SMIT Rebras operates a tug
fleet of 18 ASD newbuildings at six ports in the
country.
In the Terminals sector, performance in 2010
was good across the range of long-term con-
tracts, although two contracts (in Pakistan and
Nigeria) were not renewed. In recent years, we
have seen relatively few new projects come
forward. In contrast, however, a series of new
oil and LNG facilities will open later this year
and in 2012, resulting in a very promising
outlook.
Boskalis provides terminal services via
SMIT Terminals and its 50 per cent stake in
Lamnalco. Since the Boskalis SMIT merger, we
have taken time to carefully examine the opti-
mum structure to go forward. We have made
good progress and now expect to make an
announcement on the intended integration
before the Summer.
Turning to Salvage, 2010 was a busy year,
despite a rather slow first half. Emergency
response was at a low level throughout the
year, but the wreck removal business was
strong. A major rig removal operation was
completed in the Gulf of Mexico and other
major projects were progressed in Indian
waters and off the Indonesian coast.
In the Transport and Heavy Lift arena, spot
contracts suffered from restricted maintenance
budgets and the postponement of new activi-
ties. In the Transport market, these effects were
especially marked in the North Sea region.
Elsewhere in the world, activity levels held up
well, with SMIT in a particularly strong position
in South Africa and Singapore.
OutlookWe see the key factors driving growth remain-
ing positive for the medium term. Energy and
commodity-related projects in South America,
Australia and Africa are of great significance.
We expect many projects in these regions to
come to the market over the next few years.
Frank Verhoeven
Chairman, SMIT
Group Director, Boskalis
IntegratIOn: the Pace quIckens
SMIT tugs are now assisting some of the
world’s largest bulk carriers, calling to load
coal and minerals at the Australian port of
Gladstone. This is a harbour towage break-
through for SMIT in Australia. Six tugs are
now operating at Gladstone.
There is now the prospect of providing an
additional six tugs, to serve the LNG vessels
which will be calling at Gladstone from 2014.
A decision on the ordering of new tugs is likely
to be taken over the coming 12 months.
The tugs required under the current contract
were on location at Gladstone by the end of
last year. They are operating under a five-year
exclusive harbour towage licence, secured by
competitive tender. There is an option in the
contract to extend by three years.
Five of the six tugs are Robert Allan 3070
ASD vessels rated at 70 tonnes bollard pull
(Firefighting Class 1, LNG/escort capable).
The sixth vessel, ‘Smit Leopard’, is a Damen
3211 ASD tug with 68 tonnes bollard pull. The
3070 vessels were built by Uzmar’s Izmit Yard
in Turkey. ‘Smit Leopard’ was built at Damen’s
Penglai Yard in China.
All six tugs are Australian-registered and
crewed, with Gladstone as their home port.
They were named at a ceremony at Gladstone’s
Auckland Point Berth 4 during March. The tugs
were lined up, bow to quay, for this ceremony.
Those attending were welcomed by local
resident Lindsay Johnson, representing the
Gooreng Gooreng and Byellee peoples.
The ceremony marked the culmination of
an unusual process - a competition for local
people, who were invited to propose names.
The winning names were: ‘Smit Koongo’
(a Byellee word meaning “place of water”),
‘Smit Yallarm’ (a Gooreng Gooreng word mean-
ing “place of shells”), ‘Smit
Awoonga’ (the name
of a large lake formed
by a nearby dam), ‘Smit
Tondoon’ (the name
of Gladstone’s original
dam and now the name
of a botanical gardens
preserving plants indig-
enous to the Port Curtis
region), and ‘Smit Kullaroo’
(meaning “road that leads to
water”).
The tugs were blessed by Gladstone Mission
to Seaman chaplains Father John McKim and
Trevor Phillips. ‘Smit Yallarm’ was named by
Mrs Patricia Brusasco, spouse of Gladstone
Ports Corporation Chairman Ian Brusasco.
Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers named ‘Smit
Koongo’. Joanne Lutze, spouse of Captain
Mike Lutze, the Regional Harbourmaster,
named ‘Smit Kullaroo’. The ‘Smit
Tondoon ‘was named by Elizabeth
Zussino, spouse of Gladstone Ports
Chief Executive Leo Zussino. Judy
Reynolds, a Director of Gladstone
Ports Corporation, named the ‘Smit
Awoonga’. Helen Skippen also a
Director of the Ports Corporation,
named ‘Smit Leopard’.
The ceremony was attended by SMIT
Harbour Towage Managing Director
Loek Kullberg. He told those present
that the Gladstone contract was a
significant award for SMIT and that
the objective is to achieve more suc-
cess in Australia. He made reference
to the Gorgon LNG project. Here,
SMIT has put together proposals for
operations with a fleet of diesel-elec-
tric tugs of advanced design.
Gladstone, meanwhile, continues to
grow. It is one of Australia’s largest
coal ports. In terms of throughput,
it already ranks as Australia’s third largest port.
Throughput is forecast to increase from 76
million tonnes in 2008 to around 127 million
tonnes by 2013. In his address at the naming
ceremony, Gladstone Ports Chairman Ian
Brusasco said that at least 12 new tugs would
be needed at Gladstone over the next five to
10 years. Some of the requirement for addi-
tional tugs relates to the construction of exten-
sive LNG export facilities at Gladstone. There is
every prospect that Gladstone will develop as
the centre of one of the world’s busiest har-
bour towage operations.
gladstOne OPeratIOn In full swIng
New orders were placed in the third quar-
ter of 2010 for two new 100 tonnes bollard
pull anchor handlers, from the Chinese yard
of Guijiang Shipbuilding Co in Wuzhou.
The newbuilds will be fitted with Wärtsila
engines, and state-of-the-art winches from
Rolls Royce. The new vessels will join the
fleet in mid-2012 and will then work in the
Middle East and Far East regions.
Other recent new orders include six vessels
for SMIT Rebras in Brazil. These are 45 tonnes
bollard pull vessels, to be built to the Robert
Allen 2500 design. The orders were placed with
Keppel Singmarine in Brazil. These orders were
announced in April of this year and the first of
the newbuildings will be delivered in late 2012.
new Orders fOr anchOr handlers and tugs
Biographical notes: Frank VerhoevenFrank Verhoeven’s father was a tug Captain
who later became a project manager with
Boskalis. Frank obtained his Degree in Civil
Engineering from the University of Delft,
in the mid-1970s, and then joined Boskalis.
He became a Technical Staff Manager
in the 1980s, then assumed operational
responsibilities in the 1990s. By the end
of that decade he led Boskalis’ Offshore
Department. In the 2000-04 period, he was
General Director for Boskalis Netherlands
and, subsequently, a member of the Group
Management Team with specific responsi-
bilities for Europe. He is now Group Director
with special responsibility for SMIT.
smit.com3
tug magazine
Harbour Towage is one of the main pil-
lars for future investment under the new
Boskalis SMIT Corporate Business Plan.
Loek Kullberg, Managing Director of SMIT’s
Harbour Towage Division, says: “This core
activity is very important and the strategy
is very clear. We will concentrate on the
major engines of the world economy, while
moving away from smaller, fragmented
markets which are less valuable in a Group
context. The markets of interest include
Australia and Brazil. SMIT Harbour Towage
has a vital role to play, as it has such a pow-
erful track record as a pathfinder activity.
“This is particularly important at this time,
when we see the major ports of the world
picking up again after the downturn. Tonnage
levels are fast approaching the peak of 2008.
The number of movements is down but this is
explained by a substantial increase in vessel
size. Our strategy of increasing bollard pull
reflects this trend. Maersk’s recent order for
18,000 TEU class vessels is a sign of the times.”
In response to adoption of the new Business
Plan, the Harbour Towage Division is
prospecting for new acquisitions in the world’s
major ports. The “focus areas” are: Brazil,
Australia, South East Asia, the North West
European region, South and West Africa and
the Middle East.
Within this new perspective, the priorities
include the accelerated development of SMIT
Rebras in Brazil (now 100 per cent owned), the
long term, ground-breaking harbour towage
contract at Gladstone, Australia, and start-up
tug operations in Liberia.
At the same time, the concentration on
“focus areas” provides the background
to SMIT’s recent decision to dissolve its
Baltic harbour towage joint venture. The
partnership with Towmar, of Lithuania, at
Klaipeda and Ventspils, ends on July 1. Loek
Kullberg comments: “Essentially, we felt that
the prospects for growth in this area of the
Baltic were insufficient to justify continuing
investment. We had three tugs operating
within Towmar SMIT. The two 60 tonnes bollard
pull 2810s ‘Smit Trinidad’ and ‘Smit Dominica’
have already been redeployed to Brazil as
frontrunners, pending the arrival of recently
ordered vessels. In addition the ‘Smit Mersey’
will be redeployed to Liberia.
“Brazil is a powerful hub for future growth in the
Americas. We are making rapid progress in Brazil
and there are also important developments in
Panama, with the Balboa contract for four tugs
renewed for another five years.
new contracts in liberiaSMIT recently gained two significant contracts
in Liberia. In Monrovia, APMT (an A.P. Møller
Group company) has signed a five-year
contract for the two ASD tugs ‘Schelde’ 10
and 12. The contract, signed at the end of
last year, commenced in February. The two
tugs are assisting vessels calling at the port.
In addition, SMIT has mobilised two tugs
to Buchanan, a minerals export port some
60 miles south of Monrovia. This is a three-
year contract for the assistance of large
bulk carriers calling at Buchanan’s iron ore
terminal. The contract will be served by the
‘Smit Nida’ (redeployed from the Baltic) and
the ‘KST Sphere’. The client is Arcelor Mittal.
The contract commenced at the end of May.
SMIT has demonstrated its total commit-
ment to the Brazilian market with a decision
to acquire 100 per cent of the SMIT Rebras
harbour towage operation, now active in six
of the country’s main ports.
The agreement to purchase the balance of
50 per cent of the shares in this joint venture
was concluded in March. Loek Kullberg says:
“This acquisition gives us much greater
flexibility to manage and expand SMIT Rebras
and orientate it within the new Boskalis SMIT
strategy. We need to grow in this market at a
very vigorous rate.”
With this acquisition completed, the way is
open to commit more investment to the SMIT
Rebras business. As a result, SMIT recently
brought to a successful conclusion the
negotiations for another six (plus an option for
another six) newbuildings, to be constructed
in Brazil. These vessels are to be built by Keppel
Singmarine at a newly-acquired local facility in
Brazil.
The first tranche of the new orders consists
of six 45 tonnes bollard pull Robert Allan RA
2500-type tugs. The new tugs will be very
similar to the 12 x 45 tonnes bollard pull
newbuildings - built by Detroit Brasil - in
the large “foundation order” for SMIT Rebras
(which also included six 65 tonnes bollard pull
units).
Loek Kullberg says: “The new tugs are due for
delivery over the next 18-24 months. These
additions to the Brazilian fleet will allow us to
add more ports to our portfolio and further
increase market share in Brazil. We plan to put
two more tugs into Vitória and deploy units to
two more ports, bringing our total number of
operational centres to eight.”
Under Brazilian legislation, the signing of the
contract allows SMIT to make an early start
on expansion, by bringing in frontrunner
tugs from other locations around the world.
Six frontrunners will work in Brazilian waters.
The four units earmarked for transfer to
Brazilian waters, at the time of writing, are
the ‘Smit Taboguilla’ and ‘Smit Manzamillo’
ex-Panama, together with the 2810 tugs/ 60
tonnes BP, ‘Smit Montserrat’ and the ‘Smit
Cayman’ (ex-Tangguh Indonesia). They will
arrive in Brazil in June and July.
tug orders signed The contract for the new tugs was signed at
SMIT’s headquarters in Rotterdam on April 20.
These tugs are ASD units with Caterpillar
engines and generators and Schottel pro-
pulsion. They will be constructed at Keppel
Singmarine’s Brazilian yard at Navegantes,
Santa Catarina State.
Loek Kullberg says: “Decisions on the six
options will be taken at the time of delivery of
the first tug in the series. The first of the new-
buildings should arrive around the end of next
year. We would then expect another new tug
every month.”
The SMIT Rebras operation in Brazil already
has substantial weight. The company oper-
ates at six locations, with around 200 staff
and crew. There are four tugs at Santos, two at
Paranaguá, another two at Sepetiba-Itaguai,
four at the bustling Sepetiba-Angra dos Reis
location (primarily serving the Petrobras oil
terminal), two tugs at Vitória (Tubarão and
Praia Mole) and four tugs at São Luis (Ponta da
Madeira, Itaqui and Alumar).
Loek Kullberg adds: “SMIT’s plans for Brazil are
ambitious. By 2013, five years from the start
of operations, SMIT Rebras expects to operate
in up to 10 main Brazilian ports and terminals,
with at least 30 new ASD tugs and some 300
crew and staff.”
A new business activity in Brazil also begins in
June, with the arrival in Brazilian waters of the
‘Smit Angola’, a RAmpage 5000 vessel to serve
the offshore oil and gas industry. Loek Kullberg
comments: “Over the next five years we hope
to deploy several offshore support vessels
to serve the Brazilian oil and gas sector. The
deployment of the ‘Smit Angola’ marks our first
step in this promising market.”
Antwerp-based URS saw the fleet expand
over the past six months. Three newbuild-
ings entered service. Two of the newbuilds
- ‘Union Eagle’ and ‘Union Hawk’ - are now
providing harbour towage services in the
port of Antwerp. The second pair in a series
of four, these 85 tonnes bollard pull tugs
were built by the Spanish yard of Armon.
The design is an evolution of the Amber
Class tugs, with more powerful engines and
innovative features, including a tow cable
run under the accommodation.
The third delivery was ‘Union Wrestler’ - the
final anchor handler in a series of four, the
earlier deliveries being ‘Union Warrior’, ‘Union
Fighter’ and ‘Union Boxer’. These vessels are
rated at 85 tonnes bollard pull. ‘Union Wrestler’
is currently working in the North Sea region,
on assignments for offshore industry clients.
This newbuilding, also from Armon, has the
same machinery outfit as the two new harbour
tugs.
There was an upturn in harbour towage
demand in the major Belgian ports over the
past six months. During the final quarter of
2010 there was an increase in vessel calls to
Antwerp, especially evident in the container
sector. The first few months of 2011 were also
good. A picture
of steady recov-
ery has emerged.
Zeebrugge is also
doing well, nota-
bly in the area of
container traffic.
LNG business is
also strong, with
Zeebrugge now
averaging five
or six calls per
month. In addition,
there has been a
marked upturn in
car carrier busi-
ness - a sector hard
hit in the recession.
Zeebrugge now
ranks as the leading
car carrier port in
the world.
There is also an
improving picture at
Ghent, where activ-
ity depends largely
on the health of
the steel market.
At the same time, there is a growing contribu-
tion from biofuel bulk cargoes. In the Dutch
ports, meanwhile, activity levels held steady at
Flushing and Terneuzen.
In the international arena, around half the URS
ocean-going fleet, “SMIT Transport Belgium”
is now committed to assignments in Angolan
waters, mainly in connection with the Block
31 project. The vessels deployed in Angola
include the ‘Union Manta’, ‘Union Warrior’,
‘Union Fighter’, ‘Union Letzer’ and ‘President
Hubert ‘.
Looking ahead, over the rest of the year, the
STB fleet is largely committed to term charters,
although several of the smaller vessels con-
tinue to work the spot market.
new vessels jOIn the urs fleet
sMIt’s tOtal cOMMItMent tO the brazIlIan Market
harbOur tOwage: the PathfInder In “fOcus areas”
jan kohlsaat
It is with deep regret that SMIT
reports the very sad loss of
Jan Kohlsaat, following a
tragic accident early May.
Jan Kohlsaat was a Partner,
Board Member and the
Managing Director of the
Towmar-SMIT joint venture and
a greatly valued colleague.
URS tugs assisting the ‘Al Khattiya’.
SMIT Rebras tugs welcome fallpipe vessel ‘Sandpiper”.
Anchor handling tug ‘Union Fighter’.URS tugs assist container
vessel ‘Evelyn Maersk’.
smit.com5
tug magazine
While major new terminal support contracts
are proving slow to emerge after global
economic downturn, the future prospects
remain strong. Loek Kullberg, Managing
Director of SMIT Terminals, comments:
“It has been a challenging two years, with
many major projects postponed. Yet, as
expected, we are now seeing a number of
new projects going forward and they are
likely to come on stream quite quickly.”
“Recent events in Japan have placed a ques-
tion mark over nuclear power and, at the same
time, have also stimulated the alternatives -
primarily coal, LNG and renewables. We expect
the world’s network of LNG facilities to expand
significantly over the coming two to three
years.”
Looking at developments in the various
world regions, Loek Kullberg says: “Activity is
certainly picking up in Australia, especially in
the LNG sector. We also see stronger activity
in the Middle East region and in the important
Russian market. The key factor here is oil. We
see traditional oil-related projects picking up
again.”
SMIT Terminals is still awaiting the outcome
of its proposal for service provision at the
new Gorgon LNG terminal near Port Hedland,
north-west Australia. Boskalis has the
contracting lead for the port construction
required for this large-scale project. An
announcement on terminal services is
imminent.
The requirement at Gorgon is for four
tugs. SMIT’s proposal is based around the
construction of a new generation of diesel-
electric tugs of an advanced type, meeting a
very demanding environmental specification.
The tug concept for Gorgon has been
developed in association with Keppel and the
Guido Perla design bureau.
Meanwhile, SMIT remains an active bidder
for terminal services required for other LNG
terminals. For example, proposals have been
submitted for tugs to operate at a new LNG
facility in Papua New Guinea.
In the Asian region, SMIT tugs continue to
operate at Tangguh, Indonesia, at the BP/
MIGAS gas export facility. SMIT has worked
with two 2810 tugs and two KST tugs at
Tangguh. These units were frontrunners,
pending the arrival of four Indonesian
newbuildings. These new tugs arrived in
May 2011 and are now in full operation. The
frontrunners have been positioned elsewhere.
SMIT Terminals has a contract with BP/MIGAS
to man the newbuildings for the first 12
months of service. The next stage will involve
the award of a 10-year contract for terminal
support.
As for other key markets, Loek Kullberg says:
“Russia is certainly a major area of interest
for SMIT Terminals. We are interested in
providing marine support at major ports
such as Novorossiysk. We already have an
extensive operation on the east coast, centred
on Sakhalin, and we want to build on this
foundation. The driving force here, of course,
is the implementation of major oil and gas
developments.”
In the Americas, SMIT Terminals is tendering
for LNG terminal support services at Kitimat, in
Western Canada. SMIT already has an extensive
operation at Prince Rupert, supporting a coal
terminal and container vessels calling at the port.
In Africa, Gabon is a strong market. SMIT
provides marine support for Total, Shell and
Parenco. The contract with Total was recently
extended by five years. The four tugs currently
in Gabon (‘Smit Ozouri’, ‘Smit Mandji’, ‘Annelies’
and ‘Huberta’) are to be succeeded by two
4011 newbuildings from Damen. The new tugs
are due for delivery by the end of next year.
There have been some tug redeployments
in recent months. The RAmpage 5000 ‘Smit
Angola’, for example, has been transferred to
Brazil. It began work on the spot market and is
expected to commence a term contract later
this year. This multipurpose anchor handler is
ideal for a wide range of offshore tasks, from
diving operations to FPSO support.
On future prospects, Loek Kullberg says: “Over
the next 12 months we expect the market to
pick up and this will trigger an acceleration
in business growth. We see the oil, gas and
mineral sectors all moving up fast. At the same
time, we will have to contend with persistent
cost pressures within these markets.”
Casualty response operations involv-
ing SMIT Salvage early 2011 included the
coaster ‘Eems Transporter’. This vessel went
aground near Diafani, on the Greek island
of Karpathos, in early April, when laden
with over 2,000 tonnes of steel products.
This was a high speed grounding, causing
significant bottom damage, and a refloating
will require the lightering of cargo.
SMIT Salvage responded with a salvage team
from Rotterdam and a local tug and personnel.
As a precautionary measure, the team on site
includes pollution control experts. The vessel
was successfully refloated after lightering of
about 600 tonnes of rols of steel. The cargo
was backloaded and after some temporary
underwater repairs she was allowed to con-
tinue her voyage to France.
Cases in March included two groundings, the
bulk carrier ‘Mirach’ and a second bulker, the
‘Atlantic Star’. The ‘Mirach’ salvage began when
this vessel grounded on a reef off the coast of
Southern India in late March. The grounding
position is just three miles offshore off the port
of Trivandrum. This is a rocky location and a
salvage inspection revealed that most holds
and the forepeak were flooded, with the bulk-
heads later collapsing.,The No. 5 hold and the
engineroom were however still dry.
The salvage team promptly set to work on the
first priority: the recovery of pollutants, includ-
ing HFO. This task required the use of a hot-tap
system, to penetrate and pump from sub-
merged tanks. This salvage operation is being
performed on a Lloyd’s Form basis (SCOPIC
invoked).
A salvage team and equipment were flown
out from Rotterdam. In addition, the ‘Smit
Nicobar’ was mobilised from the Arabian Gulf,
sailing from Fujairah, to act as the main work
platform. This oil recovery continues - the main
objective was to remove pollutants before
the Monsoon break. A total of 32 tonnes were
recovered. During this recovery operation the
vessel finally broke her back and later sank
completely leaving only the funnel above the
sea level.
The ‘Atlantic Star’ was one of a long series of
groundings recently tackled by SMIT in the
major river systems of South America. The
‘Atlantic Star’ grounded in the Parana River, on
the border between Argentina and Uruguay.
A salvage tug was mobilised by SMIT’s local
partners. This casualty had 30,000 tonnes of
wheat in her holds. The vessel was successfully
refloated by tugs under the direction of the
SMIT Salvage master and team..
There was a SMIT Salvage operation in the
Orinoco River during the first quarter. This fol-
lowed the grounding of the Panamanian-flag
bulker ‘Gdansk’. Water levels in the Orinoco
were low as a result of prolonged drought
and the ‘Gdansk’ struck rocks at Km 184, near
Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. This caused signifi-
cant damage - a survey revealed a 70 m gash
in the double bottom. A number of tanks were
breached and there was some loss of bunkers.
This environmental emergency warranted a
swift intervention. SMIT Salvage responded
with local partners Terminales Maracaibo and
work began to recover around 400 tonnes of
HFO. A major lightering operation was organ-
ised and the ‘Gdansk’ was refloated success-
fully on the eighth day, following the discharge
of about 6000 tonnes of iron ore. The vessel
was then inspected by divers and redelivered
to the owners.
fire emergenciesRecent months have seen responses to a
number of shipboard fires. They included the
‘Kota Manis’, a 25,000 DWT container vessel
reporting a fire. This vessel was in West African
waters, off Tema, with the fires centred in No.
3 hold. This hold was put under a CO2 blanket
and cooling was performed by a fixed sprin-
kler system. Salvage/fire-fighting expertise
and equipment was mobilised both from
Rotterdam and Houston. The final extinguish-
ing took place at the berth in Tema.
Fire-related operations in the final quarter of
2010 included another container vessel, the
‘Boundary’. This vessel had departed Durban
for Walvis Bay when she reported fire in the
engineroom. SMIT went to the ‘Boundary’s
assistance, mobilising the salvage tug ‘Smit
Amandla’. A three-man advance party boarded
the casualty by helicopter and carried out a
preliminary inspection. The tug arrived on
scene, connected up and made for Cape Town,
a second inspection having confirmed that the
engineroom fire was extinguished. The vessel
was redelivered at East Quay, Cape Town.
SMIT also responded to fire on board the ro-ro
‘Lisco Gloria’, sailing from Kiel to Klaipeda.
There were over 200 passengers and crew on
board; they successfully abandoned the ro-ro.
SMIT was awarded a Lloyd’s Form and two local
tugs were quickly on scene. They began fire-
fighting and boundary cooling. With the fires
extinguished, this heavily damaged vessel was
towed in, for redelivery at Odense.
At the end of October, the 100 m long Fish
Factory Trawler ‘Athena’ went ablaze off-
shore Falmouth ( Land’s End). SMIT Salvage
was called to fight the fire and rescue the
vessel. Immediately, a salvage team and two
charter planes with salvage and firefight-
ing equipment were mobilised to Falmouth.
Additionally, the tugs ‘Anglian Princess’ and
‘Typhoon’ were chartered. The team worked
around the clock to completely extinguish
the fire. On the November 11 the team could
redeliver the vessel to the owners at Fallmouth
anchorage.
sMIt terMInals: energy deMand drIves fOrward new PrOjects sMIt salvage resPOnds tO vessel grOundIngs
SMIT tugs assist a tanker calling at the Cap Lopez terminal in Gabon. (photo: Total Gabon)
3111 ASD tug ‘Smit Rhône’ operates
for SMIT Terminals in the Bahamas.
SMIT Salvage came to the rescue of a grounded coaster in Karpathos, Greece.
‘Smit Nicobar’ alongside the grounded bulker in southern India.
After a major lightering operation, SMIT Salvage successfully refloated the grounded bulker ‘Gdansk’.
ETV ‘Smit Amandla’ on its way to Cape Town with container vessel ‘Boundary’.
smit.com7
tug magazine
‘Smitbarge 10’ loaded with monopiles and transition
pieces for the Lincs wind farm, supported by B-Class
vessels ‘Smit Bison’ and ‘Smit Beluga’.
SMIT Transport Europe is now engaged in
a major assignment for the Danish con-
tracting group MT Højgaard, transporting
foundations for the Lincs offshore windfarm
project in UK waters. The foundations are
being transported from Hoboken/Flushing
to Great Yarmouth. The voyages began in
April and will continue until November of
this year.
SMIT Transport took delivery of four
Smitbarge newbuildings earlier this year.
The Smitbarge 10 and Smitbarge 11 arrived
from the yard at Galatz, Romania, in early
February. They were followed by Smitbarge
12 and 14 during the second week of April.
Smitbarges 10, 11 and 12 are now transporting
the Lincs wind turbine foundations. Three
B-Class vessels are also participating, the
‘Smit Bison’, ‘Smit Beluga’ and ‘Smit Buffalo’.
MT Højgaard was awarded a main contract,
from Centrica, for the provision of 75 wind
turbines for the Lincs windfarm, located
off Great Yarmouth. The Smitbarges are
transporting the monopiles and transition
pieces. The voyage sequence involves each
barge loading three transition pieces at
Hoboken and then proceeding downriver
to Flushing, to load three monopiles. The
voyage to Great Yarmouth’s new outer harbour
concludes with discharge by the client’s heavy
lift vessel - which is then responsible for the
installation.
Under the contract with MT Højgaard, SMIT
Transport is required to provide a full range
of marine logistics and engineering services.
SMIT’s scope of work includes the design,
engineering and fabrication of sea fastenings
for the monopiles and transition pieces. Also
included within the contract package is marine
project management support, documents
control, SHE-Q and associated engineering and
supervisory tasks, all to the approval of the
client and warranty surveyor. This covers, inter
alia, the Transportation/Ballasting Manuals,
mooring plans, voyage plans and stability
calculations.
The E1702 was deployed as an anchoring and
mooring barge at Great Yarmouth. The E1702
is operating successfully as a floating mooring
facility as the barges come in from Hoboken/
Flushing. In addition, B-Class vessel ‘Smit Bison’
is engaged in this project, supporting loading
and ballasting operations.
busy in angolan watersMany units in the URS ocean-going fleet, now
operating under the SMIT Transport Belgium
banner, are now working in Angola on behalf
of Heerema in Block 31 - BP’s deepwater
production field.
The vessels deployed for Block 31 activities
include the 205 tonnes bollard pull DP2 anchor
handler ‘Union Manta’, together with the 160
tonnes bollard pull ‘President Hubert’. The
latter is supporting the Heerema heavy lift
crane vessel ‘Balder’.
Other vessels working on this contract include
the 90 tonnes bollard pull ASD anchor handler
‘Union Fighter’ and the 93 tonnes bollard pull
anchor handler ‘Alphonse Letzer’. These vessels
are engaged in towing barges between the
‘Balder’ and Port Amboim.
Block 31 has a waterdepth of 2,020 m. The
SMIT Transport Belgium vessels operate within
a flexible framework and undertake a wide
variety of tasks. ‘Union Manta’, for example, has
been supporting ROV operations concerned
with pipeline pre-lay survey, “pipeline as
built” survey and the positioning of subsea
structures. The vessel is also supporting ROV
dredging operations for pipeline crossings and
pipeline pre-commissioning using a Subsea
Hydraulic Pressure Unit. The activities relating
to subsea installation works involve pipeline
start-up suction piles and mud mats for
pipeline crossings.
transPOrt fleet suPPOrts lIncs wIndfarM cOnstructIOn
large-scale wreck removalA SMIT Salvage project team continues with
the major task of removing the wreck of the
‘Hyundai 105’, the car carrier lost following
a collision with a tanker off Singapore some
years ago. ‘Hyundai 105’ was carrying around
5,000 cars when she went down following the
collision.
The first task on-scene was to remove fuel
within the wreck. The team recovered around
150 tonnes of HFO. The main wreck removal
programme commenced in February and is
expected to take up to 16 months to complete.
The extensive equipment spread includes the
two sheerlegs ‘Taklift 1’ and ‘Smit Cyclone’,
together with the accommodation/work barge
‘Smit Ibis’. The ‘Smit Andaman’ is also envisaged
to go to site, providing a base for planned
directional drilling operations under the wreck,
to place the cutting chains. The car carrier is
being horizontally chain-cut into sections, then
vertically cut. The scrap is loaded onto barges
and landed at Batam. The large HDW-1 hydrau-
lic wreck grab is being used to clear the wreck-
age and scattered debris in the surrounding
area.
This wreck sits on the bottom upside down.
The horizontal chain cutting is being per-
formed by ‘Smit Cyclone’, supported by under-
water cutting by diving teams. The vertical cuts
will create ten sections plus the engineroom.
Around 75 per cent of this wreck has still to be
removed. Recently the engineroom section
was recovered and landed on scrap barges..
A large part of the horizontal cutting is now
complete.
Oil recovery projectDuring last year SMIT Salvage was awarded
a contract by the Korean government
agency KEOM (Korea Marine Environment
Management Corporation) to assess the quan-
tity of oil and other pollutants within the wreck
of the tanker Kuyng-Shin. The wreck site is in
98 m waterdepth, at a position off the south-
eastern coast of South Korea.
Subsequently, following a lengthy tender prep-
aration process, SMIT Salvage was awarded
the contract to recover HFO from the wreck
of the tanker. It is estimated that around 500
tonnes of HFO is in her tanks. The oil recovery
will be undertaken in the June-July period by
a project team including saturation divers,
making use of a hot-tap and tailored tank heat-
ing system. The ‘Smit Borneo’ has been desig-
nated for this assignment and will be fitted out
with one of SMIT’s modular SAT systems and a
sophisticated heating and process equipment.
The first section of ‘Hyundai’ 105 is lifted by sheerleg ‘Smit Cyclone’.
The vessel’s main engine was lifted as a seperate section.
‘Taklift 1’ on transport to site on board of a SMIT Giant barge.
The ‘Union Manta’ alongside crane vessel ‘Balder’ in Block 31, Angola.
smit.com9
tug magazine
During the first quarter of this year SMIT
Heavy Lift completed the installation of a
topside structure for an oil and gas produc-
tion platform in Egyptian waters. The pro-
ject was undertaken by the large sheerleg
‘Taklift 4’, at a location 20 nautical miles off
Alexandria.
The SMIT project team began work in January,
following the award of a contract from
Petroleum Marine Services (PMS), the Egyptian
state energy concern, in November of last
year. The topside’s transport and installation
was performed by ‘Taklift 4’, partnered by the
anchor handler ‘Union Diamond’.
The 850 tonnes topside, for the NAQ-PII plat-
form, was loaded at the port of Maadiya,
Western Egypt, and transported in the hooks
of the sheerleg. ‘Taklift 4’ then performed the
installation lift at location. The installation was
completed in March.
‘Taklift 4’ mobilised from the home port of
Rotterdam for this assignment. PMS is a new
client and this first project went smoothly.
Other recent SMIT Heavy Lift activities include
support for a SMIT Subsea project team
responsible for the installation of two pro-
tective domes for subsea wells on the Dutch
Continental Shelf. The lifts were performed in
the K-18 Field by ‘Taklift 7’.
Bookings for SMIT Heavy Lift’s sheerlegs
include a call at Hamburg by ‘Taklift 7’ in long
boom configuration in July, to support the
construction of two large coal unloaders.
These installations have been constructed in
sections.
SMIT Heavy Lift’s task is to transport the sec-
tions upriver - negotiating a series of bridges
- to the assembly site on the Elbe. This con-
tract was awarded by the construction group
Scholpp Montage GmbH. The new facility will
serve a coal-fired power station on the river.
SMIT in Singapore has a major spread on
station at the site of the ‘Hyundai 105’
wreck removal off Singapore. The car carrier
‘Hyundai 105’ had some 5,000 vehicles on
board when she went down following a
collision with a Japanese tanker some years
ago (see page 7 for a report on the wreck
removal).
The Singapore-based vessels on site include
the 1,000 tonnes lift capacity sheerlegs ‘Smit
Cyclone’, and the work barge ‘Smit Ibis’.
The spread also includes the anchor handler
‘ Smit-Lloyd 27’ and the harbour towage vessel
‘Smit Puma’.
Meanwhile, four of SMIT Singapore’s L-Class
vessels - ‘Smit Lingga’, ‘Smit Lumut’, ‘Smit Luzon’
and ‘Smit Laisa’ - continue to provide a range of
exploration support services to Saudi Aramco,
via Hadi Al Hamman.
Two other L Class vessels have been work-
ing in the Middle East. ‘Smit Langkawi’ and
‘Smit Lumba’ were under contract to Saipem
for anchor handling services until the end of
last year. This contract was then extended to
end-May this year. They were assisting a pipe-
layer operating in Saudi Arabian waters. These
vessels were contracted to Saipem via Zakher
Marine.
SMIT took delivery of another L Class vessel,
the ‘Smit Labuan’, at the end of May.
One of the K-Class vessels, ‘Smit Komodo’, com-
pleted a five-year contract with Ocean Marine
Egypt/Petrobel in May of this year. Currently,
this vessel is undergoing a special survey at
Suez, pending a decision on future deploy-
ment. Another K Class vessel, ‘Smit Kamara’,
recently completed a three-week charter with
Maersk Oil Qatar.
Two other vessels in the fleet, ‘Smit Nicobar’
and accommodation barge ‘Smit Borneo’, are
both engaged in salvage-related work. ‘Smit
Nicobar’ is participating in the salvage of the
bulk carrier ‘Mirach’, in Indian waters, while
‘Smit Borneo’ is being mobilised for the KOEM
project - the recovery of oil from a tanker
wreck in Korean waters - following completion
of a refloating project at Mumbai.
The green light has been given to build
a very large floating sheerleg to further
strengthen our position in the South East
Asian FPSO and Platform construction
market. The decision has been taken under
the new Boskalis SMIT Corporate Plan.
The new sheerleg will be owned and oper-
ated by Asian Lift, a joint venture with Keppel.
Traditionally, Asian Lift has served the Singapore
market, providing heavy lift support during the
construction of vessels and offshore structures.
More recently, however, the market has broad-
ened, especially in the oil and gas sector.
These developments are reflected in the
equipment offered. During the four years to
2010 around 85 per cent of Asian Lift’s market
consisted of heavy lift services during the con-
struction of FPSOs and rigs. Over one-third of
the world’s FPSOs are built and integrated in
Singapore. However, this market is changing.
FPSOs are growing in size and the same can
be said of rigs - with the most recent designs
having much larger dimensions. Consequently,
bigger sheerlegs are needed to lift larger and
heavier legs and modules.
These changes need to be accommodated by
the Asian Lift fleet. The ‘Asian Hercules’ has a
lift capacity of 1,600 tonnes and a 160m reach
with the long boom. ‘Asian Hercules ll’ has
3,000 tonnes capacity and a reach of 172m.
The new ‘Asian Hercules lll’ will have a capacity
of 5,000 tonnes and a reach of at least 172m
with the long boom.
The new sheerleg will be built in China, at the
yard of Keppel Nantong, west of Shanghai.
SMIT has good past experience of this yard,
where four L Class vessels and two terminal
support tugs have been built under SMIT’s
extensive newbuilding programme.
‘Asian Hercules lll’ will be delivered during the
third quarter of 2013. The big sheerleg will
work primarily for the Singapore and nearby
located shipyards in providing lifting services
for very heavy modules. It will also find a ready
market in the offshore/project contracting
market in South East Asia.
In the more immediate future, there is already
interest in booking the powerful new sheer-
leg for heavy module lifts in Singapore.
Meanwhile, more consideration is being given
to a wider geographical sphere of operation
for the Asian Lift sheerlegs fleet.
Asian Lift started off with another success-
ful quarter following the execution of the
Ujung Pangkah Phase II offshore lifting
operation off East Java, in collaboration
with Timas Indonesia for HESS (Indonesia
Pangkah Ltd).
The Ujung Pangkah Development Phase II
comprised the installation of two decks (CCP
and AUP), an accommodation module and a
compression module, two bridges and a flare
tower by floating sheerlegs ‘Asian Hercules
II’. The total lift weight of these components
exceeded 7,000 tonnes.
The work was completed as
scheduled in March 2011.
The Ujung Pangkah Wellhead
Platform B (WHP-B) is already in
production with ongoing drilling
activities.
‘taklIft 4’ Installs egyPtIan PlatfOrM’s tOPsIde
sIngaPOre-based vessels suPPOrt MajOr wreck reMOval
new generatIOn sheerleg wIll have 5,000 tOnnes lIft caPacIty
successful tOPsIde InstallatIOn asIan lIft
L-Class AHTS vessel ‘Smit Laisa’.
smit.com11
tug magazine
Wim Vogelaar is the newly-appointed
General Manager for SMIT Marine Projects.
He has a wealth of experience of project
management within the Boskalis organisa-
tion. He sets out his views on the commer-
cial opportunities now opening up for SMIT
Marine Projects.
“It is still early days but I can already see plenty
of opportunities to develop the activities of
SMIT Marine Projects”, says Wim Vogelaar. “This
is natural, given the different approaches of
the two organisations in the past. Boskalis has
always been heavily project-focused. SMIT, in
contrast, had placed contracting further down
the agenda. Developing SMIT Marine Projects
is the ideal way to bridge this cultural gap.
“We have every intention of evolving into a
significant marine projects main contractor.
This goal sits comfortably within the new
Boskalis SMIT strategy. Equally, we recognise
that the clients themselves increasingly want
to deal with the lead contractor.
“We are ambitious but there is a great deal to
do. In the long-term, it is possible that SMIT
Marine Projects could develop into a successful
contracting entity contributing substantially
to SMIT’s total turnover. This is on the horizon,
but we have more immediate considerations.
We need to cultivate a new attitude, with a
stronger focus on contracting. This will take
some time. It is a matter of further evaluation
in key areas, such as project risk assessment.
“The other element we focus on to develop a
more significant role in project contracting is
investment in equipment. One area of interest
is a larger sheerleg which is less weather
sensitive. We also need other equipment, to
serve markets such as wind energy.”
Wim Vogelaar identifies three main market
categories for SMIT Marine Projects:
“Renewables have a prominent future in our
workload. We have been concentrating on
wind farm foundation activities, in both the
heavy lift and transport roles. Now, however,
we are eager to position ourselves as the
main contractor for foundation works and the
installation of monopiles and transition pieces.”
Decommissioning is another centre of interest.
Wim Vogelaar comments: “We concentrate on
relatively shallow water work, in areas such as
the UK and Dutch southern North Sea. There is
much scope for project contracting in this area.
We also want to address the third main market
- marine civil works. This sector includes major
oil and gas infrastructural works and projects
such as bridges and tunnels.”
bordeaux project completedSMIT Marine Projects has completed a second
phase of works at the site of Bordeaux’s new
road bridge. Last year, a contract was com-
pleted for the towout and installation of three
of the six caissons for the new Bacalan Bridge.
The second contract, awarded last October,
was completed in March of this year. This
involved the towout and installation of the
remaining three caissons. Once again, condi-
tions in the river were a challenge, with Spring
Tides and plenty of debris in the river.
SMIT Subsea was awarded a contract
in April to undertake dome installation
works in the K-18 Field, on the Dutch
Continental Shelf. This contract, on behalf
of Wintershall, has been undertaken in two
phases. The first phase involved the instal-
lation of the two domes, each weighing
around 100 tonnes, to protect the wells on
the seabed. The floating sheerleg ‘Taklift 7’
was mobilised to position these protective
structures. The first phase works were com-
pleted in early May.
The second phase of the work requires an air
diving campaign, to install pipeline spools
with the DP3 DSV ‘EDT Protea’. This programme
is scheduled for the July/August period. The
project team is expected to spend around
four weeks on location. Wintershall is a long-
standing SMIT client. The track record of past
work for this field operator includes various
diving campaigns and platform decommis-
sioning projects. Before this, the ‘EDT Protea‘
will be involved in an extensive IRM campaign
for ConocoPhillips in the UK sector and Maersk
in the Danish sector.
SMIT Subsea is also very active in the renewa-
ble energy market. Starting May, the chartered
DSV ‘Constructor’ will provide diving services
and accommodation support to Visser & Smit
Marine Contracting for the Statoil Sheringham
Shoal wind farm offshore Teesside, UK.
SMIT Subsea teams are also busy in other
world regions. One recent assignment,
for Prosafe, involved UWILD (Underwater
Inspection in Lieu of Docking) work for the
FPSO ‘Espoire Ivoirienne’, offshore Cote d’Ivoire.
This called for extensive hull cleaning, using
HP water jetting systems. The diving team was
based on the FPSO but the diving was done
from the Prosafe field support vessel ‘Lewek
Ivory’. The ‘Espoire’ contract was completed
during May.
Recent work in West Africa also includes
subsea support for the Saipem field devel-
opment campaign on board the ‘S230’ and
‘PLB Crawler’. The scope of work includes
pipelay support and mattress installation.
Preparatory works are well advanced on a
complex task for WSP, on behalf of Areva, to
install a steel intake screen on a concrete cais-
son around 1 km offshore, at a location just
north of Wlotzkasbaken, Namibia. This caisson
intake is part of the Trekkopje Desalination
Plant, which will supply water to a new ura-
nium mine now in the process of commission-
ing. The timing of the actual installation of the
screen has yet to be finalised.
This is a joint project involving various disci-
plines of the SMIT group and is executed with
the DSV ‘Smit Orca’. The project is complex due
to difficult swell conditions, shallow water and
the large size of the guide frame and screen.
The second quarter of this year also saw a
large SMIT Subsea project team assemble
for the final phase of stabilisation work for
Momentum Engineering, concerning a produc-
tion jacket located in Turkmenistan. The satu-
ration diving team includes weld inspectors,
hyperbaric welders and two habitat support
supervisors.
The main work programme involves saturation
diving and hyperbaric habitat welding of shear
plates which connect the production jacket
Last year was a period of considerable
achievement for South African marine ser-
vices group SMIT Amandla Marine. The cur-
rent year also opened well, with the renewal
of key contracts and the award of new busi-
ness. There are challenges ahead in 2011,
as further long-term contracts come up for
renewal. There is also the need to make fur-
ther progress towards the central objective:
increasing the 2009 revenue base by 40 per
cent by 2012, a target set under the “Vision
2012” programme.
Managing Director Paul Maclons: “We need to
see real progress if we are to achieve this chal-
lenging 2012 goal. Essentially, we will have to
better our projected revenue for 2011 by a sig-
nificant margin. It’s a tough call but the organi-
sation believes that it is achievable. The recent
contract successes make the point, although
we now need to reinforce our position with
more awards.”
Mozambique is now one of the most impor-
tant growth areas for SMIT Amandla Marine,
especially given the limited growth opportuni-
ties in South Africa. Other areas for expansion
and growth include the west coast region of
Southern Africa, including Namibia. Progress
has been made in Mozambique with the pro-
vision of harbour towage services. This, the
first harbour towage contract, was awarded
to SMIT Amandla Marine in September of last
year by client CFM. In early April, the first tug,
‘KST Salvo’, began work in the port of Beira,
Mozambique and is manned by both South
Africans and Mozambiquans.
Paul Maclons is optimistic about prospects for
marine and port (harbour towage) services
in Mozambique: “Increasingly, the ports of
Maputo, Beira and Nacala in Mozambique are
seen as import and export hubs for the region’s
landlocked countries. There are exciting possi-
bilities here, given the growing involvement of
major Brazilian and Australian mining groups.
“We made a further advance recently with the
agreement to provide management and crew-
ing services for Kenmare (an Irish mining com-
pany at Moma, a smaller port in Mozambique.
This contract will commence in the third quar-
ter of the year. Currently, we are in discussion
with both Vale and Riversdale Mining for the
provision of an additional three tugs, installa-
tion of a mooring buoy (similar to a terminals
SBM) for coal transhipment services, and the
associated marine supporting infrastructure.
This project is to be a single point of marine
responsibility activity.
Other recent contract awards include an agree-
ment with Transnet National Ports Authority
for the crewing of a harbour tug at the deep-
water Port of Nqura, north of Port Elizabeth.
achievements in 2010Paul Maclons describes 2010 as a solid year:
“Our revenue was in line with budget and our
profit exceeded expectations. We retained
all key public and private sector contracts up
for renewal during the year and the group’s
safety performance was strong throughout.
It was also immensely satisfying to be able to
pay-out a dividend under the Employee Trust,
which owns 12% of the company. This was
achieved two years ahead of expectation and
our participating employees received
MarIne PrOject cOntractIng: exPlOItIng fresh OPPOrtunItIes
sMIt subsea Installs PrOtectIOn fOr dutch shelf subsea wells
sMIt aMandla MarIne Pushes fOr further grOwth In 2011
legs to the corresponding piles. A first phase of
prefabrication work was completed during the
final months of 2010 by a team of SMIT divers
utilising the SMIT SAT 2 system.
Project work in the Middle eastDespite the turmoil of recent months, the
market remains positive in the Middle East
region. This is due to the dominant influence
of oil demand and price. SMIT Subsea has
enjoyed successful years in this region. Work
in the first quarter of this year included phases
4 and 5 of the Kito project in the Persian Gulf.
Despite poor weather the work progressed
as planned and preparations commenced for
phase 6, requiring a spread consisting of the
Cougar-XT and the Tiger ROV systems.
In addition, a large team of riggers and super-
visors has been involved in support for Maersk
Oil SPM operations 70 km offshore Qatar. The
work programme included the reconfiguration
of surface hoses, the replacement of tanker
hawsers and offshore rigging support.
During the early New Year SMIT Subsea
reached the halfway point in a five-year con-
tract with Qatar Petroleum for port mainte-
nance activities. This involves the supply of
vessels, personnel, machinery and materials.
Under the contract the client-owned dumb
barge ‘Al Khatiyah’ was successfully converted
to a DP1 self-propelled barge. It is now
manned by SMIT personnel and is utilised daily
for maintenance work within the port and its
approaches.
Recent work by diving teams in the area
includes SPM maintenance works at the port of
Mesaieed and offshore the Ras Laffan Port.
new office in australiaSMIT Subsea opened an office in Australia
in May of this year. The new office has been
established in Perth, the Oil & Gas capital of
Australia. In addition, an agreement has been
reached with Fugro-TSMarine for the provision
of long-term diving services. Under this agree-
ment, Fugro-TSMarine’s multipurpose offshore
support vessel ‘REM Etive’ will be equipped
with the SMIT SAT 4 12-man saturation diving
system. This system is capable of work at
depths down to 300m.
The objective is to provide IRM and construc-
tion project packages for the high end of
the offshore/subsea market in Australia and
throughout South East Asia.SMIT Marine Projects successfully installed six caissons for the Baccalan Bridge in Bordeaux.
SMIT Subsea provided pipelay support and mattress
installation services in Nigeria.
The DSV ‘Constructor’.
SMIT Subsea installed two domes in the K-18 field to protect the subsea wells.
‘KST Salvo’ at arrival in the port of Beira.
RAmpage 5000 vessel ‘Smit Siyanda’ currently
provides terminal support services in Durban.
smit.com13
tug magazine
colophonFor any information about specific activities,
equipment and services, please apply to:
SMIT
Waalhaven O.Z. 85
P.O. Box 59052
3008 PB Rotterdam
Tel + 31 10 454 99 11
Fax + 31 10 454 97 77
E-mail [email protected]
Editor
SMIT Public Relations
Texts
TRS Public Relations
SMIT Public Relations
Design & production
Studio Clarenburg, Schiedam
Photography
SMIT Public Relations
and various SMIT colleagues
Roderik van Nispen
Aad Noorland
Total Gabon
Printing
Schefferdrukkerij, Dordrecht
Copyright
Texts can only be reproduced after
permission from the editor.
Together with SMIT Transport & Heavy
Lift, SMIT Engineering participates in the
Joint Industry Project known as OBELICS
(Operability of ballasting and lifting opera-
tions of extreme loads with integrated
hydrodynamics). This project is initiated
by the knowledge institute MARIN and
involves renowned representatives of the
Dutch (offshore) heavy lift industry.
The objective is to create an
advanced form of simulator for the
real time simulation of complex
offshore transport and heavy lift
operations. The success of large-
scale operations offshore - such as heavy lifts
and float-overs - depends on the refined inter-
action between the crew and equipment used
and the environment in which the operation
takes place. The equipment is exposed to a
potential for failure and most operations are
performed rarely or, in some cases, only once,
and the consequences of (human) failure can
be substantial. This is why the Joint Industry
Project partners have come together to create
a virtual reality training environment allow-
ing operators to practice over a full range of
scenarios.
The OBELICS project was launched in January
and will take two years to complete. SMIT is
contributing operational data from motion
monitoring systems on board its sheerlegs.
SMIT is also developing the cases to verify and
test the simulator.
The initial work includes a review of opera-
tional parameters for halting heavy lift opera-
tions offshore and, in addition, the examina-
tion of parameters set for the influence of
human factors. The major challenge when
developing the simulator will be the accurate
modelling of the hydro-mechanical physics of
the motions of the sheerlegs in its interaction
with the environment and the task at hand.
The simulation framework will be
integrated with flooding/ballasting,
lifting technology and knowledge.
This can be extended with a moor-
ing, towing and anchoring module.
There is an important training context for this
project. Traditionally, training in heavy lift
operations has been ”on the job”. Furthermore,
heavy lift tasks were more numerous and
spanned a complete range of weights and
complexities. Today, however, increased focus
is put on complex and offshore operations
using the sheerlegs, initially characterized
by less repetitive jobs. Consequently, it is
more difficult for people to gain the neces-
sary spread of experience in the field. The new
project will allow SMIT to address these issues
and to take a closer look at the human factors
underlying decision-making during heavy lift
operations.
In short, using a simulator provides the pos-
sibility to increase confidence and productivity
of operators for operation of non-routine
activities. From an engineering perspective,
the use of a simulator supports efficient and
effective engineering due to an integrated
approach of operations and engineering.
Furthermore, it increases awareness and expe-
rience amongst engineers on various opera-
tional aspects of offshore lifting.
Frank Verhoeven, SMIT Chairman and Boskalis
Group Director, says: “We have now completed
our first year post-merger. We have already
seen some significant achievements in all three
key areas: cost synergies, geographic syner-
gies and operational synergies. The scale of the
early cost synergies was encouraging and we
are now exploring the geographic synergies.
On the operational front, we are also plac-
ing a new emphasis on added value project
contracting.”
The key business drivers for Boskalis SMIT are
growth in three main market segments: dredg-
ing and land reclamation, ports and oil and
gas - with SMIT engaged in the latter two sec-
tors. As recovery takes hold, following the 2008
cyclical downturn, a very positive outlook for
the medium and longer term is emerging in
the ports and oil and gas markets. The inten-
tion is to service all market requirements, from
straightforward services to the delivery of fully
integrated packages and turnkey solutions.
The emphasis is on servicing all market seg-
ments, so as to generate stable volumes and
optimise asset utilisation.
Frank Verhoeven comments: “We believe SMIT
has a much greater capacity for providing
integrated marine service packages, in markets
such as oil and gas. There are also enormous
opportunities opening up for the delivery of
project packages in areas such as offshore
windfarm construction and decommissioning.
“At the operational level, there is scope for
incorporating wreck removal in wider con-
tracts involving dredging. Already, SMIT
Salvage is making good use of Boskalis survey
equipment and soil engineering expertise
when tendering, preparing and executing
large-scale wreck removal projects. Certainly,
SMIT Salvage is better-positioned to bid for
major lumpsum contracts with even greater
confidence, due to its enhanced ability to
analyse risks through more accurate and com-
prehensive surveys. Looking ahead, we see
considerable potential for linking large-scale
wreck removals with a dredging component.
Boskalis offers added value in this area, via
SMIT Salvage.”
The new Business Plan has four watchwords:
focus, optimise, reinforce and expand. The
focus is on: main market segments, (oil and gas
and ports) high potential geographic regions
and using added value in the most effective
way. Frank Verhoeven says: “The ability to offer
added value is of crucial importance in today’s
challenging commercial environment. This, in
itself, opens up many more opportunities and
more attractive markets.”
In the geographic context, the Plan centres
on six areas: North West Europe, South and
West Africa, Brazil, the Middle East, South East
Asia and Australia - all characterised by strong
potential in the ports and oil and gas markets.
Frank Verhoeven: “We expect very significant
growth in these markets over the coming years.”
The Business Plan’s definition of optimisation
includes enhancing cost leadership, by max-
imising economies of scale, further integrat-
ing support activities and centralising fleet
management, purchasing, crewing and train-
ing functions. Another objective is to further
develop competences which strengthen the
group’s ability to service the high end of the
market.
The reinforcement of group capabilities
involves the implementation of a Euros 1 bil-
lion investment programme, directed at both
the dredging fleet and SMIT assets, together
with the integration of the SMIT Terminals
and Lamnalco operations. Concerning the
terminals businesses, Frank Verhoeven says:
“We have made good progress in defining
our plans for integration of the businesses
and we expect to be in a position to make an
announcement before the Summer.”
New investment will be crucial, if SMIT is to
exploit fresh commercial opportunities in
rising markets. For example, as the new LNG
terminals now under construction are com-
pleted, a considerable number of terminal
support contracts are expected to come to the
market in the 2012-13 period. New tugs will be
built to service additional terminal contracts.
There is to be further investment in the expan-
sion of the tug fleet now operating successfully
in Brazilian ports. Frank Verhoeven says: “In the
harbour towage sector, we will focus on key
geographic areas. We are already seeing an
encouraging recovery in many of the world’s
largest ports. Rotterdam, for example, has
returned to tonnage levels seen before the
2008 downturn. There are fewer calls but the
vessels are bigger. Tonnages are also increasing
in many of the world’s major ports due to the
rising demand for energy and commodities.
The Gladstone project in Australia points the
way to a future, with the requirement centred
on the provision of total package service and
new generation vessels.”
Frank Verhoeven adds: “We will also invest
significantly in the heavy lift sector. Already, we
have taken the decision - in association with
the Asian Lift joint venture - to build a 5,000
tonnes capacity floating sheerlegs for heavy
lift project work. There is a market requirement
for heavier lifts, for the construction of larger
FPSOs and rigs. Over the past decade, SMIT’s
investment has tended to focus on harbour
towage and terminal support vessels. We
believe the time is now ripe to invest in more
heavy lift capacity.
“We are also actively exploring the possibility
of investing in other heavy lift solutions - such
as a jack-up or crane vessel - to increase our
spread of workability in the offshore oil and
gas sector.”
As for expansion, the SMIT
Business Plan places empha-
sis on new business activi-
ties and growth through
acquisitions - reflecting the geographic pri-
orities. For example, the expansion of subsea
services will be sought across the geographic
focus areas, and this will require an increase in
the number of SMIT saturation diving systems.
Frank Verhoeven: “We want to expand our
subsea services provision in important markets
such as Brazil and Australia.”
In the final analysis, the geographic focus areas
provide sharp definition for the achievement
of synergies across the Boskalis SMIT inter-
national networks. In Australia, for example,
Boskalis has a strong position and is prospect-
ing for opportunities to offer terminal support,
heavy lift and subsea services. In Brazil, the
strong SMIT harbour towage presence opens
up new opportunities for dredging, subsea,
transport and heavy lift activities. There are
also attractive opportunities in West Africa
for transport and heavy lift. The new oppor-
tunities are often driven by trends in the
ports and oil and gas sectors and new market
needs - including major decommissioning
programmes and the construction of offshore
wind parks in North West Europe and else-
where in the world.
Frank Verhoeven concludes: “The ability to
accept contracting risks and offer integrated
packages are qualities of first importance to
the future of Boskalis SMIT. There is much to
play for and our future will be both challeng-
ing and exciting.”
brIngIng tOgether OPeratIOns and engIneerIng
a Plan fOr IntegratIOn and exPansIOn
a substantial tax-free dividend. We continue
to benefit from the strong loyalty within the
workforce. During 2010 we enjoyed an extraor-
dinarily high level of staff retention.
“This year we face a number of fresh chal-
lenges. For example, the Mossel Bay termi-
nals contract is up for renewal at mid-year
and we expect stiff competition for the new
services contract. Our existing ship manage-
ment agreement with the Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), con-
cerning the eight vessels in the fisheries pro-
tection and research fleet, is now the subject of
a renewal exercise. This is an important con-
tract for SMIT Amandla Marine, as it is serviced
by around 200 shore and sea staff. We have
already crossed one bridge on this front, when
the separate vessel management contract for
the Antarctic Supply Vessel, the ‘S.A. Agulhas’,
was successfully renewed for three years by
the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA)
in March 2011.
The replacement vessel is currently being built
at the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland -
and is scheduled to enter service in April 2012.
Other recent developments include the deci-
sion to replace a terminal vessel at Durban’s
SAPREF facility, where SMIT Amandla Marine
has a 10-year support contract. There will con-
tinue to be four SMIT Amandla Marine vessels
working out of Durban; two terminal tugs and
two bunker barges.
Paul Maclons and the South African organi-
sation are also looking forward to devel-
oping new commercial opportunities in
cooperation with Boskalis. He says: “We are
particularly interested in exploring oppor-
tunities in the areas of oil and gas and land
reclamation. There are possibilities for main-
tenance dredging at Beira and other ports
in Mozambique. There are also interesting
projects in South Africa with, for example,
plans for a port expansion at Durban - includ-
ing new container facilities - together with the
reclamation of the old airport area.”
Artist impression of the new Antartic Supply Vessel.
The stern and accommodation sections on the building plane.
The Boskalis SMIT merger has created one
of the world’s largest international marine
companies. A new Group Business Plan
(2011-13) gives fresh direction to this major
force in the market. The Plan optimises the
new structure and, at the same time, pro-
vides a platform for further growth in busi-
ness volume and spread. Working in paral-
lel, a new SMIT Business Plan, presented
and adopted in late April, translates the
Group Plan into a clear and specific strategy
for SMIT’s future development.
smit.com15
tug magazine
Shipowners and operators worldwide, SMIT
included, share concerns over the highly
disturbing escalation of the piracy threat
in recent times. Modern piracy has been a
problem for decades in certain areas of the
world, but the nature of the threat in the
Indian Ocean, with Somali pirates ranging
ever farther afield, has reached serious pro-
portions over the past three years.
In response, SMIT continues to introduce new
security measures, to reduce the likelihood of
a successful boarding. SHE-Q General Manager
Sageed Kunhiraman says: “We have seen a
problem largely centred on the Gulf of Aden
spread east across the Indian Ocean, reaching
as far as the waters off Sri Lanka. It is remarka-
ble how the range of the pirates has increased,
together with the scale of their demands. The
international community continues to struggle
to bring this menace under control.
“Our vessels operate in the threatened areas
from time to time and, accordingly, we have
invested heavily in preventive measures. We
learn from every transit and we have taken a
series of precautionary measures to reduce
risk. SMIT’s fleet follows the Pirate Threat Risk
Assessment Procedure, first introduced in 2004
following a serious incident in the Malacca
Straits. Since then, this procedure has under-
gone significant development and is now fully
geared to meet the present day threat from
pirates.
“For example we have taken a policy decision
that vessels proceeding in the Gulf of Aden
must be accompanied by an armed escort
vessel. We believe this precautionary meas-
ure is fully justified, given the nature of the
fleet and the degree of risk. Our vessels are
unarmed, but specially trained advisory teams
are on board during such voyages. SMIT’s
entire strategy is to reduce the risk from pirates
to much as possible.”
As would be expected, SMIT’s overriding
priority is the safety of personnel. Sageed
Kunhiraman: “We owe our crews the very
best level of protection we can provide. Any
vessel entering a high risk area can do so only
after receiving approval from SMIT’s Senior
Management. At that point, precautionary
activities reach an intense level, with response
drills and other security measures imple-
mented. Naturally, NATO and other organisa-
tions are informed in good time.”
Beyond escort in hazardous areas, the vessels
utilise a wide range of “hardening” options,
including wire, locking devices and, when
large enough, citadel areas. SMIT is also an
active participant in the increasing debate on
the piracy threat, Sageed Kunhiraman adds:
“We believe it is important to lobby for more
action from governments, by adding to the
industry’s voice. Meanwhile, our in-house
anti-piracy activities continue. In May we held
a Piracy Workshop for managers. The key to
prevention is preparedness!”
be PrePared! reducIng the PIracy threat
Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet and
Prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven, together with
Tineke Netelenbos, Chairwoman of the
KVNR, visited SMIT’s head office on Tuesday
April 5. Moreover, Princess Margiet acted as
sponsor lady during the Naming ceremony
of the harbour tug ‘Smit Panther’, that
recently joined SMIT’s fleet in the port of
Rotterdam.
The ‘Smit Panther’ is one of
four 3213 ASD tugs that were
delivered over the past year.
Equipped with 95 tbp these
vessels are a new Class of tug,
able to deal with ultra large,
new generation LNG carriers. As
part of her visit to SMIT, Princess
Margriet performed the official
part of the Naming ceremony
for the ‘Smit Panther’ which was
moored in front of the SMIT
head office for this occasion.
rOyal naMIng cereMOny ‘sMIt Panther’
During the official ceremony, Princess Margriet cut the ribbon and wished the ‘Smit Panther’ and all who sail in her a safe voyage.
Prior to the Naming ceremony the party was invited
for a guided tour around SMIT’s warehouse.
SMIT Chairman Frank Verhoeven presents the Princess the neck of the champaign
bottle that was used for the Naming ceremony and a model of the ‘Smit Panther’.