…As 46th VLCC Joins Bahri’s Fleet***
Sembcorp Marine has completed the world’s first floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel with a 40-year hull lifespan, the FSO Ailsa.
The unit, built for oil and gas company MODEC and christened on May 9, will enter service with a hull designed to have twice the average hull fatigue lifespan of other newbuild FSOs, as verified by marine assurance company DNV GL.
A longer hull fatigue life enables ships to withstand harsher and more extreme environmental conditions, such as rogue waves, corrosion, large ambient temperature variation and thunderstorms.
Equipped with a 430,000-barrel condensate storage capacity, FSO Ailsa also boasts a 25-year continuous operability without drydocking and full compliance with strict UK safety regulations for harsh-environment operations. The unit is scheduled to set sail next month for the Culzean gas field in the UK North Sea.
“FSO Ailsa, the 46th floating unit MODEC has accomplished for the offshore oil and gas production industry, represents a significant milestone for us as it is the first one we have built for the North Sea oil and gas sector,” Sateesh Dev, President & CEO of MODEC Offshore Production Systems (Singapore), said.
FSO Ailsa is Sembcorp Marine’s first floating storage and offloading newbuild project, constructed over 22 months with a zero Lost Time Incidents record.
In the meantime, the national shipping carrier of Saudi Arabia, Bahri, has taken delivery of the final vessel from a series of ten very large crude carriers (VLCCs), ordered from South Korea-based Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in 2015.
The newbuilding, named Amad, is the 46th VLCC and brings the company’s total fleet size to 93 ships.
The new vessel will be operated on a time-charter/spot basis and marks the completion of Bahri’s agreement to build five firm and five optional VLCCs at the yard.
With the capacity to transport 2.2 million barrels of crude oil, the 300,000-DWT carrier stands at 333 meters long with a beam of 60 meters, and a depth of 30 meters. Amad can achieve a speed of 14.4 knots.
“A strong fleet of VLCCs allows us to further penetrate and capture the lion’s share of the market through strategic expansions in key geographies, which will, in turn, provide a significant boost to the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to establish itself as a unique regional logistics gateway to three continents,” said Abdullah Al-Dubaikhi, CEO of Bahri.
“By further solidifying our leadership credentials as the world’s largest owner and operator of VLCCs, the robustness of our fleet enables us to expand our business prospects in the oil tanker market, meet the growing demand for crude oil transportation, and enhance our service offering to deliver greater efficiency and value to our stakeholders.”
Amad joins the four vessels Bahri received from HSHI earlier this year, namely, Kassab, Lawhah, Qamran, and Khurais, following the five vessels the company received in 2017, including Amjad, Maharah, Aslaf, Rimthan, and Shaden.
WMN.
