replacement - in the USA, Caribbean, South America, West Africa, the Middle East, South and North East Asia and Europe. Two new UMC-controlled operational
bases were established at the end of 2009. In Bahrain a greenfield site was developed while in Singapore UMC acquired an existing business, Maritime Underwater Maintenance. Over the past six months or so UMC has built up each of these bases with the supply of more equipment and manpower. Both have proved highly successful investments, Mr Trevarthen says, with original performance targets for each site likely to be exceeded in 2010. UMC continues to recruit more diving
staff for its operations in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Dubai and Fujairah, and Singapore to increase its underwater maintenance capability. Furthermore, to increase diver safety,
a substantial investment is being made in training and equipment in Singapore so that all diving operations are conducted using surface demand air diving equipment, keeping UMC ahead of its regional competitors. UMC carries out a wide range of
underwater repairs from its operational bases and this year the company has seen a particularly significant increase in the number of underwater shell hull plate inserts, with over 20 being conducted so far this year. Te most extensive involved a total of seven shell-plating inserts to a tanker in Northern Europe, including a 500kg, 3m x 600mm cofferdam that could efficiently cover three of the cracks. Other recent projects highlighted by UMC include an extensive underwater welding operation in Northern Europe, to secure port and starboard blanking plates to a partially detached 2.2m diameter bowthruster tunnel, and a recent underwater welding operation in the Middle East to secure a “rig stopper” to a semi submersible drilling rig prior to a substantial ocean transit. In each of the last three years UMC has
increased the volume of its underwater maintenance business and many of the trends established over the last few years have continued in 2010 as well. Mr Trevarthen suggests: “More customers are looking for global support and are willing to embrace a wider range of afloat maintenance, but are less and less willing to pay a premium to fly
in the expertise. Furthermore, demand for energy efficiency, environmental protection and the protection of underwater hull coatings has led to a much closer customer interest in the quality of propeller polishing and hull cleaning as solutions for fouling control.” Fleet contracts are also becoming more
commonplace and UMC has recently secured a five year contract to provide the UK MoD - for the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary - with technical
knowledge, facilities and infrastructure to manage all phases of underwater afloat maintenance. In addition UMC is just completing the first year of multi-year contract for the supply of waterborne hull cleaning and associated works for the US Navy in the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf and Mediterranean. Each of these contracts involves teaming up with other underwater engineering companies to supply services over a wide regional footprint, UMC points out. SRCT
for Chemical Tankers
Transport all IMO cargoes, especially aggressive
acids, solvents and alkalis, with MarineLine®
784 tank coating
system. The coating uses an impermeable polymer-based technology to ensure cargo product purity from port to port.
Base Coat Top Coat
for Chemical Tankers THE tank coating system for handling aggressive chemical cargoes.
Advanced Polymer Coatings Avon, Ohio 44011 U.S.A.
+01 440-937-6218 Phone +01 440-937-5046 Fax
www.adv-polymer.com Shiprepair and Conversion Technology 3rd Quarter 2010 37
Feature 5
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