Qatar yard ready to go
A major new repair yard in Ras Laffan will be operational by the end of this year and it will be a tough regional competitor for LNG and tanker work.
yard near the port of Ras Laffan, Qatar, is nearing completion, and is on course to be ready in time for the official inauguration by the Emir of Qatar on 22 November this year. At this stage of the project, the focus will be on providing facilities for the repair of medium and large sized vessels, and includes two graving docks, the biggest of which measures 400m x 80m, that can accommodate vessels up to 450,000dwt, including ULCC tankers. Te yard is also well equipped with various workshops for steel, piping, electrical systems, blasting and painting and machinery work. Te first vessel is due to arrive at N-KOM
T
he development of the first two phases of the new Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) repair
by the end of November and interest in the yard is reported to be gathering pace. According to chief executive Yong Chee Min: “We have already received numerous enquiries and are in the process of concluding a number of shiprepair contracts with major ship owners and operators.” Joint venture partner Nakilat is one of
the world’s leading LNG carrier operators and N-KOM is likely to focus on the maintenance and repair of this type of vessel to begin with, with the Nakilat fleet providing a base workload. In addition, however, the yard aims to handle other vessel types, including crude oil and product tankers. Depending on the nature of the repair contracts received, N-KOM
expects to be able to handle between 80 and 100 vessels a year, signalling that it will be a strong competitor to other yards in the region, perhaps ASRY in particular. Mr Yong Chee Min is upbeat about
prospects for the yard, which he describes as being ‘well designed and equipped with modern world class facilities.’ Moreover Mr Yong Chee Min believes the support of the Keppel group’s global network will prove to be a key selling point. “N-KOM customers can be assured of the quality work that is expected from Keppel yards around the world,” he said. N-KOM is in fact Keppel’s 21st yard world-wide, a portfolio that has been developed in line with the group’s ‘near market, near customer’ strategy. SCRT
Shiprepair and Conversion Technology 4thQuarter 2010
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