NEWS


Launch and delivery Strategic delivers


27m work barge January 2012 has seen Australia-based shipbuilder Strategic Marine deliver a first-in-class work barge, monikered Alamo, to the Port of Dampier, Western Australia, where she will assist with port upgrades, construction support, mooring maintenance and shallow water dive operations. The vessel, which was designed by compatriot


International Maritime Consultants, is fashioned from marine grade aluminium and features an overall length of 27.2m, a moulded beam of 11m, a moulded hull depth of 3.3m and a maximum draught of 1.8m. Alamo is powered by two Cummins KTA-19


M3 engines, each delivering an output of 373kW at 1800rpm, and has been equipped with Schottel Navigator Nav 200 Onatra propellers. Sea trials have shown that this combination grants the barge a continuous speed of 29knots at 100% MCR. She has the tank capacity to hold 110m3 of fresh water, 3m3


of diesel fuel, 75m3 of black and grey water and 1m3


of lube oil, and the accommodation capacity for four members of crew and four passengers. The vessel’s deck equipment includes a work


winch, with 125tonne brake capacity; an HS Marine AKC 290 HE3 deck crane; two tugger winches, with 5tonne line pull capacity apiece; and a 10tonne brake capacity stern winch. Commenting on the delivery in January 2012,


Scott Nicholls, Strategic Marine operations manager, credited the group’s shipyards in Vietnam and Singapore with its ability to manufacture Alamo at a competitive (albeit undisclosed) price. Nicholls


added: “We have also established a fast-response repair and servicing operation in Karratha, to provide through-life maintenance support for our vessels operating in the north-west of Western Australia, including Alamo.”


Safety OPITO: too much


complacency? A survey commissioned by OPITO has highlighted growing concerns within the oil and gas sector regarding what is perceived to be an over-reliance on basic compliance with safety legislation. Te published report, entitled ‘Tick Safety, Not Boxes’, reveals that more than 65% of respondents, drawn from the senior management teams of oil and gas companies spanning 11 countries, have identified a current overemphasis on compliance alone as a potential risk, possibly leading to a state of compla- cency. OPITO says that overall feedback revealed “an appetite for greater consistency and global standards in competence management”, as opposed to merely doing the bare minimum to achieve safety certification. Additionally, 44% of respondents complained


that company compliance is rarely integrated with competence systems and that, where it


is, such


integration is typically inefficient. In some cases, respondents appeared to have difficulties in pinning down a definition for ‘competence’ itself. OPITO group chief executive David Doig says:


“Tere is a mixed approach to competence, with various views on what it actually is and how it is measured. Compliance aside, companies need to know their employees are competent to do the job they are trained for. As an industry, it is clear that we are compliant, but…one of the major concerns is the evidence of a gap between what senior management think is happening and the reality operationally. We have to close that gap – it is unacceptable that the industry is unable to tell if its workplace is competent until that competency is tested by an incident.” Doig adds that the next step will be to consult with players in the sector to further develop a pan-industry approach to measuring competency.


Contract Wilton’s backing


Alamo is assisting with construction support and mooring maintenance in the Port of Dampier, amongst other tasks.


6


Britannia Fabrication specialist Wilton Engineering Service Ltd (WESL) claims that an agreement signed with


energy major ConocoPhillips Offshore Marine Technology 1st Quarter 2012


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