MV Deep Venture drillship refit nears completion ahead of drilling Offshore Equatorial Guinea

06-12-2007

The drill ship MV Deep Venture, previously named MV Valentine Shashin, has undergone an extensive refit in preparation for deep-water drilling operations off the West African coast. MV Deep Venture will start drilling operations in Equatorial Guinea in June. Ship repair company Globe Engineering Works (GEW) completed the refit.

The project is 95% complete, and GEW is currently finishing work on the last of the riser pipes and clamps to be loaded before departure from Cape Town. The project has involved the renewal and extensive upgrades of all three cranes on board, and a mechanical overhaul of all underwater components, including tail shaft and propeller, rudder, bow thrusters, ship side valves and repairs to decks and tanks. It has also included extensive pipe installations, tank conversions, modifications and upgrading of the blowout prevention system, modifications and upgrading of the remote-operated vehicle and accommodation repairs.

The scope of the work also included fabrication and installation of a flare boom and repairs to general machining and platework. All the work has been performed according to the class requirements of Det Norske Veritas, a Norwegian shipping classification society, says marketing manager GEW Danny Bailey.

Bailey estimates that the total amount that has been spent on the project, taking specialised imported equipment into account, is between $50-million and $60-million, with GEW’S capital expenditure for its work scope on the project estimated to be between R30-million to R40-million. The company did not use any subcontractors on the projects, but instead used hydraulics specialist Hydraumar, Globalspec for non- destructive testing, as well as heating specialists, and specialists for stress-relieving metal.

Bailey says that as the work on the project has been carried out over a period of six months, only 150 artisans have been employed to work on the project. Typically, he explains, the period for repairs would be two months, and GEW would employ more artisans and work with other ship repairers in Cape Town.

The new equipment that has been used in the project should increase productivity levels at the company, and was necessary, considering the shortage of artisans in South Africa, says Bailey.

He comments that the ship repair industry in Cape Town is seeing increased levels of activity, following a slump over the last few years, with demand emanating primarily from the offshore oil and gas sector. Bailey admits that GEW could achieve much more as a ship repairer in the general cargo market in Cape Town, but the company still faces challenges relating to capacity in the existing facilities, as well as high port and dry docking fees in Cape Town. Bailey maintains, however, that these challenges can be overcome.

“We are confident that these problem areas, which have been brought to the attention of the National Ports Authority (NPA), will be confronted, and we will be able to grow our levels of activity and employment significantly.”

GEW offers a full ship repair and industrial engineering service. The company specializes in the fabrication of heavy steel structures as well as large machining, pipework and an electrical rewinding service. It has offices and four workshops for steel fabrication, a pipe shop, a machine shop with large and small machining equipment and an electrical rewind shop, based in the port of Cape Town. It employs a permanent workforce of about 120 artisans and up to 200 additional workers on a temporary basis, depending on work demand.

Projects in the pipeline for the company include PetroSA’s oil rig Orca, and Pride Foramer’s oil rig, Pride South Seas, in the latter half of this year.

Bailey says that GEW is confident that it will make rapid progress on the development of the A-Berth project, part of the Port of Cape Town, which has specifically been identified as a service hub for the offshore oil and gas sector. This project was announced last year by Man Ferrostaal, but has been delayed owing to protracted negotiations with the NPA and operating partners, he says.

GEW was started over 90 years ago to provide a repair service to the then burgeoning ship trade around the Cape. The company grew into an industrial engineering company with a workforce of over 3 000 at its peak.

Bailey says that GEW’s market focus has shifted over the last decade or so, and it started focusing exclusively on the ship repair market with all its facilities in the Port of Cape Town. GEW now employs close to 200 permanent staff, and 200 temporary staff. The ownership of the company changed hands last year when a black economic-empowerment consortium bought all the shares in the company. The company’s strategy now is to grow the opportunities in the ship repair and oil and gas sectors, as well as service the industrial market, says Bailey.