Offshore supply vessels

Offshore supply or "support" vessels are absolutely essential to the operations of the offshore oil and gas industry, and without them it just could not exist. These robust and versatile vessels carry all the supplies that an offshore ng or platform needs to keep going, the drilling equipment, the mud, tubulars and cement and the spare machinery, the oil and lubricants and, of course, the food and water a platform with sometimes several hundred men aboard, will consume as it lies several hundred miles beyond the shore.

Supply boats have to be able to keep going in all weathers and have been described as one of the last refuges for old-fashioned seamanship. They are tug-shaped vessels with a high foredeckand usually two powerful diesels.

Cargo is carried on the flat after deck, and in tanks below this , and the job of the master is to back down on a rig or platform, seeking what shelter he can and hold the ship as steady as he is able, while whirly cranes on the rig pluck the cargo off the deck.

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Seaspan signs contracts to build new vessels, secures 12-year charters with K-Line and completes more than $900 million in debt financing

Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW) announced that it has signed contracts to build five new 4,520 TEU container vessels with Samsung Heavy Industries. Concurrent with the signing of the new building contracts, the Company has signed 12-year time charters with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K-Line"). The 12-year contracts are secured at strong rates. The Company also announced debt financing for these new buildings will be provided from a portion of its more than $900 million of new debt financings that were completed.

The five new buildings, which include the latest in design innovation to enhance each vessel's cargo carrying capabilities, are scheduled to be delivered between September 2010 and October 2011. With these five new buildings, Seaspan's contracted fleet will grow to 68 vessels, including 29 vessels currently in operation that have an average remaining charter coverage of approximately 8 years. The 39 new buildings have time charters averaging approximately 1 1 years in duration from delivery.

Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Seaspan, stated "We are excited to once again grow our modern fleet and enhance our leadership in the container ship industry in a disciplined manner that best serves our shareholders. First, concurrent with this transaction, we are pleased to have secured more than $900 million in debt financing under favorable terms for our entire fleet of 68 vessels.

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Image and Article source: Shipping Today
Article taken from the issue: 14 Jan 2008