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Sembmarine top shipyard for LNG repairs in 2017

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Wong Weng Sun, ceo of Sembmarine
Singapore shipyard group Sembcorp Marine topped the list in terms of LNG carrier repairs worldwide for the fifth time last year.

At its annual results on Wednesday Sembmarine said that it had repaired and upgraded 34 LNG carriers in 2017 making it the top repairer in the highly technical sector for the fifth time.

“We have continuously enhanced and broadened our LNG engineering solutions, repair and upgrade capabilities and facilities to provide holistic solutions to LNG owners and managers,” said Wong Weng Sun, president and ceo of Sembmarine.

Also on the LNG front Sembmarine reported serious interest in its small-scale floating LNG solution Gravifloat.

'We continue to make steady progress in the development of projects for our proprietary Gravifloat technologies for a range of near-shore gas infrastructure solutions, including liquefaction, regasification, storage and power generation. We are hopeful that our advanced discussions with several potential customers will translate to initial orders,” Wong said.

Also related to the repair business Sembmarine has developed its own ballast water management solution Semb-Eco LUV Ballast Water Management System for owners to meet the demands of the IMO's Ballast Water Management Convention. The yard completed 11 ballast water management system installations and retrofits in 2017.

The repairs and upgrade business has remained a constant as other offshore business has declines accounted for 20% of Sembmarine's SGD2.39bn ($1.8bn) in revenues in 2017, compared to 13% of SGD3.55bn of revenues in 2016.

Looking ahead on the repair side of the business he said: “Demand for repairs and upgrades, especially for LNG carriers and cruise ships remains strong. Regulations on ballast water treatment requirements coming into force in the foreseeable future will further underpin the potential of this segment.”

Sembmarine's orderbook stands at SGD4.45bn excluding Sete Brasil drillship newbuilds which have been at a standstill since 2015.

Wong said the immediate outlook for its business as a whole remain challenging. “It will take some time for capex spending to translate into new orders. Industry activities remain low and competition for orders remains intense.”