'You'll never get a cheaper drydocking' says Albwardy Damen boss

“I don’t think you’ll ever get a cheaper drydocking ,” commented Seistrup speaking at Seatrade Offshore Marine & Workboats Middle East in Abu Dhabi.

He told Seatrade Maritime News: “If an owner has some major repairs to carry out, or is considering a conversion, there’ll never be a better time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen repair prices so low.”

Luckily, Albwardy Damen has various newbuilding projects on the go and has recently started work on the biggest rotor tug ever built, a 46-metre vessel with a bollard pull of 100 tonnes, for Rotterdam-based Kotug.

The Sharjah-based shipyard also has a four-legged accommodation jack-up unit under construction with capacity for 120 persons, and a Damen ASD 2913 tug is also being built for Saqr Port in Ras Al Khaimah. Recent deliveries include two 32-metre long tugs with bollard pulls of 80 tonnes, built for stock, and two CSD500 dredgers for customers in Bangladesh.

Seistrup reveals how offshore operators’ approach to routine repairs has changed as they struggle with today’s disastrous day rates. Many of them, he says, have adopted a “fire-fighting” approach which they realise is short-sighted, but on which they have little choice.

“Not everything needs to be repaired on a planned maintenance basis,” Seistrup concedes. “You can afford to wait on some components. But essential parts which could potentially affect operations and cause lost hire must be carefully looked after.”

The shipyard md reveals that a digital service is nearly ready for launch in which various onboard operating parameters will be monitored and integrated into a dashboard system enabling vessel operators and charterers to track key elements of vessel performance from computers or I-pads or smart phones in their offices or homes ashore. This will not only show real-time values of parameters including vibration, temperature, speed and fuel consumption, but will also identify trends.

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