Drydocks World adds to portfolio with massive offshore deals

In a ship repair context, the scale of the offshore upgrades and conversions completed recently by Drydocks World at its huge facility in Dubai is exceptional. The 14,145 dwt chemical tanker Voyageur Spirit, built in 2008, was converted into a floating production storage offloading (FPSO) unit earlier this year and renamed FPSO Petrojarl Kong. Conversion of the tanker into a circular unit with a diameter of 70 metres took more than 1,000 workers 14 months.

Running in parallel, the 150,939 dwt shuttle tanker Nordic Brasilia built in 2004, was converted into a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel. Once again, more than 1,000 workers were deployed on the conversion which, this time, took 11 months. The FSO has now been renamed FSO Yamoussoukro and, together with the FPSO, will operate on Baleine Phase 2, a vast oil and gas field in the waters off Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa.

These projects are only two of the latest. Over recent years, DDW has established an enviable track record in some of the most complex conversion and upgrades of energy assets. Other conversions completed recently include Tango FLNG, now deployed off the coast of Congo, paired with converted FSU Excalibur.

In a recent interview, Capt Rado Antolovic outlined some of the yard’s other recent accomplishments. Major reactivation projects have now been completed on 13 jack-up rigs. But routine surveys, repairs, retrofits, and upgrades still provide everyday business, with 260 repair projects completed in a single year, he said.

No surprise, then, that Drydocks World has been heavily engaged in offshore wind-related projects, describing the sector as a significant growth area. Antolovic cites the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands. DDW built two 700MW offshore substations, Alpha and Beta, connecting the 1.5GW wind farm to the Dutch grid.

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This article is part of the Seatrade Maritime Middle East Report 2024