June

201

1

page 3

Gladstone operation in full swing

page 7SMIT Salvage responds to

vessel groundings

page 6SMIT Terminals: energy demand

drives forward new projects

page 10‘Taklift 4’ installs Egyptian

platform’s topside

page 4Harbour Towage: the pathfinder

in “focus areas”

page 12Marine project contracting:

exploiting fresh opportunities

More

SMIT transports wind turbine foundations for

the new Lincs offshore wind farm in UK waters.

Integration: the pace quickens 2

New orders for anchor handlers and tugs 3

SMIT’s total commitment to the brazilian market 5

New vessels join the URS fleet 5

Transport fleet supports Lincs windfarm construction 9

Singapore-based vessels support major wreck removal 11

New generation sheerleg will have 5,000 tonnes lift capacity 11

Successful topside installation Asian Lift 11

SMIT Subsea installs protection for dutch shelf subsea wells 12

SMIT Amandla Marine pushes for further growth in 2011 13

Bringing together operations and engineering 14

A plan for integration and expansion 15

Be prepared! Reducing the piracy threat 16

Royal Naming ceremony ‘Smit Panther’ 16

smit.com

Loek Kullberg gives a speech.

One of the five sponsor ladies cuts the ribbon during the official ceremony.

It is pleasing to report that we are making

good progress following the Boskalis SMIT

merger in March of last year. The pace of

integration is quickening. We have already

achieved synergies which exceed our initial

expectations.

The integration process is overseen by a

Steering Group, which leads working groups

from Boskalis and SMIT. Together, they con-

tinue to find significant market and cost syner-

gies. Their work will continue throughout this

year and during 2012.

Strong working partnerships have already

blossomed at the management, contracting

and operational levels. SMIT equipment, for

example, is at work at Rotterdam - Europoort’s

Maasvlakte 2 project, through the PUMA

Consortium. Meanwhile, Boskalis’ advanced

survey equipment and soil expertise have

found an important role in SMIT wreck removal

projects.

Integration will enhance our capacity to

deliver added value, a critical success factor

in a challenging market. We are optimistic for

the future, as Boskalis and SMIT both gener-

ate around 80 per cent of their business from

the ports and oil and gas sectors. The com-

mercial drivers in these areas look strong

for the medium and longer term. With this

in mind, both Boskalis and SMIT will ben-

efit from integration, as an integrated group

delivering enhanced added value is far better

positioned to prosper in a competitive global

environment.

SMIT enhances Boskalis by adding new opera-

tional capabilities and it will broaden the scope

of the offering, by developing fresh opportuni-

ties for contracting. Boskalis, in turn, provides

the expertise which allows SMIT to be more

comfortable with contracting risks. The trans-

port and heavy lift market is a case in point.

SMIT has excellent hardware and expertise but,

in the past, has tended to supply equipment

rather than become involved in lumpsum con-

tracting. Boskalis has a track record of tender-

ing for and executing major projects on a turn-

key basis. Through the vehicle of SMIT Marine

Projects we can utilise equipment and exper-

tise within a lumpsum contracting context.

There is also significant added value to be won

from the integration of our international net-

works. Without doubt, the major outcome will

be a substantial increase in the commercial

opportunities open to Boskalis SMIT.

We have to consider these events in the con-

text of the times. Over the last couple of years,

SMIT was successful with much improved com-

mercial performance and investments in new

equipment, especially in harbour towage. At

the same time, the assumption of contracting

risks was not on the agenda. This was a sound

strategy - at that time - given SMIT’s limited

experience of total package contracting and an

essentially benign commercial climate. Today,

however, we need a revised strategy, based

on added value and more project contracting.

There will be occasions, for example, when it

will be possible to combine the dredging and

wreck removal tasks within the scope of a main

contract. Here, the geographic strengths of

Boskalis SMIT offer great potential, with one

having the capacity to “introduce” the other,

opening the door to new harbour towage or

dredging business.

Performance 2010Markets were down in 2010, yet SMIT had

sufficient commercial vigour to make a good

contribution to Boskalis’ record results in its

centennial year. Boskalis SMIT worked together

with great enthusiasm and this positive out-

come provides hard evidence of real com-

mitment. Building on this promising start, we

recently adopted a new three-year Corporate

Business Plan - a platform for further progress

(see page 15).

Looking ahead, we see an improving picture

on the Harbour Towage front. Freight levels

are recovering, with traffic volumes on the

increase at strategic locations around the

world, from Rotterdam to Panama. Against

this background, SMIT’s Harbour Towage

Division performed well in 2010. Taken over-

all, this Division put in a good performance.

One recent highlight was the acquisition of

the remaining 50 per cent of the SMIT Rebras

joint venture. SMIT has been active in Brazil

since 2006, when the joint venture was first

established. Today, SMIT Rebras operates a tug

fleet of 18 ASD newbuildings at six ports in the

country.

In the Terminals sector, performance in 2010

was good across the range of long-term con-

tracts, although two contracts (in Pakistan and

Nigeria) were not renewed. In recent years, we

have seen relatively few new projects come

forward. In contrast, however, a series of new

oil and LNG facilities will open later this year

and in 2012, resulting in a very promising

outlook.

Boskalis provides terminal services via

SMIT Terminals and its 50 per cent stake in

Lamnalco. Since the Boskalis SMIT merger, we

have taken time to carefully examine the opti-

mum structure to go forward. We have made

good progress and now expect to make an

announcement on the intended integration

before the Summer.

Turning to Salvage, 2010 was a busy year,

despite a rather slow first half. Emergency

response was at a low level throughout the

year, but the wreck removal business was

strong. A major rig removal operation was

completed in the Gulf of Mexico and other

major projects were progressed in Indian

waters and off the Indonesian coast.

In the Transport and Heavy Lift arena, spot

contracts suffered from restricted maintenance

budgets and the postponement of new activi-

ties. In the Transport market, these effects were

especially marked in the North Sea region.

Elsewhere in the world, activity levels held up

well, with SMIT in a particularly strong position

in South Africa and Singapore.

OutlookWe see the key factors driving growth remain-

ing positive for the medium term. Energy and

commodity-related projects in South America,

Australia and Africa are of great significance.

We expect many projects in these regions to

come to the market over the next few years.

Frank Verhoeven

Chairman, SMIT

Group Director, Boskalis

IntegratIOn: the Pace quIckens

SMIT tugs are now assisting some of the

world’s largest bulk carriers, calling to load

coal and minerals at the Australian port of

Gladstone. This is a harbour towage break-

through for SMIT in Australia. Six tugs are

now operating at Gladstone.

There is now the prospect of providing an

additional six tugs, to serve the LNG vessels

which will be calling at Gladstone from 2014.

A decision on the ordering of new tugs is likely

to be taken over the coming 12 months.

The tugs required under the current contract

were on location at Gladstone by the end of

last year. They are operating under a five-year

exclusive harbour towage licence, secured by

competitive tender. There is an option in the

contract to extend by three years.

Five of the six tugs are Robert Allan 3070

ASD vessels rated at 70 tonnes bollard pull

(Firefighting Class 1, LNG/escort capable).

The sixth vessel, ‘Smit Leopard’, is a Damen

3211 ASD tug with 68 tonnes bollard pull. The

3070 vessels were built by Uzmar’s Izmit Yard

in Turkey. ‘Smit Leopard’ was built at Damen’s

Penglai Yard in China.

All six tugs are Australian-registered and

crewed, with Gladstone as their home port.

They were named at a ceremony at Gladstone’s

Auckland Point Berth 4 during March. The tugs

were lined up, bow to quay, for this ceremony.

Those attending were welcomed by local

resident Lindsay Johnson, representing the

Gooreng Gooreng and Byellee peoples.

The ceremony marked the culmination of

an unusual process - a competition for local

people, who were invited to propose names.

The winning names were: ‘Smit Koongo’

(a Byellee word meaning “place of water”),

‘Smit Yallarm’ (a Gooreng Gooreng word mean-

ing “place of shells”), ‘Smit

Awoonga’ (the name

of a large lake formed

by a nearby dam), ‘Smit

Tondoon’ (the name

of Gladstone’s original

dam and now the name

of a botanical gardens

preserving plants indig-

enous to the Port Curtis

region), and ‘Smit Kullaroo’

(meaning “road that leads to

water”).

The tugs were blessed by Gladstone Mission

to Seaman chaplains Father John McKim and

Trevor Phillips. ‘Smit Yallarm’ was named by

Mrs Patricia Brusasco, spouse of Gladstone

Ports Corporation Chairman Ian Brusasco.

Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers named ‘Smit

Koongo’. Joanne Lutze, spouse of Captain

Mike Lutze, the Regional Harbourmaster,

named ‘Smit Kullaroo’. The ‘Smit

Tondoon ‘was named by Elizabeth

Zussino, spouse of Gladstone Ports

Chief Executive Leo Zussino. Judy

Reynolds, a Director of Gladstone

Ports Corporation, named the ‘Smit

Awoonga’. Helen Skippen also a

Director of the Ports Corporation,

named ‘Smit Leopard’.

The ceremony was attended by SMIT

Harbour Towage Managing Director

Loek Kullberg. He told those present

that the Gladstone contract was a

significant award for SMIT and that

the objective is to achieve more suc-

cess in Australia. He made reference

to the Gorgon LNG project. Here,

SMIT has put together proposals for

operations with a fleet of diesel-elec-

tric tugs of advanced design.

Gladstone, meanwhile, continues to

grow. It is one of Australia’s largest

coal ports. In terms of throughput,

it already ranks as Australia’s third largest port.

Throughput is forecast to increase from 76

million tonnes in 2008 to around 127 million

tonnes by 2013. In his address at the naming

ceremony, Gladstone Ports Chairman Ian

Brusasco said that at least 12 new tugs would

be needed at Gladstone over the next five to

10 years. Some of the requirement for addi-

tional tugs relates to the construction of exten-

sive LNG export facilities at Gladstone. There is

every prospect that Gladstone will develop as

the centre of one of the world’s busiest har-

bour towage operations.

gladstOne OPeratIOn In full swIng

New orders were placed in the third quar-

ter of 2010 for two new 100 tonnes bollard

pull anchor handlers, from the Chinese yard

of Guijiang Shipbuilding Co in Wuzhou.

The newbuilds will be fitted with Wärtsila

engines, and state-of-the-art winches from

Rolls Royce. The new vessels will join the

fleet in mid-2012 and will then work in the

Middle East and Far East regions.

Other recent new orders include six vessels

for SMIT Rebras in Brazil. These are 45 tonnes

bollard pull vessels, to be built to the Robert

Allen 2500 design. The orders were placed with

Keppel Singmarine in Brazil. These orders were

announced in April of this year and the first of

the newbuildings will be delivered in late 2012.

new Orders fOr anchOr handlers and tugs

Biographical notes: Frank VerhoevenFrank Verhoeven’s father was a tug Captain

who later became a project manager with

Boskalis. Frank obtained his Degree in Civil

Engineering from the University of Delft,

in the mid-1970s, and then joined Boskalis.

He became a Technical Staff Manager

in the 1980s, then assumed operational

responsibilities in the 1990s. By the end

of that decade he led Boskalis’ Offshore

Department. In the 2000-04 period, he was

General Director for Boskalis Netherlands

and, subsequently, a member of the Group

Management Team with specific responsi-

bilities for Europe. He is now Group Director

with special responsibility for SMIT.

smit.com3

tug magazine

Harbour Towage is one of the main pil-

lars for future investment under the new

Boskalis SMIT Corporate Business Plan.

Loek Kullberg, Managing Director of SMIT’s

Harbour Towage Division, says: “This core

activity is very important and the strategy

is very clear. We will concentrate on the

major engines of the world economy, while

moving away from smaller, fragmented

markets which are less valuable in a Group

context. The markets of interest include

Australia and Brazil. SMIT Harbour Towage

has a vital role to play, as it has such a pow-

erful track record as a pathfinder activity.

“This is particularly important at this time,

when we see the major ports of the world

picking up again after the downturn. Tonnage

levels are fast approaching the peak of 2008.

The number of movements is down but this is

explained by a substantial increase in vessel

size. Our strategy of increasing bollard pull

reflects this trend. Maersk’s recent order for

18,000 TEU class vessels is a sign of the times.”

In response to adoption of the new Business

Plan, the Harbour Towage Division is

prospecting for new acquisitions in the world’s

major ports. The “focus areas” are: Brazil,

Australia, South East Asia, the North West

European region, South and West Africa and

the Middle East.

Within this new perspective, the priorities

include the accelerated development of SMIT

Rebras in Brazil (now 100 per cent owned), the

long term, ground-breaking harbour towage

contract at Gladstone, Australia, and start-up

tug operations in Liberia.

At the same time, the concentration on

“focus areas” provides the background

to SMIT’s recent decision to dissolve its

Baltic harbour towage joint venture. The

partnership with Towmar, of Lithuania, at

Klaipeda and Ventspils, ends on July 1. Loek

Kullberg comments: “Essentially, we felt that

the prospects for growth in this area of the

Baltic were insufficient to justify continuing

investment. We had three tugs operating

within Towmar SMIT. The two 60 tonnes bollard

pull 2810s ‘Smit Trinidad’ and ‘Smit Dominica’

have already been redeployed to Brazil as

frontrunners, pending the arrival of recently

ordered vessels. In addition the ‘Smit Mersey’

will be redeployed to Liberia.

“Brazil is a powerful hub for future growth in the

Americas. We are making rapid progress in Brazil

and there are also important developments in

Panama, with the Balboa contract for four tugs

renewed for another five years.

new contracts in liberiaSMIT recently gained two significant contracts

in Liberia. In Monrovia, APMT (an A.P. Møller

Group company) has signed a five-year

contract for the two ASD tugs ‘Schelde’ 10

and 12. The contract, signed at the end of

last year, commenced in February. The two

tugs are assisting vessels calling at the port.

In addition, SMIT has mobilised two tugs

to Buchanan, a minerals export port some

60 miles south of Monrovia. This is a three-

year contract for the assistance of large

bulk carriers calling at Buchanan’s iron ore

terminal. The contract will be served by the

‘Smit Nida’ (redeployed from the Baltic) and

the ‘KST Sphere’. The client is Arcelor Mittal.

The contract commenced at the end of May.

SMIT has demonstrated its total commit-

ment to the Brazilian market with a decision

to acquire 100 per cent of the SMIT Rebras

harbour towage operation, now active in six

of the country’s main ports.

The agreement to purchase the balance of

50 per cent of the shares in this joint venture

was concluded in March. Loek Kullberg says:

“This acquisition gives us much greater

flexibility to manage and expand SMIT Rebras

and orientate it within the new Boskalis SMIT

strategy. We need to grow in this market at a

very vigorous rate.”

With this acquisition completed, the way is

open to commit more investment to the SMIT

Rebras business. As a result, SMIT recently

brought to a successful conclusion the

negotiations for another six (plus an option for

another six) newbuildings, to be constructed

in Brazil. These vessels are to be built by Keppel

Singmarine at a newly-acquired local facility in

Brazil.

The first tranche of the new orders consists

of six 45 tonnes bollard pull Robert Allan RA

2500-type tugs. The new tugs will be very

similar to the 12 x 45 tonnes bollard pull

newbuildings - built by Detroit Brasil - in

the large “foundation order” for SMIT Rebras

(which also included six 65 tonnes bollard pull

units).

Loek Kullberg says: “The new tugs are due for

delivery over the next 18-24 months. These

additions to the Brazilian fleet will allow us to

add more ports to our portfolio and further

increase market share in Brazil. We plan to put

two more tugs into Vitória and deploy units to

two more ports, bringing our total number of

operational centres to eight.”

Under Brazilian legislation, the signing of the

contract allows SMIT to make an early start

on expansion, by bringing in frontrunner

tugs from other locations around the world.

Six frontrunners will work in Brazilian waters.

The four units earmarked for transfer to

Brazilian waters, at the time of writing, are

the ‘Smit Taboguilla’ and ‘Smit Manzamillo’

ex-Panama, together with the 2810 tugs/ 60

tonnes BP, ‘Smit Montserrat’ and the ‘Smit

Cayman’ (ex-Tangguh Indonesia). They will

arrive in Brazil in June and July.

tug orders signed The contract for the new tugs was signed at

SMIT’s headquarters in Rotterdam on April 20.

These tugs are ASD units with Caterpillar

engines and generators and Schottel pro-

pulsion. They will be constructed at Keppel

Singmarine’s Brazilian yard at Navegantes,

Santa Catarina State.

Loek Kullberg says: “Decisions on the six

options will be taken at the time of delivery of

the first tug in the series. The first of the new-

buildings should arrive around the end of next

year. We would then expect another new tug

every month.”

The SMIT Rebras operation in Brazil already

has substantial weight. The company oper-

ates at six locations, with around 200 staff

and crew. There are four tugs at Santos, two at

Paranaguá, another two at Sepetiba-Itaguai,

four at the bustling Sepetiba-Angra dos Reis

location (primarily serving the Petrobras oil

terminal), two tugs at Vitória (Tubarão and

Praia Mole) and four tugs at São Luis (Ponta da

Madeira, Itaqui and Alumar).

Loek Kullberg adds: “SMIT’s plans for Brazil are

ambitious. By 2013, five years from the start

of operations, SMIT Rebras expects to operate

in up to 10 main Brazilian ports and terminals,

with at least 30 new ASD tugs and some 300

crew and staff.”

A new business activity in Brazil also begins in

June, with the arrival in Brazilian waters of the

‘Smit Angola’, a RAmpage 5000 vessel to serve

the offshore oil and gas industry. Loek Kullberg

comments: “Over the next five years we hope

to deploy several offshore support vessels

to serve the Brazilian oil and gas sector. The

deployment of the ‘Smit Angola’ marks our first

step in this promising market.”

Antwerp-based URS saw the fleet expand

over the past six months. Three newbuild-

ings entered service. Two of the newbuilds

- ‘Union Eagle’ and ‘Union Hawk’ - are now

providing harbour towage services in the

port of Antwerp. The second pair in a series

of four, these 85 tonnes bollard pull tugs

were built by the Spanish yard of Armon.

The design is an evolution of the Amber

Class tugs, with more powerful engines and

innovative features, including a tow cable

run under the accommodation.

The third delivery was ‘Union Wrestler’ - the

final anchor handler in a series of four, the

earlier deliveries being ‘Union Warrior’, ‘Union

Fighter’ and ‘Union Boxer’. These vessels are

rated at 85 tonnes bollard pull. ‘Union Wrestler’

is currently working in the North Sea region,

on assignments for offshore industry clients.

This newbuilding, also from Armon, has the

same machinery outfit as the two new harbour

tugs.

There was an upturn in harbour towage

demand in the major Belgian ports over the

past six months. During the final quarter of

2010 there was an increase in vessel calls to

Antwerp, especially evident in the container

sector. The first few months of 2011 were also

good. A picture

of steady recov-

ery has emerged.

Zeebrugge is also

doing well, nota-

bly in the area of

container traffic.

LNG business is

also strong, with

Zeebrugge now

averaging five

or six calls per

month. In addition,

there has been a

marked upturn in

car carrier busi-

ness - a sector hard

hit in the recession.

Zeebrugge now

ranks as the leading

car carrier port in

the world.

There is also an

improving picture at

Ghent, where activ-

ity depends largely

on the health of

the steel market.

At the same time, there is a growing contribu-

tion from biofuel bulk cargoes. In the Dutch

ports, meanwhile, activity levels held steady at

Flushing and Terneuzen.

In the international arena, around half the URS

ocean-going fleet, “SMIT Transport Belgium”

is now committed to assignments in Angolan

waters, mainly in connection with the Block

31 project. The vessels deployed in Angola

include the ‘Union Manta’, ‘Union Warrior’,

‘Union Fighter’, ‘Union Letzer’ and ‘President

Hubert ‘.

Looking ahead, over the rest of the year, the

STB fleet is largely committed to term charters,

although several of the smaller vessels con-

tinue to work the spot market.

new vessels jOIn the urs fleet

sMIt’s tOtal cOMMItMent tO the brazIlIan Market

harbOur tOwage: the PathfInder In “fOcus areas”

jan kohlsaat

It is with deep regret that SMIT

reports the very sad loss of

Jan Kohlsaat, following a

tragic accident early May.

Jan Kohlsaat was a Partner,

Board Member and the

Managing Director of the

Towmar-SMIT joint venture and

a greatly valued colleague.

URS tugs assisting the ‘Al Khattiya’.

SMIT Rebras tugs welcome fallpipe vessel ‘Sandpiper”.

Anchor handling tug ‘Union Fighter’.URS tugs assist container

vessel ‘Evelyn Maersk’.

smit.com5

tug magazine

While major new terminal support contracts

are proving slow to emerge after global

economic downturn, the future prospects

remain strong. Loek Kullberg, Managing

Director of SMIT Terminals, comments:

“It has been a challenging two years, with

many major projects postponed. Yet, as

expected, we are now seeing a number of

new projects going forward and they are

likely to come on stream quite quickly.”

“Recent events in Japan have placed a ques-

tion mark over nuclear power and, at the same

time, have also stimulated the alternatives -

primarily coal, LNG and renewables. We expect

the world’s network of LNG facilities to expand

significantly over the coming two to three

years.”

Looking at developments in the various

world regions, Loek Kullberg says: “Activity is

certainly picking up in Australia, especially in

the LNG sector. We also see stronger activity

in the Middle East region and in the important

Russian market. The key factor here is oil. We

see traditional oil-related projects picking up

again.”

SMIT Terminals is still awaiting the outcome

of its proposal for service provision at the

new Gorgon LNG terminal near Port Hedland,

north-west Australia. Boskalis has the

contracting lead for the port construction

required for this large-scale project. An

announcement on terminal services is

imminent.

The requirement at Gorgon is for four

tugs. SMIT’s proposal is based around the

construction of a new generation of diesel-

electric tugs of an advanced type, meeting a

very demanding environmental specification.

The tug concept for Gorgon has been

developed in association with Keppel and the

Guido Perla design bureau.

Meanwhile, SMIT remains an active bidder

for terminal services required for other LNG

terminals. For example, proposals have been

submitted for tugs to operate at a new LNG

facility in Papua New Guinea.

In the Asian region, SMIT tugs continue to

operate at Tangguh, Indonesia, at the BP/

MIGAS gas export facility. SMIT has worked

with two 2810 tugs and two KST tugs at

Tangguh. These units were frontrunners,

pending the arrival of four Indonesian

newbuildings. These new tugs arrived in

May 2011 and are now in full operation. The

frontrunners have been positioned elsewhere.

SMIT Terminals has a contract with BP/MIGAS

to man the newbuildings for the first 12

months of service. The next stage will involve

the award of a 10-year contract for terminal

support.

As for other key markets, Loek Kullberg says:

“Russia is certainly a major area of interest

for SMIT Terminals. We are interested in

providing marine support at major ports

such as Novorossiysk. We already have an

extensive operation on the east coast, centred

on Sakhalin, and we want to build on this

foundation. The driving force here, of course,

is the implementation of major oil and gas

developments.”

In the Americas, SMIT Terminals is tendering

for LNG terminal support services at Kitimat, in

Western Canada. SMIT already has an extensive

operation at Prince Rupert, supporting a coal

terminal and container vessels calling at the port.

In Africa, Gabon is a strong market. SMIT

provides marine support for Total, Shell and

Parenco. The contract with Total was recently

extended by five years. The four tugs currently

in Gabon (‘Smit Ozouri’, ‘Smit Mandji’, ‘Annelies’

and ‘Huberta’) are to be succeeded by two

4011 newbuildings from Damen. The new tugs

are due for delivery by the end of next year.

There have been some tug redeployments

in recent months. The RAmpage 5000 ‘Smit

Angola’, for example, has been transferred to

Brazil. It began work on the spot market and is

expected to commence a term contract later

this year. This multipurpose anchor handler is

ideal for a wide range of offshore tasks, from

diving operations to FPSO support.

On future prospects, Loek Kullberg says: “Over

the next 12 months we expect the market to

pick up and this will trigger an acceleration

in business growth. We see the oil, gas and

mineral sectors all moving up fast. At the same

time, we will have to contend with persistent

cost pressures within these markets.”

Casualty response operations involv-

ing SMIT Salvage early 2011 included the

coaster ‘Eems Transporter’. This vessel went

aground near Diafani, on the Greek island

of Karpathos, in early April, when laden

with over 2,000 tonnes of steel products.

This was a high speed grounding, causing

significant bottom damage, and a refloating

will require the lightering of cargo.

SMIT Salvage responded with a salvage team

from Rotterdam and a local tug and personnel.

As a precautionary measure, the team on site

includes pollution control experts. The vessel

was successfully refloated after lightering of

about 600 tonnes of rols of steel. The cargo

was backloaded and after some temporary

underwater repairs she was allowed to con-

tinue her voyage to France.

Cases in March included two groundings, the

bulk carrier ‘Mirach’ and a second bulker, the

‘Atlantic Star’. The ‘Mirach’ salvage began when

this vessel grounded on a reef off the coast of

Southern India in late March. The grounding

position is just three miles offshore off the port

of Trivandrum. This is a rocky location and a

salvage inspection revealed that most holds

and the forepeak were flooded, with the bulk-

heads later collapsing.,The No. 5 hold and the

engineroom were however still dry.

The salvage team promptly set to work on the

first priority: the recovery of pollutants, includ-

ing HFO. This task required the use of a hot-tap

system, to penetrate and pump from sub-

merged tanks. This salvage operation is being

performed on a Lloyd’s Form basis (SCOPIC

invoked).

A salvage team and equipment were flown

out from Rotterdam. In addition, the ‘Smit

Nicobar’ was mobilised from the Arabian Gulf,

sailing from Fujairah, to act as the main work

platform. This oil recovery continues - the main

objective was to remove pollutants before

the Monsoon break. A total of 32 tonnes were

recovered. During this recovery operation the

vessel finally broke her back and later sank

completely leaving only the funnel above the

sea level.

The ‘Atlantic Star’ was one of a long series of

groundings recently tackled by SMIT in the

major river systems of South America. The

‘Atlantic Star’ grounded in the Parana River, on

the border between Argentina and Uruguay.

A salvage tug was mobilised by SMIT’s local

partners. This casualty had 30,000 tonnes of

wheat in her holds. The vessel was successfully

refloated by tugs under the direction of the

SMIT Salvage master and team..

There was a SMIT Salvage operation in the

Orinoco River during the first quarter. This fol-

lowed the grounding of the Panamanian-flag

bulker ‘Gdansk’. Water levels in the Orinoco

were low as a result of prolonged drought

and the ‘Gdansk’ struck rocks at Km 184, near

Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. This caused signifi-

cant damage - a survey revealed a 70 m gash

in the double bottom. A number of tanks were

breached and there was some loss of bunkers.

This environmental emergency warranted a

swift intervention. SMIT Salvage responded

with local partners Terminales Maracaibo and

work began to recover around 400 tonnes of

HFO. A major lightering operation was organ-

ised and the ‘Gdansk’ was refloated success-

fully on the eighth day, following the discharge

of about 6000 tonnes of iron ore. The vessel

was then inspected by divers and redelivered

to the owners.

fire emergenciesRecent months have seen responses to a

number of shipboard fires. They included the

‘Kota Manis’, a 25,000 DWT container vessel

reporting a fire. This vessel was in West African

waters, off Tema, with the fires centred in No.

3 hold. This hold was put under a CO2 blanket

and cooling was performed by a fixed sprin-

kler system. Salvage/fire-fighting expertise

and equipment was mobilised both from

Rotterdam and Houston. The final extinguish-

ing took place at the berth in Tema.

Fire-related operations in the final quarter of

2010 included another container vessel, the

‘Boundary’. This vessel had departed Durban

for Walvis Bay when she reported fire in the

engineroom. SMIT went to the ‘Boundary’s

assistance, mobilising the salvage tug ‘Smit

Amandla’. A three-man advance party boarded

the casualty by helicopter and carried out a

preliminary inspection. The tug arrived on

scene, connected up and made for Cape Town,

a second inspection having confirmed that the

engineroom fire was extinguished. The vessel

was redelivered at East Quay, Cape Town.

SMIT also responded to fire on board the ro-ro

‘Lisco Gloria’, sailing from Kiel to Klaipeda.

There were over 200 passengers and crew on

board; they successfully abandoned the ro-ro.

SMIT was awarded a Lloyd’s Form and two local

tugs were quickly on scene. They began fire-

fighting and boundary cooling. With the fires

extinguished, this heavily damaged vessel was

towed in, for redelivery at Odense.

At the end of October, the 100 m long Fish

Factory Trawler ‘Athena’ went ablaze off-

shore Falmouth ( Land’s End). SMIT Salvage

was called to fight the fire and rescue the

vessel. Immediately, a salvage team and two

charter planes with salvage and firefight-

ing equipment were mobilised to Falmouth.

Additionally, the tugs ‘Anglian Princess’ and

‘Typhoon’ were chartered. The team worked

around the clock to completely extinguish

the fire. On the November 11 the team could

redeliver the vessel to the owners at Fallmouth

anchorage.

sMIt terMInals: energy deMand drIves fOrward new PrOjects sMIt salvage resPOnds tO vessel grOundIngs

SMIT tugs assist a tanker calling at the Cap Lopez terminal in Gabon. (photo: Total Gabon)

3111 ASD tug ‘Smit Rhône’ operates

for SMIT Terminals in the Bahamas.

SMIT Salvage came to the rescue of a grounded coaster in Karpathos, Greece.

‘Smit Nicobar’ alongside the grounded bulker in southern India.

After a major lightering operation, SMIT Salvage successfully refloated the grounded bulker ‘Gdansk’.

ETV ‘Smit Amandla’ on its way to Cape Town with container vessel ‘Boundary’.

smit.com7

tug magazine

‘Smitbarge 10’ loaded with monopiles and transition

pieces for the Lincs wind farm, supported by B-Class

vessels ‘Smit Bison’ and ‘Smit Beluga’.

SMIT Transport Europe is now engaged in

a major assignment for the Danish con-

tracting group MT Højgaard, transporting

foundations for the Lincs offshore windfarm

project in UK waters. The foundations are

being transported from Hoboken/Flushing

to Great Yarmouth. The voyages began in

April and will continue until November of

this year.

SMIT Transport took delivery of four

Smitbarge newbuildings earlier this year.

The Smitbarge 10 and Smitbarge 11 arrived

from the yard at Galatz, Romania, in early

February. They were followed by Smitbarge

12 and 14 during the second week of April.

Smitbarges 10, 11 and 12 are now transporting

the Lincs wind turbine foundations. Three

B-Class vessels are also participating, the

‘Smit Bison’, ‘Smit Beluga’ and ‘Smit Buffalo’.

MT Højgaard was awarded a main contract,

from Centrica, for the provision of 75 wind

turbines for the Lincs windfarm, located

off Great Yarmouth. The Smitbarges are

transporting the monopiles and transition

pieces. The voyage sequence involves each

barge loading three transition pieces at

Hoboken and then proceeding downriver

to Flushing, to load three monopiles. The

voyage to Great Yarmouth’s new outer harbour

concludes with discharge by the client’s heavy

lift vessel - which is then responsible for the

installation.

Under the contract with MT Højgaard, SMIT

Transport is required to provide a full range

of marine logistics and engineering services.

SMIT’s scope of work includes the design,

engineering and fabrication of sea fastenings

for the monopiles and transition pieces. Also

included within the contract package is marine

project management support, documents

control, SHE-Q and associated engineering and

supervisory tasks, all to the approval of the

client and warranty surveyor. This covers, inter

alia, the Transportation/Ballasting Manuals,

mooring plans, voyage plans and stability

calculations.

The E1702 was deployed as an anchoring and

mooring barge at Great Yarmouth. The E1702

is operating successfully as a floating mooring

facility as the barges come in from Hoboken/

Flushing. In addition, B-Class vessel ‘Smit Bison’

is engaged in this project, supporting loading

and ballasting operations.

busy in angolan watersMany units in the URS ocean-going fleet, now

operating under the SMIT Transport Belgium

banner, are now working in Angola on behalf

of Heerema in Block 31 - BP’s deepwater

production field.

The vessels deployed for Block 31 activities

include the 205 tonnes bollard pull DP2 anchor

handler ‘Union Manta’, together with the 160

tonnes bollard pull ‘President Hubert’. The

latter is supporting the Heerema heavy lift

crane vessel ‘Balder’.

Other vessels working on this contract include

the 90 tonnes bollard pull ASD anchor handler

‘Union Fighter’ and the 93 tonnes bollard pull

anchor handler ‘Alphonse Letzer’. These vessels

are engaged in towing barges between the

‘Balder’ and Port Amboim.

Block 31 has a waterdepth of 2,020 m. The

SMIT Transport Belgium vessels operate within

a flexible framework and undertake a wide

variety of tasks. ‘Union Manta’, for example, has

been supporting ROV operations concerned

with pipeline pre-lay survey, “pipeline as

built” survey and the positioning of subsea

structures. The vessel is also supporting ROV

dredging operations for pipeline crossings and

pipeline pre-commissioning using a Subsea

Hydraulic Pressure Unit. The activities relating

to subsea installation works involve pipeline

start-up suction piles and mud mats for

pipeline crossings.

transPOrt fleet suPPOrts lIncs wIndfarM cOnstructIOn

large-scale wreck removalA SMIT Salvage project team continues with

the major task of removing the wreck of the

‘Hyundai 105’, the car carrier lost following

a collision with a tanker off Singapore some

years ago. ‘Hyundai 105’ was carrying around

5,000 cars when she went down following the

collision.

The first task on-scene was to remove fuel

within the wreck. The team recovered around

150 tonnes of HFO. The main wreck removal

programme commenced in February and is

expected to take up to 16 months to complete.

The extensive equipment spread includes the

two sheerlegs ‘Taklift 1’ and ‘Smit Cyclone’,

together with the accommodation/work barge

‘Smit Ibis’. The ‘Smit Andaman’ is also envisaged

to go to site, providing a base for planned

directional drilling operations under the wreck,

to place the cutting chains. The car carrier is

being horizontally chain-cut into sections, then

vertically cut. The scrap is loaded onto barges

and landed at Batam. The large HDW-1 hydrau-

lic wreck grab is being used to clear the wreck-

age and scattered debris in the surrounding

area.

This wreck sits on the bottom upside down.

The horizontal chain cutting is being per-

formed by ‘Smit Cyclone’, supported by under-

water cutting by diving teams. The vertical cuts

will create ten sections plus the engineroom.

Around 75 per cent of this wreck has still to be

removed. Recently the engineroom section

was recovered and landed on scrap barges..

A large part of the horizontal cutting is now

complete.

Oil recovery projectDuring last year SMIT Salvage was awarded

a contract by the Korean government

agency KEOM (Korea Marine Environment

Management Corporation) to assess the quan-

tity of oil and other pollutants within the wreck

of the tanker Kuyng-Shin. The wreck site is in

98 m waterdepth, at a position off the south-

eastern coast of South Korea.

Subsequently, following a lengthy tender prep-

aration process, SMIT Salvage was awarded

the contract to recover HFO from the wreck

of the tanker. It is estimated that around 500

tonnes of HFO is in her tanks. The oil recovery

will be undertaken in the June-July period by

a project team including saturation divers,

making use of a hot-tap and tailored tank heat-

ing system. The ‘Smit Borneo’ has been desig-

nated for this assignment and will be fitted out

with one of SMIT’s modular SAT systems and a

sophisticated heating and process equipment.

The first section of ‘Hyundai’ 105 is lifted by sheerleg ‘Smit Cyclone’.

The vessel’s main engine was lifted as a seperate section.

‘Taklift 1’ on transport to site on board of a SMIT Giant barge.

The ‘Union Manta’ alongside crane vessel ‘Balder’ in Block 31, Angola.

smit.com9

tug magazine

During the first quarter of this year SMIT

Heavy Lift completed the installation of a

topside structure for an oil and gas produc-

tion platform in Egyptian waters. The pro-

ject was undertaken by the large sheerleg

‘Taklift 4’, at a location 20 nautical miles off

Alexandria.

The SMIT project team began work in January,

following the award of a contract from

Petroleum Marine Services (PMS), the Egyptian

state energy concern, in November of last

year. The topside’s transport and installation

was performed by ‘Taklift 4’, partnered by the

anchor handler ‘Union Diamond’.

The 850 tonnes topside, for the NAQ-PII plat-

form, was loaded at the port of Maadiya,

Western Egypt, and transported in the hooks

of the sheerleg. ‘Taklift 4’ then performed the

installation lift at location. The installation was

completed in March.

‘Taklift 4’ mobilised from the home port of

Rotterdam for this assignment. PMS is a new

client and this first project went smoothly.

Other recent SMIT Heavy Lift activities include

support for a SMIT Subsea project team

responsible for the installation of two pro-

tective domes for subsea wells on the Dutch

Continental Shelf. The lifts were performed in

the K-18 Field by ‘Taklift 7’.

Bookings for SMIT Heavy Lift’s sheerlegs

include a call at Hamburg by ‘Taklift 7’ in long

boom configuration in July, to support the

construction of two large coal unloaders.

These installations have been constructed in

sections.

SMIT Heavy Lift’s task is to transport the sec-

tions upriver - negotiating a series of bridges

- to the assembly site on the Elbe. This con-

tract was awarded by the construction group

Scholpp Montage GmbH. The new facility will

serve a coal-fired power station on the river.

SMIT in Singapore has a major spread on

station at the site of the ‘Hyundai 105’

wreck removal off Singapore. The car carrier

‘Hyundai 105’ had some 5,000 vehicles on

board when she went down following a

collision with a Japanese tanker some years

ago (see page 7 for a report on the wreck

removal).

The Singapore-based vessels on site include

the 1,000 tonnes lift capacity sheerlegs ‘Smit

Cyclone’, and the work barge ‘Smit Ibis’.

The spread also includes the anchor handler

‘ Smit-Lloyd 27’ and the harbour towage vessel

‘Smit Puma’.

Meanwhile, four of SMIT Singapore’s L-Class

vessels - ‘Smit Lingga’, ‘Smit Lumut’, ‘Smit Luzon’

and ‘Smit Laisa’ - continue to provide a range of

exploration support services to Saudi Aramco,

via Hadi Al Hamman.

Two other L Class vessels have been work-

ing in the Middle East. ‘Smit Langkawi’ and

‘Smit Lumba’ were under contract to Saipem

for anchor handling services until the end of

last year. This contract was then extended to

end-May this year. They were assisting a pipe-

layer operating in Saudi Arabian waters. These

vessels were contracted to Saipem via Zakher

Marine.

SMIT took delivery of another L Class vessel,

the ‘Smit Labuan’, at the end of May.

One of the K-Class vessels, ‘Smit Komodo’, com-

pleted a five-year contract with Ocean Marine

Egypt/Petrobel in May of this year. Currently,

this vessel is undergoing a special survey at

Suez, pending a decision on future deploy-

ment. Another K Class vessel, ‘Smit Kamara’,

recently completed a three-week charter with

Maersk Oil Qatar.

Two other vessels in the fleet, ‘Smit Nicobar’

and accommodation barge ‘Smit Borneo’, are

both engaged in salvage-related work. ‘Smit

Nicobar’ is participating in the salvage of the

bulk carrier ‘Mirach’, in Indian waters, while

‘Smit Borneo’ is being mobilised for the KOEM

project - the recovery of oil from a tanker

wreck in Korean waters - following completion

of a refloating project at Mumbai.

The green light has been given to build

a very large floating sheerleg to further

strengthen our position in the South East

Asian FPSO and Platform construction

market. The decision has been taken under

the new Boskalis SMIT Corporate Plan.

The new sheerleg will be owned and oper-

ated by Asian Lift, a joint venture with Keppel.

Traditionally, Asian Lift has served the Singapore

market, providing heavy lift support during the

construction of vessels and offshore structures.

More recently, however, the market has broad-

ened, especially in the oil and gas sector.

These developments are reflected in the

equipment offered. During the four years to

2010 around 85 per cent of Asian Lift’s market

consisted of heavy lift services during the con-

struction of FPSOs and rigs. Over one-third of

the world’s FPSOs are built and integrated in

Singapore. However, this market is changing.

FPSOs are growing in size and the same can

be said of rigs - with the most recent designs

having much larger dimensions. Consequently,

bigger sheerlegs are needed to lift larger and

heavier legs and modules.

These changes need to be accommodated by

the Asian Lift fleet. The ‘Asian Hercules’ has a

lift capacity of 1,600 tonnes and a 160m reach

with the long boom. ‘Asian Hercules ll’ has

3,000 tonnes capacity and a reach of 172m.

The new ‘Asian Hercules lll’ will have a capacity

of 5,000 tonnes and a reach of at least 172m

with the long boom.

The new sheerleg will be built in China, at the

yard of Keppel Nantong, west of Shanghai.

SMIT has good past experience of this yard,

where four L Class vessels and two terminal

support tugs have been built under SMIT’s

extensive newbuilding programme.

‘Asian Hercules lll’ will be delivered during the

third quarter of 2013. The big sheerleg will

work primarily for the Singapore and nearby

located shipyards in providing lifting services

for very heavy modules. It will also find a ready

market in the offshore/project contracting

market in South East Asia.

In the more immediate future, there is already

interest in booking the powerful new sheer-

leg for heavy module lifts in Singapore.

Meanwhile, more consideration is being given

to a wider geographical sphere of operation

for the Asian Lift sheerlegs fleet.

Asian Lift started off with another success-

ful quarter following the execution of the

Ujung Pangkah Phase II offshore lifting

operation off East Java, in collaboration

with Timas Indonesia for HESS (Indonesia

Pangkah Ltd).

The Ujung Pangkah Development Phase II

comprised the installation of two decks (CCP

and AUP), an accommodation module and a

compression module, two bridges and a flare

tower by floating sheerlegs ‘Asian Hercules

II’. The total lift weight of these components

exceeded 7,000 tonnes.

The work was completed as

scheduled in March 2011.

The Ujung Pangkah Wellhead

Platform B (WHP-B) is already in

production with ongoing drilling

activities.

‘taklIft 4’ Installs egyPtIan PlatfOrM’s tOPsIde

sIngaPOre-based vessels suPPOrt MajOr wreck reMOval

new generatIOn sheerleg wIll have 5,000 tOnnes lIft caPacIty

successful tOPsIde InstallatIOn asIan lIft

L-Class AHTS vessel ‘Smit Laisa’.

smit.com11

tug magazine

Wim Vogelaar is the newly-appointed

General Manager for SMIT Marine Projects.

He has a wealth of experience of project

management within the Boskalis organisa-

tion. He sets out his views on the commer-

cial opportunities now opening up for SMIT

Marine Projects.

“It is still early days but I can already see plenty

of opportunities to develop the activities of

SMIT Marine Projects”, says Wim Vogelaar. “This

is natural, given the different approaches of

the two organisations in the past. Boskalis has

always been heavily project-focused. SMIT, in

contrast, had placed contracting further down

the agenda. Developing SMIT Marine Projects

is the ideal way to bridge this cultural gap.

“We have every intention of evolving into a

significant marine projects main contractor.

This goal sits comfortably within the new

Boskalis SMIT strategy. Equally, we recognise

that the clients themselves increasingly want

to deal with the lead contractor.

“We are ambitious but there is a great deal to

do. In the long-term, it is possible that SMIT

Marine Projects could develop into a successful

contracting entity contributing substantially

to SMIT’s total turnover. This is on the horizon,

but we have more immediate considerations.

We need to cultivate a new attitude, with a

stronger focus on contracting. This will take

some time. It is a matter of further evaluation

in key areas, such as project risk assessment.

“The other element we focus on to develop a

more significant role in project contracting is

investment in equipment. One area of interest

is a larger sheerleg which is less weather

sensitive. We also need other equipment, to

serve markets such as wind energy.”

Wim Vogelaar identifies three main market

categories for SMIT Marine Projects:

“Renewables have a prominent future in our

workload. We have been concentrating on

wind farm foundation activities, in both the

heavy lift and transport roles. Now, however,

we are eager to position ourselves as the

main contractor for foundation works and the

installation of monopiles and transition pieces.”

Decommissioning is another centre of interest.

Wim Vogelaar comments: “We concentrate on

relatively shallow water work, in areas such as

the UK and Dutch southern North Sea. There is

much scope for project contracting in this area.

We also want to address the third main market

- marine civil works. This sector includes major

oil and gas infrastructural works and projects

such as bridges and tunnels.”

bordeaux project completedSMIT Marine Projects has completed a second

phase of works at the site of Bordeaux’s new

road bridge. Last year, a contract was com-

pleted for the towout and installation of three

of the six caissons for the new Bacalan Bridge.

The second contract, awarded last October,

was completed in March of this year. This

involved the towout and installation of the

remaining three caissons. Once again, condi-

tions in the river were a challenge, with Spring

Tides and plenty of debris in the river.

SMIT Subsea was awarded a contract

in April to undertake dome installation

works in the K-18 Field, on the Dutch

Continental Shelf. This contract, on behalf

of Wintershall, has been undertaken in two

phases. The first phase involved the instal-

lation of the two domes, each weighing

around 100 tonnes, to protect the wells on

the seabed. The floating sheerleg ‘Taklift 7’

was mobilised to position these protective

structures. The first phase works were com-

pleted in early May.

The second phase of the work requires an air

diving campaign, to install pipeline spools

with the DP3 DSV ‘EDT Protea’. This programme

is scheduled for the July/August period. The

project team is expected to spend around

four weeks on location. Wintershall is a long-

standing SMIT client. The track record of past

work for this field operator includes various

diving campaigns and platform decommis-

sioning projects. Before this, the ‘EDT Protea‘

will be involved in an extensive IRM campaign

for ConocoPhillips in the UK sector and Maersk

in the Danish sector.

SMIT Subsea is also very active in the renewa-

ble energy market. Starting May, the chartered

DSV ‘Constructor’ will provide diving services

and accommodation support to Visser & Smit

Marine Contracting for the Statoil Sheringham

Shoal wind farm offshore Teesside, UK.

SMIT Subsea teams are also busy in other

world regions. One recent assignment,

for Prosafe, involved UWILD (Underwater

Inspection in Lieu of Docking) work for the

FPSO ‘Espoire Ivoirienne’, offshore Cote d’Ivoire.

This called for extensive hull cleaning, using

HP water jetting systems. The diving team was

based on the FPSO but the diving was done

from the Prosafe field support vessel ‘Lewek

Ivory’. The ‘Espoire’ contract was completed

during May.

Recent work in West Africa also includes

subsea support for the Saipem field devel-

opment campaign on board the ‘S230’ and

‘PLB Crawler’. The scope of work includes

pipelay support and mattress installation.

Preparatory works are well advanced on a

complex task for WSP, on behalf of Areva, to

install a steel intake screen on a concrete cais-

son around 1 km offshore, at a location just

north of Wlotzkasbaken, Namibia. This caisson

intake is part of the Trekkopje Desalination

Plant, which will supply water to a new ura-

nium mine now in the process of commission-

ing. The timing of the actual installation of the

screen has yet to be finalised.

This is a joint project involving various disci-

plines of the SMIT group and is executed with

the DSV ‘Smit Orca’. The project is complex due

to difficult swell conditions, shallow water and

the large size of the guide frame and screen.

The second quarter of this year also saw a

large SMIT Subsea project team assemble

for the final phase of stabilisation work for

Momentum Engineering, concerning a produc-

tion jacket located in Turkmenistan. The satu-

ration diving team includes weld inspectors,

hyperbaric welders and two habitat support

supervisors.

The main work programme involves saturation

diving and hyperbaric habitat welding of shear

plates which connect the production jacket

Last year was a period of considerable

achievement for South African marine ser-

vices group SMIT Amandla Marine. The cur-

rent year also opened well, with the renewal

of key contracts and the award of new busi-

ness. There are challenges ahead in 2011,

as further long-term contracts come up for

renewal. There is also the need to make fur-

ther progress towards the central objective:

increasing the 2009 revenue base by 40 per

cent by 2012, a target set under the “Vision

2012” programme.

Managing Director Paul Maclons: “We need to

see real progress if we are to achieve this chal-

lenging 2012 goal. Essentially, we will have to

better our projected revenue for 2011 by a sig-

nificant margin. It’s a tough call but the organi-

sation believes that it is achievable. The recent

contract successes make the point, although

we now need to reinforce our position with

more awards.”

Mozambique is now one of the most impor-

tant growth areas for SMIT Amandla Marine,

especially given the limited growth opportuni-

ties in South Africa. Other areas for expansion

and growth include the west coast region of

Southern Africa, including Namibia. Progress

has been made in Mozambique with the pro-

vision of harbour towage services. This, the

first harbour towage contract, was awarded

to SMIT Amandla Marine in September of last

year by client CFM. In early April, the first tug,

‘KST Salvo’, began work in the port of Beira,

Mozambique and is manned by both South

Africans and Mozambiquans.

Paul Maclons is optimistic about prospects for

marine and port (harbour towage) services

in Mozambique: “Increasingly, the ports of

Maputo, Beira and Nacala in Mozambique are

seen as import and export hubs for the region’s

landlocked countries. There are exciting possi-

bilities here, given the growing involvement of

major Brazilian and Australian mining groups.

“We made a further advance recently with the

agreement to provide management and crew-

ing services for Kenmare (an Irish mining com-

pany at Moma, a smaller port in Mozambique.

This contract will commence in the third quar-

ter of the year. Currently, we are in discussion

with both Vale and Riversdale Mining for the

provision of an additional three tugs, installa-

tion of a mooring buoy (similar to a terminals

SBM) for coal transhipment services, and the

associated marine supporting infrastructure.

This project is to be a single point of marine

responsibility activity.

Other recent contract awards include an agree-

ment with Transnet National Ports Authority

for the crewing of a harbour tug at the deep-

water Port of Nqura, north of Port Elizabeth.

achievements in 2010Paul Maclons describes 2010 as a solid year:

“Our revenue was in line with budget and our

profit exceeded expectations. We retained

all key public and private sector contracts up

for renewal during the year and the group’s

safety performance was strong throughout.

It was also immensely satisfying to be able to

pay-out a dividend under the Employee Trust,

which owns 12% of the company. This was

achieved two years ahead of expectation and

our participating employees received

MarIne PrOject cOntractIng: exPlOItIng fresh OPPOrtunItIes

sMIt subsea Installs PrOtectIOn fOr dutch shelf subsea wells

sMIt aMandla MarIne Pushes fOr further grOwth In 2011

legs to the corresponding piles. A first phase of

prefabrication work was completed during the

final months of 2010 by a team of SMIT divers

utilising the SMIT SAT 2 system.

Project work in the Middle eastDespite the turmoil of recent months, the

market remains positive in the Middle East

region. This is due to the dominant influence

of oil demand and price. SMIT Subsea has

enjoyed successful years in this region. Work

in the first quarter of this year included phases

4 and 5 of the Kito project in the Persian Gulf.

Despite poor weather the work progressed

as planned and preparations commenced for

phase 6, requiring a spread consisting of the

Cougar-XT and the Tiger ROV systems.

In addition, a large team of riggers and super-

visors has been involved in support for Maersk

Oil SPM operations 70 km offshore Qatar. The

work programme included the reconfiguration

of surface hoses, the replacement of tanker

hawsers and offshore rigging support.

During the early New Year SMIT Subsea

reached the halfway point in a five-year con-

tract with Qatar Petroleum for port mainte-

nance activities. This involves the supply of

vessels, personnel, machinery and materials.

Under the contract the client-owned dumb

barge ‘Al Khatiyah’ was successfully converted

to a DP1 self-propelled barge. It is now

manned by SMIT personnel and is utilised daily

for maintenance work within the port and its

approaches.

Recent work by diving teams in the area

includes SPM maintenance works at the port of

Mesaieed and offshore the Ras Laffan Port.

new office in australiaSMIT Subsea opened an office in Australia

in May of this year. The new office has been

established in Perth, the Oil & Gas capital of

Australia. In addition, an agreement has been

reached with Fugro-TSMarine for the provision

of long-term diving services. Under this agree-

ment, Fugro-TSMarine’s multipurpose offshore

support vessel ‘REM Etive’ will be equipped

with the SMIT SAT 4 12-man saturation diving

system. This system is capable of work at

depths down to 300m.

The objective is to provide IRM and construc-

tion project packages for the high end of

the offshore/subsea market in Australia and

throughout South East Asia.SMIT Marine Projects successfully installed six caissons for the Baccalan Bridge in Bordeaux.

SMIT Subsea provided pipelay support and mattress

installation services in Nigeria.

The DSV ‘Constructor’.

SMIT Subsea installed two domes in the K-18 field to protect the subsea wells.

‘KST Salvo’ at arrival in the port of Beira.

RAmpage 5000 vessel ‘Smit Siyanda’ currently

provides terminal support services in Durban.

smit.com13

tug magazine

colophonFor any information about specific activities,

equipment and services, please apply to:

SMIT

Waalhaven O.Z. 85

P.O. Box 59052

3008 PB Rotterdam

Tel + 31 10 454 99 11

Fax + 31 10 454 97 77

E-mail company@smit.com

Editor

SMIT Public Relations

Texts

TRS Public Relations

SMIT Public Relations

Design & production

Studio Clarenburg, Schiedam

Photography

SMIT Public Relations

and various SMIT colleagues

Roderik van Nispen

Aad Noorland

Total Gabon

Printing

Schefferdrukkerij, Dordrecht

Copyright

Texts can only be reproduced after

permission from the editor.

Together with SMIT Transport & Heavy

Lift, SMIT Engineering participates in the

Joint Industry Project known as OBELICS

(Operability of ballasting and lifting opera-

tions of extreme loads with integrated

hydrodynamics). This project is initiated

by the knowledge institute MARIN and

involves renowned representatives of the

Dutch (offshore) heavy lift industry.

The objective is to create an

advanced form of simulator for the

real time simulation of complex

offshore transport and heavy lift

operations. The success of large-

scale operations offshore - such as heavy lifts

and float-overs - depends on the refined inter-

action between the crew and equipment used

and the environment in which the operation

takes place. The equipment is exposed to a

potential for failure and most operations are

performed rarely or, in some cases, only once,

and the consequences of (human) failure can

be substantial. This is why the Joint Industry

Project partners have come together to create

a virtual reality training environment allow-

ing operators to practice over a full range of

scenarios.

The OBELICS project was launched in January

and will take two years to complete. SMIT is

contributing operational data from motion

monitoring systems on board its sheerlegs.

SMIT is also developing the cases to verify and

test the simulator.

The initial work includes a review of opera-

tional parameters for halting heavy lift opera-

tions offshore and, in addition, the examina-

tion of parameters set for the influence of

human factors. The major challenge when

developing the simulator will be the accurate

modelling of the hydro-mechanical physics of

the motions of the sheerlegs in its interaction

with the environment and the task at hand.

The simulation framework will be

integrated with flooding/ballasting,

lifting technology and knowledge.

This can be extended with a moor-

ing, towing and anchoring module.

There is an important training context for this

project. Traditionally, training in heavy lift

operations has been ”on the job”. Furthermore,

heavy lift tasks were more numerous and

spanned a complete range of weights and

complexities. Today, however, increased focus

is put on complex and offshore operations

using the sheerlegs, initially characterized

by less repetitive jobs. Consequently, it is

more difficult for people to gain the neces-

sary spread of experience in the field. The new

project will allow SMIT to address these issues

and to take a closer look at the human factors

underlying decision-making during heavy lift

operations.

In short, using a simulator provides the pos-

sibility to increase confidence and productivity

of operators for operation of non-routine

activities. From an engineering perspective,

the use of a simulator supports efficient and

effective engineering due to an integrated

approach of operations and engineering.

Furthermore, it increases awareness and expe-

rience amongst engineers on various opera-

tional aspects of offshore lifting.

Frank Verhoeven, SMIT Chairman and Boskalis

Group Director, says: “We have now completed

our first year post-merger. We have already

seen some significant achievements in all three

key areas: cost synergies, geographic syner-

gies and operational synergies. The scale of the

early cost synergies was encouraging and we

are now exploring the geographic synergies.

On the operational front, we are also plac-

ing a new emphasis on added value project

contracting.”

The key business drivers for Boskalis SMIT are

growth in three main market segments: dredg-

ing and land reclamation, ports and oil and

gas - with SMIT engaged in the latter two sec-

tors. As recovery takes hold, following the 2008

cyclical downturn, a very positive outlook for

the medium and longer term is emerging in

the ports and oil and gas markets. The inten-

tion is to service all market requirements, from

straightforward services to the delivery of fully

integrated packages and turnkey solutions.

The emphasis is on servicing all market seg-

ments, so as to generate stable volumes and

optimise asset utilisation.

Frank Verhoeven comments: “We believe SMIT

has a much greater capacity for providing

integrated marine service packages, in markets

such as oil and gas. There are also enormous

opportunities opening up for the delivery of

project packages in areas such as offshore

windfarm construction and decommissioning.

“At the operational level, there is scope for

incorporating wreck removal in wider con-

tracts involving dredging. Already, SMIT

Salvage is making good use of Boskalis survey

equipment and soil engineering expertise

when tendering, preparing and executing

large-scale wreck removal projects. Certainly,

SMIT Salvage is better-positioned to bid for

major lumpsum contracts with even greater

confidence, due to its enhanced ability to

analyse risks through more accurate and com-

prehensive surveys. Looking ahead, we see

considerable potential for linking large-scale

wreck removals with a dredging component.

Boskalis offers added value in this area, via

SMIT Salvage.”

The new Business Plan has four watchwords:

focus, optimise, reinforce and expand. The

focus is on: main market segments, (oil and gas

and ports) high potential geographic regions

and using added value in the most effective

way. Frank Verhoeven says: “The ability to offer

added value is of crucial importance in today’s

challenging commercial environment. This, in

itself, opens up many more opportunities and

more attractive markets.”

In the geographic context, the Plan centres

on six areas: North West Europe, South and

West Africa, Brazil, the Middle East, South East

Asia and Australia - all characterised by strong

potential in the ports and oil and gas markets.

Frank Verhoeven: “We expect very significant

growth in these markets over the coming years.”

The Business Plan’s definition of optimisation

includes enhancing cost leadership, by max-

imising economies of scale, further integrat-

ing support activities and centralising fleet

management, purchasing, crewing and train-

ing functions. Another objective is to further

develop competences which strengthen the

group’s ability to service the high end of the

market.

The reinforcement of group capabilities

involves the implementation of a Euros 1 bil-

lion investment programme, directed at both

the dredging fleet and SMIT assets, together

with the integration of the SMIT Terminals

and Lamnalco operations. Concerning the

terminals businesses, Frank Verhoeven says:

“We have made good progress in defining

our plans for integration of the businesses

and we expect to be in a position to make an

announcement before the Summer.”

New investment will be crucial, if SMIT is to

exploit fresh commercial opportunities in

rising markets. For example, as the new LNG

terminals now under construction are com-

pleted, a considerable number of terminal

support contracts are expected to come to the

market in the 2012-13 period. New tugs will be

built to service additional terminal contracts.

There is to be further investment in the expan-

sion of the tug fleet now operating successfully

in Brazilian ports. Frank Verhoeven says: “In the

harbour towage sector, we will focus on key

geographic areas. We are already seeing an

encouraging recovery in many of the world’s

largest ports. Rotterdam, for example, has

returned to tonnage levels seen before the

2008 downturn. There are fewer calls but the

vessels are bigger. Tonnages are also increasing

in many of the world’s major ports due to the

rising demand for energy and commodities.

The Gladstone project in Australia points the

way to a future, with the requirement centred

on the provision of total package service and

new generation vessels.”

Frank Verhoeven adds: “We will also invest

significantly in the heavy lift sector. Already, we

have taken the decision - in association with

the Asian Lift joint venture - to build a 5,000

tonnes capacity floating sheerlegs for heavy

lift project work. There is a market requirement

for heavier lifts, for the construction of larger

FPSOs and rigs. Over the past decade, SMIT’s

investment has tended to focus on harbour

towage and terminal support vessels. We

believe the time is now ripe to invest in more

heavy lift capacity.

“We are also actively exploring the possibility

of investing in other heavy lift solutions - such

as a jack-up or crane vessel - to increase our

spread of workability in the offshore oil and

gas sector.”

As for expansion, the SMIT

Business Plan places empha-

sis on new business activi-

ties and growth through

acquisitions - reflecting the geographic pri-

orities. For example, the expansion of subsea

services will be sought across the geographic

focus areas, and this will require an increase in

the number of SMIT saturation diving systems.

Frank Verhoeven: “We want to expand our

subsea services provision in important markets

such as Brazil and Australia.”

In the final analysis, the geographic focus areas

provide sharp definition for the achievement

of synergies across the Boskalis SMIT inter-

national networks. In Australia, for example,

Boskalis has a strong position and is prospect-

ing for opportunities to offer terminal support,

heavy lift and subsea services. In Brazil, the

strong SMIT harbour towage presence opens

up new opportunities for dredging, subsea,

transport and heavy lift activities. There are

also attractive opportunities in West Africa

for transport and heavy lift. The new oppor-

tunities are often driven by trends in the

ports and oil and gas sectors and new market

needs - including major decommissioning

programmes and the construction of offshore

wind parks in North West Europe and else-

where in the world.

Frank Verhoeven concludes: “The ability to

accept contracting risks and offer integrated

packages are qualities of first importance to

the future of Boskalis SMIT. There is much to

play for and our future will be both challeng-

ing and exciting.”

brIngIng tOgether OPeratIOns and engIneerIng

a Plan fOr IntegratIOn and exPansIOn

a substantial tax-free dividend. We continue

to benefit from the strong loyalty within the

workforce. During 2010 we enjoyed an extraor-

dinarily high level of staff retention.

“This year we face a number of fresh chal-

lenges. For example, the Mossel Bay termi-

nals contract is up for renewal at mid-year

and we expect stiff competition for the new

services contract. Our existing ship manage-

ment agreement with the Department of

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), con-

cerning the eight vessels in the fisheries pro-

tection and research fleet, is now the subject of

a renewal exercise. This is an important con-

tract for SMIT Amandla Marine, as it is serviced

by around 200 shore and sea staff. We have

already crossed one bridge on this front, when

the separate vessel management contract for

the Antarctic Supply Vessel, the ‘S.A. Agulhas’,

was successfully renewed for three years by

the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA)

in March 2011.

The replacement vessel is currently being built

at the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland -

and is scheduled to enter service in April 2012.

Other recent developments include the deci-

sion to replace a terminal vessel at Durban’s

SAPREF facility, where SMIT Amandla Marine

has a 10-year support contract. There will con-

tinue to be four SMIT Amandla Marine vessels

working out of Durban; two terminal tugs and

two bunker barges.

Paul Maclons and the South African organi-

sation are also looking forward to devel-

oping new commercial opportunities in

cooperation with Boskalis. He says: “We are

particularly interested in exploring oppor-

tunities in the areas of oil and gas and land

reclamation. There are possibilities for main-

tenance dredging at Beira and other ports

in Mozambique. There are also interesting

projects in South Africa with, for example,

plans for a port expansion at Durban - includ-

ing new container facilities - together with the

reclamation of the old airport area.”

Artist impression of the new Antartic Supply Vessel.

The stern and accommodation sections on the building plane.

The Boskalis SMIT merger has created one

of the world’s largest international marine

companies. A new Group Business Plan

(2011-13) gives fresh direction to this major

force in the market. The Plan optimises the

new structure and, at the same time, pro-

vides a platform for further growth in busi-

ness volume and spread. Working in paral-

lel, a new SMIT Business Plan, presented

and adopted in late April, translates the

Group Plan into a clear and specific strategy

for SMIT’s future development.

smit.com15

tug magazine

Shipowners and operators worldwide, SMIT

included, share concerns over the highly

disturbing escalation of the piracy threat

in recent times. Modern piracy has been a

problem for decades in certain areas of the

world, but the nature of the threat in the

Indian Ocean, with Somali pirates ranging

ever farther afield, has reached serious pro-

portions over the past three years.

In response, SMIT continues to introduce new

security measures, to reduce the likelihood of

a successful boarding. SHE-Q General Manager

Sageed Kunhiraman says: “We have seen a

problem largely centred on the Gulf of Aden

spread east across the Indian Ocean, reaching

as far as the waters off Sri Lanka. It is remarka-

ble how the range of the pirates has increased,

together with the scale of their demands. The

international community continues to struggle

to bring this menace under control.

“Our vessels operate in the threatened areas

from time to time and, accordingly, we have

invested heavily in preventive measures. We

learn from every transit and we have taken a

series of precautionary measures to reduce

risk. SMIT’s fleet follows the Pirate Threat Risk

Assessment Procedure, first introduced in 2004

following a serious incident in the Malacca

Straits. Since then, this procedure has under-

gone significant development and is now fully

geared to meet the present day threat from

pirates.

“For example we have taken a policy decision

that vessels proceeding in the Gulf of Aden

must be accompanied by an armed escort

vessel. We believe this precautionary meas-

ure is fully justified, given the nature of the

fleet and the degree of risk. Our vessels are

unarmed, but specially trained advisory teams

are on board during such voyages. SMIT’s

entire strategy is to reduce the risk from pirates

to much as possible.”

As would be expected, SMIT’s overriding

priority is the safety of personnel. Sageed

Kunhiraman: “We owe our crews the very

best level of protection we can provide. Any

vessel entering a high risk area can do so only

after receiving approval from SMIT’s Senior

Management. At that point, precautionary

activities reach an intense level, with response

drills and other security measures imple-

mented. Naturally, NATO and other organisa-

tions are informed in good time.”

Beyond escort in hazardous areas, the vessels

utilise a wide range of “hardening” options,

including wire, locking devices and, when

large enough, citadel areas. SMIT is also an

active participant in the increasing debate on

the piracy threat, Sageed Kunhiraman adds:

“We believe it is important to lobby for more

action from governments, by adding to the

industry’s voice. Meanwhile, our in-house

anti-piracy activities continue. In May we held

a Piracy Workshop for managers. The key to

prevention is preparedness!”

be PrePared! reducIng the PIracy threat

Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet and

Prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven, together with

Tineke Netelenbos, Chairwoman of the

KVNR, visited SMIT’s head office on Tuesday

April 5. Moreover, Princess Margiet acted as

sponsor lady during the Naming ceremony

of the harbour tug ‘Smit Panther’, that

recently joined SMIT’s fleet in the port of

Rotterdam.

The ‘Smit Panther’ is one of

four 3213 ASD tugs that were

delivered over the past year.

Equipped with 95 tbp these

vessels are a new Class of tug,

able to deal with ultra large,

new generation LNG carriers. As

part of her visit to SMIT, Princess

Margriet performed the official

part of the Naming ceremony

for the ‘Smit Panther’ which was

moored in front of the SMIT

head office for this occasion.

rOyal naMIng cereMOny ‘sMIt Panther’

During the official ceremony, Princess Margriet cut the ribbon and wished the ‘Smit Panther’ and all who sail in her a safe voyage.

Prior to the Naming ceremony the party was invited

for a guided tour around SMIT’s warehouse.

SMIT Chairman Frank Verhoeven presents the Princess the neck of the champaign

bottle that was used for the Naming ceremony and a model of the ‘Smit Panther’.