NZ shipbuilding venture on course

More details have emerged on a bid by Whangarei firm Culham Engineering for a major overseas shipbuilding contract. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise specialised manufacturing sector director David Penny and Culhams general manager Shane Culham of Culham Engineering outlined the plan to Whangarei District Council members to buy 7.1ha of council-owned land at Port Whangarei for the venture.

The council has voted to enter into talks with Culhams over buying the land known as the Kaituna Block and will also negotiate with neighbouring business Norsand over part of the block it wants to buy. Penny said the contract, if it came off, would initially be for up to $100million worth of work, with many hundreds of millions more possible in the future. The potential for spin-off industries was huge. He said NZTE brought the opportunity back from overseas to several New Zealand companies, including Culhams, which is now doing due diligence.

The contract is for double-hulled product/chemical tankers for European coastal waters. The steel vessels would be up to 150 metres long and have a shallow draft so they could negotiate oceans, rivers and estuaries around Europe. Penny said that if Culham got the contract it would be “months rather than years” before it would progress.

China traditionally has built this type of vessel but was moving into bigger vessels. “They’d rather do 10,000-tonne vessels than 2,000 or 3,000-tonne ones. Also they lack the technical competence in that area at the moment,” Penny said. “Our competition for these specialised vessels is Europe. We are looking at a very big niche market which is fairly large in terms of longevity.”

Penny said Culham Engineering was capable of doing the job and support industries would spring up to help service the contract. Many new jobs would be created, but he would not be drawn on exact numbers. Culham was reluctant to reveal more about the contract until it was a done deal. Whangarei Mayor Pamela Peters said while a positive recommendation had been made to negotiate with Culham over buying the land, there were still hurdles to overcome. “But it’s an exciting international opportunity for shipbuilding in Whangarei. It’s very promising for the people of Whangarei, for jobs, training and our international reputation.”