Niches suit nicely

When the subject of shipbuilding in Asia is discussed, Japan, Korea and a rising China are usually the focus of attention given the sheer volume of tonnage they produce as well as their stranglehold on the production of big ships. Little Singapore doesn?t compete on those terms, but over the years it has carved out a niche in the Southeast Asia region as a builder of a wide variety of small- to medium-sized vessels. The current orderbook of Singaporean yards includes cable ships, containerships, offshore supply vessels, catamarans and tugs. According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, a total of 1,757 vessels were delivered in Singapore during the decade 1991-2000 ? with a peak of 278 vessels delivered in 1992 and only 64 vessels delivered last year. “In shipbuilding, the industry?s position as a niche player in customised and specialised vessels is unlikely to change,” says Heng Chiang Gnee, president of the Association of Singapore Marine Industries. “The shipbuilding sector should perform better in 2001 and 2002 given the healthy orderbook. The picking up of the offshore sector is likely to strengthen the demand for offshore supply vessels.” Cable orders Keppel Hitachi Zosen (KHZ) is building six sophisticated cable ships based on Rolls-Royce?s new generation UT 757 design for TyCom. The first ? TyCom Reliance ? was scheduled for delivery last month, the second by year end and the remaining four next year. Jurong Shipyard, a member of SembCorp Marine, is also building a dynamically positioned cable ship for Asean Cableship. The 9,650 dwt vessel will have a cable loading capacity of over 5,500t and is designed to operate in 500m water depth. Delivery is slated for the first half of 2002. Boxships Two in-house designed, 1,078 TEU geared feeder container ships ? New Confidence and New Dynamic ? were delivered earlier this year by Jurong Shipyard to Singapore-based charterer New Econ Line. The two vessels are part of a series of six container ships under construction. The vessels, each with a service speed of 19.5 knots, can be deployed for feeder or main line operations. Jurong is also building a series of five 2,500 TEU container ships for Swiss owner Niki Shipping Group, for delivery in 2003 and 2004. The in-house designed, versatile mid-sized container ships will be the largest ever built in Singapore. Offshore market The buoyant international offshore oil and gas exploration market has benefited specialist Singapore yards, too. Pan-United Shipyard is currently building two 3,825kW AHTS vessels based on Rolls-Royce?s UT 719 design for Chuan Hup Agencies; two AHTS vessels (3,825kW and 5,885kW) for Lewek Shipping; a 130m multi-purpose offshore support vessel for Shanara Maritime and a 67m maintenance-work vessel for an undisclosed owner. PT Pan-United Shipyard Indonesia is building a 130m x 22m diving construction and support vessel. The S$69 million ($38 million) contract was clinched in May this year. The vessel “is purpose-built as a support for offshore diving, drilling, construction, cable work and repairs”, says Pan-United. ST Marine, a member of engineering conglomerate ST Engineering, is building three dynamically positioned platform supply vessels based of Vik-Sandvik design for US-based Tidewater Inc. Delivery is slated for the end of 2002. Keppel Shipyard, a member of KHZ, has won a highly competitive contract from SURF of France to build a multi-purpose offshore supply vessel – the contract is SURF?s first order in Southeast Asia. Delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2002. Aluminium craft The highly skilled construction of fast catamarans in aluminium alloy remains the domain of specialist shipyards such as Marinteknik Shipbuilders and Damen Shipyards Singapore. Both yards have won lucrative contracts from overseas customers. Marinteknik is building a 36m, 403-passenger catamaran for Hong Kong owner New World First Ferry Services and a quartet of 38.2m, 402-passenger catamarans for Hong Kong?s Park Island Transport. Designed in-house for operation in Hong Kong waters, the fine displacement hulled catamarans have good seakeeping and low wash features, and the noise level in passenger saloons is less than 75dB. A 38m, 350-passenger catamaran is also under construction for a charterer in Venezuela. The waterjet-propelled catamaran is slated for delivery in July next year. Meanwhile, Damen Shipyards has won a repeat order for its 40m, FlyingCat design from Hong Kong-based New World First Ferry Services. The yard delivered New Ferry V in January this year. High quality tugs According to the port authority, barges, tugs and supply vessels constituted 63% of vessels delivered in Singapore last year. They will again form the majority of vessels to be delivered from Singapore yards this year. n