Tapping into Scandinavian markets

Cammell Laird has appointed Norway’s Octagone AS shipping consultancy to help it win more business to help it win more repair and conversion work on Scandinavian vessels operating near the UK.

Paul Ashcroft, technical manager, Cammell Laird, said: “We have always had good relations with Norwegian owners and have done some important work in recent years including a multi-million conversion job on the Nexans Skagerrak, a cable laying vessel. We see a real market to win more of this type of conversion work.”

The work to lengthen the Nexans Skagerrak was undertaken by Cammell Laird in 2010. Work included the construction and insertion of a new pre-fabricated 12.5m hull that increased the overall length of the vessel to just over 112m. The upgrade work was completed in just two months.

Another key project that the shipyard will be looking at promoting through Octagone is the building of the flight decks for the UK navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales which required complex engineering and the capability to build large modules of up to 1000 tonnes.

The partnership should work well because Octagone is looking to expand its portfolio by offering ship repair and conversion facilities outside of Norway.