Dubai Drydocks to build 4 chemical carriers for S'pore firm
Dubai Drydocks, a market leader in ship repair and conversions, has concluded an agreement with Singapore-based Navig8 to build four medium-range product tankers, with an option for four more vessels, Emirates News Agency reported. The deal is valued at US$175 million and is the biggest-ever signed by Dubai Drydocks. It will launch Dubai Drydocks into the arena of building larger merchant vessels. Steel cutting for the first of the four confirmed 50,000 dwt chemical carriers is scheduled to begin in May 2008. The vessels will be delivered between 2009 and 2010. A deal on the option for four more tankers will be considered by December. Dubai Drydocks, which launched new ship building operations just last year, won the contract from Navig8 after beating back tough competition from several major international rivals. The modern generation tankers will be built according to proven designs from South Korea and will comply with the latest common structural rules. The deal assumes strategic significance since it follows closely the successful foray into the highly competitive Far Eastern market by Dubai Drydocks's parent company, Drydocks World, through the acquisition of a controlling stake in Pan-United Marine Limited, one of Singapore's largest shipyards. Work on the Navig8 tankers will begin after the completion of two 16,500 dwt semi-submersible steel hulls for Aker Kvaerner, a Norwegian company. Following the completion of an US$81 million expansion project that included the development of the northern side of its massive yard into a modern fabrication yard, Dubai Drydocks has established itself as a major ship builder at the global level. The company employs over 8,500 skilled artisans and is well respected within the maritime industry for providing a service, which fully meets the clients' requirements, said a press statement issued by the company.