December 2008
On November 27 no less than three new 2810 ASD tugs were named in Rotterdam.
More   
Well-positioned to thrive in the new environment 2
First 3213 class tugs join SMIT’s fleet 3
When connecting up is hard to do 6
development 8
“L Class” newbuilding programme reaches completion 8
Windfarm schemes feature in transport workload 4
SMIT’s harbour towage services
expand in Eastern Europe
page
Exploiting synergies between innovation and business
page
5
New bunkering services
contract in Bahamas
page
5
Salvage tasks in the wake
of hurricane Ike
10
SMIT Marine Projects completes first phase of MOPUstor
installation 11
SMIT Subsea Europe progresses Cirrus gas development 13
SMIT Amandla Marine advances towards sustainability goals 13
SMIT Amandla Marine continues to invest in its people 14
New projects explore the frontiers of tug design 14
Making progress towards SMIT’s new SHE-Q standard 15
Busy schedule ‘Asian Hercules II’ 16
Three is a charm
16
7
Defending the Italian coast
from persistent oil seepage
page
10
‘Taklift 4’ tackles European
windfarm lifts
page
page
15
Rapid expansion of
SMIT Rebras fleet
w w w. s m i t. c o m
tug magazine
WELL-POSITIONED TO THRIVE IN
THE NEW ENVIRONMENT
SMIT Harbour Towage would have been sold
to one or more unidentified parties. SMIT
Terminals would have been sold to Lamnalco
(the Boskalis/Rezayat joint venture) and SMIT
Salvage, SMIT Transport & Heavy Lift would
have been absorbed by Boskalis.
We remain firm in our belief in the inherent
value of the current four-Division SMIT structure. For these reasons, we are resolved to
maintain our close ties and strong relationships with clients. For these reasons, we wholeheartedly reject the break-up scenario. Our
position is rooted in the tremendous progress
made by SMIT over the past six years. We have
achieved steady growth and boosted share
value. Much of this success reflects the great
synergies existing between the four Divisions.
SMIT continues to advance in
its core markets, despite the
world’s financial difficulties
and, at a more specific level,
the unwelcome attentions of
Boskalis. During the first half
of 2008 the Harbour Towage
Division contributed revenue
nearly double that achieved
in the corresponding period
of last year. Revenue from
transport activities also rose
strongly. Taken overall, the
Group’s operating result for
the first six months represents a record first half.
The financial crisis developed at a time when
SMIT is particularly well-positioned to weather
the storm. The world’s merchant fleet continues to operate and demands for harbour
towage and terminal services remain constant.
Furthermore, our long term contracts in areas
such as terminal support and transport
contribute to SMIT’s inherent strength and
resilience.
In such turbulent times it can be seen that
our strategy - based on organic growth and
the expansion of activities generating steady
income - is exactly what is required in today’s
arduous economic conditions. Stable income is
all-important in this new and challenging commercial environment. At the same time, the
crisis in world markets is now accelerating the
long-term trend of consolidation. In this sense,
the new environment is creating fresh opportunities for SMIT to grow.
With this promising background in mind, we
reject the attempted imposition of a Boskalis
break-up of SMIT. There is some history behind
Boskalis’ pursuit of SMIT. There has been interest on this front for many years. In February
2008 Boskalis made a public offer for our
terminals business. This was rejected, as the
Terminals Division is an integral part of our
service offering with lots of synergies with the
other Divisions in place.
In mid-September Boskalis came back with
an offer for the entire SMIT Group. They
announced that SMIT would be split into a
minimum of three sections, two of which
would be sold off. This was flatly rejected.
Boskalis has undervalued SMIT and, most
importantly, seeks to break up the business.
The vast majority of our shareholders recognise what would be placed at risk in a breakup. They remain loyal. I thank them for their
confidence in our vision of SMIT’s future. It is
true, naturally, that the global financial crisis
is imposing new strains and influences. Yet
it is also true that all past discussions with
Boskalis have ended with a clear view: no synergy exists between the groups. The events of
recent months have done nothing to change
that fundamental reality. SMIT and the world
of dredging are very far apart, in terms of business approach and entrepreneurial spirit.
According to stock market regulations Boskalis
has to make public its intentions before
December 8.
Mid-year results
Turning to SMIT’s reality, I was very encouraged at the first half year performance. We
saw a record outcome in terms of revenues
and net profit was unchanged, despite a substantial dollar downturn. The quality of first
half results was also very impressive. We forecasted a marked improvement for the second
half of this year. This means an improvement
in the 7-12 per cent range. In turn, this implies
an end-year result of around €100 million, as
against €105 million in 2007. This is impressive,
given the fall in the dollar and lower income
from the Salvage Division (which experienced
an extraordinary year in 2007). Above all, this
will demonstrate the effectiveness of a commercial strategy based on steady income generation.
FIRST 3213 CLASS TUGS JOIN SMIT’S FLEET
per cent. Antwerp performed very well during
the first half. Developments elsewhere in the
world during the first half included the launch
of eight of a series of 18 newbuildings for the
joint venture SMIT Rebras in Brazil. Our target
for the Harbour Towage Division is a 50 per
cent increase in net result over the five years
commencing 2007.
SMIT Terminals achieved a satisfactory first
half result, given that this Division is the most
exposed to dollar influences. This negative
effect was fully compensated by the successful renewal of a series of five contracts. We
also look forward to income from major new
contracts in Italy and Kuwait, which will begin
to contribute to results in 2009. We are now
on course towards our target: a 100 per cent
increase in the Division’s net profit over the five
years starting in 2007.
SMIT Salvage contributed extraordinarily well
to results in 2007, largely as a result of the
huge demand for salvage and wreck removal
services following hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
This year the Division’s contribution is likely
to be in line with the historical average over
the last five years. Even this figure should be
regarded as unusually high due to the impact
of the extraordinary results of 2007.
The first two in a series of four newbuild
3213 class ASD tugs will be delivered in the
second quarter of next year. These vessels,
designed in partnership with Damen, are
building at the Song Cam shipyard (Damen)
in Vietnam, Haiphong. The second pair of
3213 tugs will join the fleet in the third
quarter of 2009. These newbuildings are
expected to proceed to Rotterdam, for
service in the Maasvlakte.
The new vessels, in the 85-90 tonnes bollard pull range, are specially designed and
equipped for service at LNG terminals. LNGspecific systems include remote closure of
engineroom and accommodation intakes
(from the bridge), gas detection systems and
external lighting.
The 3213 class is a modern concept combining power and high manoeuvrability. Damen
was responsible for the hull design, while SMIT
developed the deck and accommodation layouts. The many innovative features include
equipment and machinery designed for low
maintenance. The tugs feature two main
engines and two azimuth units.
Scheduled for delivery in November is another
2810 newbuilding from Damen, Romania,
also for service in Kuwait. This tug is the ‘Smit
Martinique’.
The 3213 design is focused on future service
needs at Rotterdam - Europoort’s Maasvlakte 2
LNG and container terminals. The 3213 class,
however, offers great flexibility. Potential
roles range from terminal duties and harbour
towage assistance to tug escort and coastal
towing. The equipment outfit includes a double-drum render and recover forward winch,
for harbour duties, and a towing winch and
associated equipment at the stern deck. In the
harbour towage/terminal role the 3213 offers a
high level of tow safety, especially in the indirect towing mode.
During December the Turkish yard of Bogazici
will deliver the 70 tonnes bollard pull ASD tug
‘San Nicola AT’ . This is one of four tugs in the
class ordered for service at the new Adriatic
LNG offshore facility, Italy.
New orders placed by SMIT in recent months
include two new tugs for URS. These are to be
built by the Turkish yard Dearsan. These Robert
Allan 3200 series tugs, rated at 65 tonnes bollard pull, will be delivered early next year.
During September Damen’s yard in Romania
completed the ‘Smit Schelde’, a 2810 tug with
a 60 tonnes bollard pull. This newbuilding
recently arrived in Rotterdam. September also
saw completion of the ‘Smit Bubyan’, built by
Strategic Marine Singapore. This 22 metre
crew/pilot vessel is for service in Kuwait.
SMIT Transport’s result’s showed strong growth
in the first half. This success story is founded
on high vessel employment levels, servicing long-term contracts. The smaller vessels
and barges are also doing well on the spot
market. As for SMIT Heavy Lift, results were
influenced by the rescheduling of a number of
projects. However, the opportunity was taken
to progress maintenance of the sheerlegs, in
readiness for a second half which saw all units
fully employed.
Looking ahead, our confidence in the future is
translating into expansion of our operations in
Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Far East.
During the first half, for example, we mobilised
tugs from Rotterdam and Antwerp to Ventspils
and Klaipeda, to reinforce the fleets in these
Baltic ports together with our partner, Towmar.
We also continued to develop our new harbour
towage services cooperation agreements in
Taiwan and China. We now have fresh opportunities to exploit synergies between the
Divisions and continue our advance in 2009.
SMIT Harbour Towage performed well during
the first half, with a significant increase in
results. During February we concluded the
increase of our shareholding in URS to 100
Ben Vree
Chief Executive Officer
Photography
SMIT Public Relations
Roderik van Nispen
Steven Snoep
Aerolin
and various SMIT colleagues
Printing
Schefferdrukkerij, Dordrecht
Colophon
For 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 [email protected]
Editor
SMIT Public Relations
Texts
TRS Public Relations
SMIT Public Relations
Copyright
Texts can only be reproduced after
permission from the editor.
Design & production
Studio Clarenburg, Schiedam
3
w w w. s m i t. c o m
tug magazine
NEW BUNKERING SERVICES
CONTRACT IN BAHAMAS
SMIT’S HARBOUR TOWAGE SERVICES
EXPAND IN EASTERN EUROPE
SMIT’s harbour towage services are now
commencing in Lithuania and Latvia, under
the banner of a new joint venture known as
Towmar SMIT. These operations focus on the
Lithuanian port of Klaipeda and the major
Latvian oil export port of Ventspils. Traffic
levels are rising at both ports and there is
substantial future growth potential, given
the huge Russian hinterland.
Loek Kullberg, Managing Director of SMIT’s
Harbour Towage Division, explains: “We have
known Towmar for some years, as a result of
our terminal support operations at Klaipeda.
Towmar approached us a year ago to discuss a
joint venture.
“We found there was much common ground.
Towmar wanted to grow and it sought a suitable partner. SMIT regards Eastern Europe as
a priority region for expansion, so as to follow
our global customers. This joint venture came
together on the basis of redeployment of a
Romanian yard during the Summer period. The
joint venture began operations, in the formal
sense, during October. Towmar SMIT has an
ambitious development plan, based on harbour towage services provision in six ports in
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and St. Petersburg in
Russia.”
Growth in Latin
America
During the second quarter of this year, in
Argentina, SMIT acquired the local tug operator Satecna Costa Afuera. Four tugs are now
operating at Bahía Blanca. They include the
‘Smit Antigua’. In addition, two tugs are operating in the north, at Buenos Aires - the ‘Smit
Jamaica’ and ‘Buni’.
Loek Kullberg says: “Business volume is increasing at both ports. At Buenos Aires, for example,
a new customer in the container trades has
prompted us to plan for the deployment of
another 2810 at this port.”
SMIT Terminals secured a new contract in
September relating to bunkering services
in the Bahamas. A new bunker barge was
constructed under a contract with Vopak,
to provide bunkering services at the Shell
terminal in the Bahamas. This Vopakoperated facility is a six-berth terminal at
Grand Bahama Island. Three SMIT tugs service this terminal: the 65 tonnes bollard pull
‘Smit Oneida’ and ‘Smit Missouri’ and the 45
tonnes bollard pull ‘Smit Abaco’.
4,000 bhp Voith-Schneider tug ‘Union 9’ (formerly based at Antwerp). Operations at Taipei
commence on January 1 next year. We plan
to deploy a second 4,000 bhp tug at Taipei
in January 2011. Furthermore, as from April
2009, the 5,000 bhp Voith-Schneider tug ‘Smit
Trafalgar’ (formerly based at Liverpool), will be
deployed at Taipei. This tug’s role would be to
assist very large container vessels.
“Elsewhere in Asia we recently signed a joint
venture agreement with the Port Authority of
Taizhou, China, for the provision of harbour
towage services. This will result in the deployment of the ‘Smit Puma’.”
The ‘Smit Trafalgar’ will not be replaced at
Liverpool. The Liverpool fleet will thus consist of two 60 tonnes bollard pull tugs (‘Smit
Barbados’ and ‘Smit Donau’), together with
three Voith-Schneiders (‘Smit Liverpool’, ‘Smit
Collingwood’ and ‘Smit Waterloo’).
The new bunker barge, the ‘Smit Inesita’, is
a double hull construction. Built in Orange,
Texas, the 35,000 bbls. capacity barge was
delivered in mid-November.
Harbour tugs ‘Smit Donau’, ‘Smit Collingwood’ and
‘Smit Barbados’ assisted cruiseship ‘Queen Elisabeth 2’
at arrival, berthing and departure from Liverpool, UK.
In Rotterdam, the 2810 new generation tugs
‘Smit Schelde’ and ‘Smit Hudson’ arrived during
the September/October period. The 60 tonnes
bollard pull newbuildings are equipped for
two-man operation. In addition, the ‘Smit
Portugal’ is departing Rotterdam for operation
on the spot market - with the eventual goal of
service in Indian waters.
During December two bareboat-chartered
Robert Allan 3200 series tugs will be deployed
at Antwerp. This charter agreement with
Globeco spans five years. Beyond the Globeco
charter, URS has also acquired two 65 tonnes
bollard pull ASD tugs from the Turkish yard
Dearsan. They will replace two existing URS
tugs, including the ‘Union 9’, currently operating in Taiwan.
Loek Kullberg, Managing Director of SMIT’s
Terminals Division comments: “The bunker
operations contract in the Bahamas has a
five-year span, plus five one-year options. The
barge will service tankers calling at the Vopak
Terminal and, in addition, other vessels calling
at Grand Bahama to bunker. We are very proud
of this expansion of our services”.
rig ‘Blackford Dolphin’ during tests at Europoort, in Rotterdam.
number of SMIT tugs to Klaipeda and Ventspils.”
Towmar has a fleet of eight tugs - five based
at Klaipeda and three at Ventspils. Two of
the latter are bareboat charters and will be
replaced by the 2810 tugs ‘Smit Aruba’ and
‘Smit Mersey’ towards the end of the first quarter of 2009. At that point ‘Smit Trinidad’ - currently at Ventspils - will redeploy to Klaipeda.
Loek Kullberg says: “Smit Trinidad’ is a newbuilding. Ventspils was her first significant
deployment, following delivery from a
Progress in Asia
Expansion is also continuing in the Far East
region. Recently, SMIT Harbour Towage concluded a new joint venture agreement with
Kueen Yang Enterprise, a local tug operator
based at Taipei. Kueen Yang has a six-year contract with the Taipei Port Authority to provide
harbour towage services.
Loek Kullberg says: “The new joint venture will
operate three ASD tugs and, in addition, the
Loek Kullberg says: “In addition, the third quarter of the year saw commencement of SMIT’s
four-year contract with Kuwait Oil Company
(KOC) to support vessels calling at KOC terminals in Kuwait - both onshore terminals
and SPMs offshore. The contract began in
November. A total of 10 vessels are required,
including five tugs. The latter include the
70 tonnes bollard pull ‘Smit Africa’ and ‘Smit
Europe’.”
Multipurpose vessel ‘Smit Al Kout’ was delivered by Neptune Marine Services, the Netherlands.
The vessel will be deployed for maintance work at the SPM buoys in Kuwait for SMIT Terminals.
The start date for another major SMIT Terminals
contract - support for the Adriatic LNG offshore
terminal - has been deferred until next March.
The four 70 tonnes bollard pull newbuildings
required for this contract were delivered during
the final quarter of this year. They secured
short-term work in Italian waters, pending the
commencement of the LNG contract.
Crew/pilot vessel ‘Smit Failaka’ - as well
as sister vessel ‘Smit Bubyan’ - will be
deployed for the KOC contract in Kuwait.
The newly built bunker barge ‘Smit Inesita’.
SALVAGE TASKS IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANE IKE
Extreme weather events continue to contribute to the SMIT Salvage workload. This
year, so far, has seen severe storms in North
West Europe and Asia, together with hurricane Ike in the US Gulf. Each event produced
casualties among vessels proceeding in the
affected areas.
SMIT Harbour Towage assisting the semi-submersible drilling
Elsewhere in the world, SMIT Terminals
recently signed a contract requiring the provision of a 45 tonnes bollard pull ASD tug (KSTbuilt) for service at Port Qasim, Pakistan.
Abel Dutilh, Managing Director of SMIT’s
Salvage Division, says: “The aftermath of
hurricanes Rita and Katrina involved major
programmes of salvage and wreck clearance
spanning a period of three years. Our teams
were still working on Katrina - related projects
this year. Then, in the third quarter, hurricane
Ike struck the US Gulf. While the damage was
not as great as some anticipated, the hurricane
left over 10 offshore rigs in a damaged condition and requiring salvage assistance.
During the course of the year to end-September SMIT Salvage secured some 20 Lloyd’s
Open Forms, although these cases were not
of a major character. There was good news
from South Africa. SMIT secured an extension
to its standby salvage contract with the South
African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA),
a service provided through the deployment
of the Cape Town-based salvage tug ‘Smit
Amandla’.
This year saw further progress in the removal
of the wreck of the container vessel ‘MSC
Napoli’, beached off the Devon coast in
early 2007 in order to prevent her sinking.
“Tasks following hurricane Ike included the
Lloyd’s Open Form salvage of the bulk carrier
‘Antalina’. This vessel lost power during the
hurricane. SMIT Salvage was also contracted
to remove the wreck of the jack-up ‘Pride
Wyoming’, situated in the shallow waters of
the Gulf. ‘Taklift 1’ has been mobilised for this
assignment.”
‘Smit Amandla’ responding to a vessel in distress.
Subsequently, SMIT Salvage removed bunkers
and more than 2,000 containers. Abel Dutilh
says: “Operations were suspended for the
winter period, following the removal of around
3,000 tonnes of the vessel’s structure.”
Harbour tug ‘Smit Jamaica’ attending to a container vessel in
the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Sheerlegs ‘Taklift 1’ was mobilised for the wreck removal of
platform ‘Pride Wyoming’ in the Gulf of Mexico.
5
w w w. s m i t. c o m
tug magazine
DEFENDING THE ITALIAN COAST FROM
PERSISTENT OIL SEEPAGE
SMIT Salvage assignments during the first
six months of this year included a challenging project to remove all oil residues from
the accommodation block and engineroom
of the wreck of the Very Large Crude Carrier
(VLCC) ‘Haven’.
This VLCC was lost off the Italian coast in the
1980s, following a catastrophic explosion. It
was known that this wreck’s cargo tanks were
empty. Most of her cargo was consumed in
a fire of huge proportions, at the time of the
loss. In recent times, however, the Municipality
of Genoa became increasingly concerned at
the threat of persistent oil seepage from the
‘Haven’. This threatened tourist beaches and
the concentration of oyster and mussel fisheries in the area.
WHEN CONNECTING UP IS HARD TO DO
Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF 2000) cases for
SMIT Salvage in the second half of this year
included ‘DINA Barge’ and her cargo of 12
river barges. This vessel was on a voyage
from the Far East to Europe when the tow
was lost in a violent storm. ‘DINA Barge’
eventually grounded on the Indian west
coast, at a location around 90 kilometres
south of Mumbai.
With LOF 2000 agreed, two tugs were dispatched from Dubai. The 120 tonnes bollard
pull ‘Matsas Star’ and 82 tonnes bollard pull
‘Seacor Valor’ reached the casualty and found
‘DINA Barge’ to be inaccessible, at a position far
into the shallows.
SMIT Salvage has a solution to such difficulties
- the use of Dyneema synthetic towing wire.
These towing wires have a strength equivalent
to steel but have only one fifth of the weight.
Lightweight synthetic towing wire makes it
possible to rig a long-distance tow connection,
using small craft working in the shallows or
even, in some cases, helicopters.
‘DINA Barge’ was out of reach in terms of a
conventional tow connection. She was also
distant enough to test even the Dyneema
solution. Nevertheless, SMIT Salvage mobilised
two Dyneema towing wires which, together,
produced a single towing wire of the required
length of 1,900 metres. The towing wires,
flown in from Rotterdam and Cape Town, were
loaded onto ‘Seacor Valor’ for the voyage to the
grounding location.
Things then took a different turn. The most
immediate threat was damage caused by the
casualty’s excessive movement in the heavy
swell. With this in mind, plans were changed
and preparations were made for an early
refloating attempt, prior to the arrival of the
lightering vessel.
The salvage of ‘DINA barge’ required a towing wire of nearly
2 kilometres.
The salvage contract was agreed on August 12
and, subsequently, the two tugs connected to
‘DINA Barge’ by the ultra-long synthetic towing
wire. They succeeded in refloating the casualty on August 31. This was the first use of a
Dyneema towing wire of such length. The key
to success here was detailed preparation. As a
result, the operation to connect up the towing
wire took just four hours. At this stage, it was
important to avoid an excessive bow in such
a long towing wire, so permitting the tugs to
pull as straight as possible. The connection to
the two tugs were made by means of a triangular plate.
This was a challenging project in many ways,
extending beyond the inability to rig a conventional towing wire. For example, there was
no scope for lightering this vessel. Success,
therefore depended on being ready for the
only spring tide available until the end of the
monsoon season. Failure to meet this deadline
would have condemned the ‘DINA Barge’ to a
lengthy stay on that Indian beach.
In the event, the salvage team succeeded,
refloating the ‘Peonia’ on July 9. This casualty
was then towed by the tug ‘Malika’ to Isla de
Santiago. Subsequently, a ship-to-ship transfer
to the lightering tanker ‘Alice’ was performed in
Porto Grande Bay.
The ‘Peonia’ salvage ended in success due to
SMIT’s flexibility of approach. Recognising the
inherent dangers of excessive movement, the
Salvage Master and his team responded with
new tactics to save vessel and cargo and safeguard the environment.
Saving ‘Peonia’
SMIT Salvage operations in the third quarter
also included the freeing of the 28,978 DWT
chemical/oil tanker ‘Peonia’ from her grounding position north east of Isla de Maio, Cape
Verde, during July.
This vessel was proceeding on a voyage from
San Lorenzo, Argentina, to the Algerian port
of Bejaja when the grounding occurred on
July 1. This was a LOF 2000 salvage requiring a
substantial mobilisation. A salvage team flew
in from Rotterdam and tugs were dispatched
from West African waters. Lightering tonnage was arranged, for mobilisation from the
Mediterranean. This vessel was required as a
salvage inspection had led to the conclusion
that refloating necessitated the discharge of
fuel and cargo, to lighten the vessel.
Accordingly, the Municipality awarded a contract to SMIT Salvage calling for the systematic
search of spaces and the recovery of all residues
from the accommodation and engineroom.
Barge ‘Ilma’ served as surface platform for the salvage team during the ‘Haven’ oil recovery project.
A diving bell took SMIT’s saturation divers to a depth of 75 metres.
Future work
The project spread mobilised included SMIT’s
MINI SAT saturation diving system. SMIT’s
diving team worked in depths of up to 75
metres. The spread also included a barge with
four-point moorings, acting as a surface platform for the project team.
Another pollutant recovery assignment will be
undertaken in the New Year by SMIT Salvage.
The project calls for the removal of 300 tonnes
of Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO) from the wreck
of the general cargo vessel ‘Ice Prince’, lost
recently in the English Channel when her
timber cargo shifted. The ‘Ice Prince’ IFO recovery will be a diverless operation, utilising the
remote-operated ROLS hot-tap/pumping
system.
The work was progressed
from the top down by
surface demand divers and
from the bottom up by the
saturation diving team.
A total of 115 spaces were
checked and subsequently
certified as oil free. The oil
residues were removed
by vacuum tools. Tank
residues were recovered by
means of pumping from
hot-tap stations established on the wreck’s hull.
There are also prospects for more salvage
and wreck removal work in the aftermath of
hurricane Ike, which struck the US Gulf Coast
in September of this year.
The SMIT floating sheerlegs ‘Taklift 1’, with a
full salvage spread, responded to the ‘Pride
Wyoming’. This platform was left virtually submerged following hurricane Ike and is now the
subject of a wreck removal. Underwater activities will involve work as deep as 160 feet.
Other oil removal operations this year included
work on the pusher-tug
‘Norsul Vitoria’, which
capsized at Ilha de Sao
Francisco do Sul - together
with the barge ‘Norsul
12’ - at the end of January.
The barge was laden with
9,000 tonnes of steel coils.
The work method here
involved hot-tapping and
skimming. Around 160
cubic metres of oil was
recovered.
Many more rigs require salvage attention
following this hurricane. A number can be
expected to develop into major wreck removal
projects.
The interior of the compression tank in which the saturation
divers were accommodated in between dives to the wreck.
SMIT Salvage refloated tanker ‘Peonia’, which grounded off
Cape Verde.
This year also saw a second season of work on
the wreck of the container vessel ‘MSC Napoli’,
off the UK’s Devon coast. This vessel was deliberately beached in January 2007, in order to
prevent her sinking. During 2007 SMIT Salvage
removed bunkers and over 2,000 containers.
Work on the wreck removal progressed this
year, with the removal of some 3,000 tonnes
of steel.
A saturation diver leaves the diving bell at 75 metre waterdepth.
7
w w w. s m i t. c o m
tug magazine
SMIT Transport’s ‘Smit Bever’ and “B Class” vessel
EXPLOITING SYNERGIES BETWEEN INNOVATION
AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
SMIT Salvage established its Innovation &
Business Development Department in order
to integrate four main areas of interest for
the longer term development in the Salvage
Division. This department is about much
more than R&D. Naturally, innovation - as
a product of R&D - forms part of the remit.
At the same time, however, the business
development aspect is devoted to the investigation of new markets for SMIT Salvage
expertise and services that aim to prevent
pollution and protect the marine environment. In addition, it is of great importance
to provide continuous development and
training of SMIT’s naval architects and, last
but not least, to retain and transfer technical expertise and knowledge within the
organisation.
SMIT’s Innovation & Business Development
Department is an unusual concept in the world
of salvage. Manager Bert van der Velden comments: “Salvage, of course, has its inherent
uncertainties. At first glance it may be difficult
to see how one can actually shape business
development. There are trends in the market,
however, which now provide more scope
for securing a greater proportion of steady
income from salvage and pollution prevention
services. The most significant influence, naturally, is the continued growth in environmental
concern.”
The department, while part of SMIT’s Salvage
Division, provides innovation and business
development services in a broader sense. It is
manned by a dedicated team of naval architects, business developers/consultants and
technical specialists. The department has the
resources and assets to look beyond tomorrow.
In considering today’s market, there are some
apparently conflicting trends. The number of
vessels trading continues to increase and a
larger proportion of these vessels are big ships.
At the same time, new technology and other
factors have made vessels safer. Nevertheless,
there is still an acute shortage of qualified crew
at the global level.
There is clear statistical evidence that the
number of vessels requiring salvage assistance is in decline and this may well continue.
On the other hand, salvaged values now are
much higher. Salvage operations are becoming
larger and more complex. Furthermore, as the
number of casualties declines, it becomes ever
more important to secure these assignments,
‘Smit Bronco’ assisted in the installation of the second
transformer station for Robin Rigg windfarm.
foundations required for the Rodsand II windfarm in Danish waters.”
New deliveries for SMIT’s expanding transport
fleet during the first quarter of next year will
include four 84-metre barges from the yard of
Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering. These
barges are required for operations in the North
Sea region.
SMIT Salvage provides emergency response services to the maritime sector in Brazil, under a cooperation agreement with Alpina Briggs.
in order to stay at the forefront of marine salvage and wreck removal.
The results of SMIT’s analysis suggest that,
overall, the market for salvage and wreck
removal services is likely to grow, at least in
terms of value. The challenge now is to reduce
the business uncertainties that stem from the
unpredictability of casualty salvage. One way
forward is to package salvage-related services that generate a greater volume of steady
income. In turn, this requires the development
and expansion of our environmental care offering and the forging of long-term relationships
with clients.
New initiatives include developing new joint
services with regional partners, so increasing
geographical spread. One notable example is
the cooperation agreement reached during
the second quarter of this year between SMIT
Salvage and Alpina Briggs. This is for the provision of front-line marine emergency response
services to the maritime sector in Brazil. Under
the agreement SMIT Salvage provides emergency response, bunker and cargo recovery
and wreck removal services, while Alpina
Briggs is responsible for spill prevention
and response. Alpina Briggs, a joint venture
between Brazilian Alpina Ambiental S.A. and
British Briggs Marine Ltd, has been active in
the market for the past eight years. It is now
responsible for the operation of more than
45 Environment Defence Units in Brazil and
abroad, supplying services and equipment for
oil spill response. The company strengthens its
activities abroad by promoting and organising
drills and exercises simulating spills involving
oil and oil derivatives, technical training programmes, environmental planning and consultancy work, as well as supplying equipment.
SMIT’s and Alpina Briggs’ services are fully
complementary, so providing added value to
the customers in total turnkey solutions.
Recent new orders include two DP2-equipped
“L Class” vessels, required by the joint venture
Ocean Marine Services of Egypt. These vessels,
due for delivery in 2010, will contribute to fleet
renewal.
is providing heavy lift support for main contractor Muhibbah of Malaysia. This series of
jacket lifts is nearing completion.
“’Taklift 4’ is undertaking a large number of
short duration projects in North West Europe,
while ‘Taklift 6’ is continuing to play a major
role in the removal of the wreck of the bulk
carrier ‘New Flame’, at Gibraltar. Meanwhile,
‘Taklift 1’ is engaged in salvage support work in
the US Gulf.”
Another development is the provision of
standby salvage services involving ETVs, or
Emergency Towing Vessels. More countries
are now receptive to the ETV solution. SMIT
intends to expand its involvement in standby
salvage arrangements and ETVs, also for the
oil & gas industry.
Much of the department’s innovation workload centres on new challenges arising from
the entry into service of ever larger vessels,
including container vessels in the 14,000 TEU
class and new, mega LNG carriers. SMIT has to
be ready to face the challenge of a container
vessels casualty around four times larger than
the ‘MSC Napoli’. Many of the problems are
logistical, as groundings often happen at very
remote locations. There is also the need for
specialised equipment. SMIT has taken the
initiative here. It is looking into the feasibility
of an emergency discharge system for ultralarge container vessels. At the same time, it has
taken important steps in the area of knowledge management. SMIT Salvage wants to
ensure the structured transmission of expertise
from one generation to the next. As always, the
organisation looks beyond tomorrow.
Other Division activities include the recently
commenced transportation of aggregates
for the construction of a new LNG facility in
Angola, completion of the first phase of SMIT
Marine Projects work associated with the
installation of the MOPUstor platform in the
Norwegian sector of the North Sea - with a
second phase of works to start in the New Year
- and a new, five-year contract for SMIT Subsea,
to provide diving support for Qatar Petroleum
at two locations.
SMIT Heavy Lift previously installed modules onto
several new Petrobras FPSOs and FSOs in Brazil.
SMIT Marine Projects commenced transportation
of aggregates from Dande to Soyo in Angola for
the construction of a new LNG facility.
“L CLASS” NEWBUILDING PROGRAMME
REACHES COMPLETION
‘Smit Laisa’, the final vessel in a series of
seven “L Class” newbuildings to be delivered, joined the SMIT fleet in July. All
“L Class” vessels are now committed to
long-term work programmes in Gabon and
the Middle East (on behalf of Saudi Aramco).
Abel Dutilh, Managing Director of SMIT’s
Transport & Heavy Lift Division, says: “The first
of the “L Class” vessels, ‘Smit Lombok’, is nearing the completion of a three-year contract in
Saudi Arabia. A new contract has been concluded for another three-year period, but on
this occasion for operation in South East Asia.
Meanwhile, SMIT Transport has secured the
renewal of a contract to support the offshore
mining operations of De Beers in Namibian
and South African waters. Activities centre on
Port Nolloth, on the north west coast of South
Africa, close to the Namibian border. The contract requires two supply crafts. This is a fiveyear renewal, together with three one-year
options.
SMIT’s “B Class” vessels also continue to enjoy
exceptionally high rates of utilisation. Abel
Dutilh adds: “We are also increasingly involved
in windfarm-related work. The submersible
barge ‘Smit Anambas’, for example, is about to
start a one-year transport contract for turbine
Abel Dutilh says: “There is more work in prospect in Brazil. Forthcoming projects requiring
heavy lift services include the ‘P.56’, a semi submersible type FPSO, building at Brasfels.”
In the heavy lift sector SMIT sheerlegs are experiencing an intensive programme of work, following a relatively quiet first half. Asian Lift is also
exceptionally busy, with its sheerlegs achieving
extraordinarily high levels of utilisation.
Abel Dutilh says: “Looking at our deployments
worldwide, ‘Taklift 7’ continues its assignment
at the Yemeni port of Balhav, where a new LNG
terminal is under construction. This sheerlegs
Sheerlegs ‘Taklift 4’ unloading hulls of
inland vessels in the port of Rotterdam.
9
w w w. s m i t. c o m
tug magazine
WINDFARM SCHEMES FEATURE IN
TRANSPORT WORKLOAD
Towout of the MOPUstor.
Semi-submersible barge ‘Giant 4’ was deployed
as offhore lifting platform for the Hooksiel
Semi-submersible barge ‘Giant 4’s second
half 2008 projects included a threemonth assignment for Bard Engineering
GMBH, centred on the German port of
Wilhelmshaven. The big barge’s role was
to act as the offshore lifting platform
for installing turbines for the Hooksiel
Windfarm project. For the purposes of
this contract, the 24,000 DWT vessel was
equipped with a very large mobile crane
(DEMAG CC6800).
The beginning of the final quarter saw sister
vessel ‘Giant 3’ performing the first transport
in a new series moving river barges from New
Orleans to the Parana River, near Buenos Aires.
The client is Interbarges S.A. This is the first
of two voyages. ‘Giant 3’ is no stranger to the
Parana River. Over the past year, the semisubmersible has transported hopper barges
and tugs for the Km171 Parana River project. In
this case the client was Louis Dreyfus division
Urugrain S.A.
In addition, Interbarge of Houston has shown
interest in ‘Giant 3’ for another two voyages
from New Orleans to Buenos Aires. Over
the past two years ‘Smit Anambas’ has completed six such voyages, including four for
Interbarge’s account. These assignments reflect
the strong demand for barge tonnage for service on the Parana River, required to carry cargoes such as iron ore and soya.
Windfarm project in northern Germany.
Meanwhile, ‘Giant 2’ has completed its project
for Swiber Offshore of Singapore, involving
the transportation of two jackets from Batam
to location offshore Indonesia. This barge was
redelivered in late September. This assignment followed a lengthy contract with J. Ray
McDermott, calling for the transportation of
piles from Jebel Ali to Kakinada, on the east
coast of India.
‘Smit Anambas’ demobilised from its series of
barge transportation voyages to the Parana
River in August. Next January 1 this vessel
will commence a 330-day charter for Danish
contractor Per Aarsleff. The contract is for the
transport of turbine foundations required for
the Rodsand II windfarm development, off the
Danish coast. The foundations will be lifted off
by ballasting down the barge.
SMIT’s four 84 metre newbuildings Smitbarges 5, 6, 7 and 8 - will be delivered by a
Chinese yard at the end of this year. They are to
be towed to North West Europe, where there
are good prospects for these vessels.
‘Smit Kamara’, under charter to Shell for five
years as an offshore platform maintenance
vessel, has completed two years free of losttime incidents.
‘Smit Kamara’, deployed as offshore platform
‘Smitbarge 2’ is committed in Angola until
2010. The vessel is transporting aggregates
required for a new LNG terminal at Soyo. This
contract is with Bechtel.
maintenance vessel for Shell, has completed
two years free of lost-time incidents.
SMIT MARINE PROJECTS COMPLETES FIRST
PHASE OF MOPUSTOR INSTALLATION
‘Giant 3’ loaded with hopper barges and tugs for
transport to the Parana River, near Buenos Aires.
During the European Summer period SMIT
Marine Projects successfully completed the
first phase of the transport and installation
of the MOPUstor production and storage
facility, in the Norwegian sector of the
North Sea.
‘TAKLIFT 4’ TACKLES EUROPEAN WINDFARM LIFTS
Windfarm developments in North West
Europe are providing a series of tasks for
SMIT’s 1,600 tonnes lift capacity sheerlegs
‘Taklift 4’. Moving on from completion of
heavy lifts for a windfarm project in German
waters, the sheerlegs proceeded to the UK,
for a similar project in the Irish Sea.
Sheerlegs’Taklift 4’ was involved in the construction
of the Doti Alpha Ventus windfarm in Germany.
‘Taklift 4’ installed a jacket and topsides for the
German Bight development during the third
quarter. This project is the Doti Alpha Ventus
windfarm. The lifts were performed on behalf
of the German joint venture between Hochtief
and Bilfinger Berger.
The 500 tonnes
jacket was
picked up at
Wilhelmshaven.
‘Taklift 4’ then
sailed with the
jacket in the hooks
for the 80 miles
voyage to location.
Subsequently, the
700 tonnes topside was loaded
onto a barge at
Wilhelmshaven
and towed to
Eemshaven.
‘Taklift 4’ then lifted
the topside, pro-
ceeded to location and installed the structure
onto the jacket. This project was completed by
late September.
‘Taklift 4’ then made for Rotterdam, to mobilise for the Robin Rigg project off Barrow, UK.
This contract was awarded by MT Højgaard. It
called for the installation of an equipment deck
on the eastern substation for the Robin Rigg
windfarm. The transformer station weighed in
at 400 tonnes. This lift took place during slack
tide conditions in October.
The big sheerlegs’ next assignment was in
Norway. During mid-November ‘Taklift 4’ commenced the lifting programme required for
decommissioning the large jacket from the
Frigg Field, in a fjord near Stavanger. This structure was cut into sections, which were then
lifted and transported to a nearby scrap facility.
Meanwhile, ‘Taklift 7’ continues its programme
of work in Yemen for Muhibbah Engineering.
This project involves the placing of jackets for
a new LNG terminal. Work on site will be completed in December. At that point, ‘Taklift 7’ will
The MOPUstor consists a three-leg production jack-up (the MOPU, or Mobile Offshore
Production Unit), mounted on a substructure
comprising a storage tank, caisson, columns
and bracings. The substructure provides capacity for the subsea storage of 300,000 bbls of
produced oil and also serves as the gravity
base foundation for the jack-up.
SMIT Marine Projects’ first task called for the
transport and installation of the substructure. This was fabricated by MMHE Malaysia
and transported dry to North West Europe by
heavy lift vessel. Outfitting was carried out in
Keppel Verolme yard, Rotterdam and subsequently finalised in Westcon’s yard, Ølen Fjord
in Norway.
This new structure is being installed in the
Yme Field, in the Egersund Basin at a position
around 110 kilometres off Stavanger. Water
depth on location is 93 metres.
The SMIT project team assembled in Norway in
early August. Two large anchorhandlers were
deployed to tow the substructure to location.
The towout commenced at the end of August,
however upon arrival in the field the installation was postponed due to weather that deteriorated beyond the conditions forecast. Due
to the persistent severe weather the substructure was brought into shelter at Amøyfjorden
near Stavanger. When a high pressure suddenly developed above Norway resulting
in calm seas the convoy left Stavanger on
September 12 and the day-long tow to location was completed without incident.
With additional vessel assistance on-scene,
comprising of another two anchor handling
tugs the substructure was hooked up into
the prelaid moorings. With the substructure corners connected to the stern of the
anchor handlers and their bows connected
to the prelaid moorings, the tension in the
wires was increased for fine-positioning. The
DP-equipped installation vessel ‘Polar Prince’
was connected up to the custom built MEM
(Mechanical Equipment Module) which was
installed by SMIT on the MOPUstor substructure prior towout.
‘Taklift 4’ with the equipment deck for the eastern Robin Rigg
One of two ROVs deployed during
windfarm transformer station.
the installation of the MOPUstor.
When all necessary preparations and tests
were completed, remote-operated ballasting
commenced, by means of links between ‘Polar
Prince’ and the MEM. All underwater operations were continuously monitored by means
of ROVs. The substructure made the controlled
descent onto its 3.5 metre skirts and ballast
was then added to obtain penetration of the
seabed. Pumps were reversed to create suction
and pull the substructure and skirt

The custom-built MEM.
demobilise and return to North West Europe. In
addition, ‘Taklift 1’ is engaged in a wide range
of salvage and wreck removal works in the US
Gulf, primarily as a result of damage to offshore
installations caused by hurricane Ike.
The MOPUstor was positioned with assistence of four anchor
handlers and installation vessel ‘Polar Prince’.
11
w w w. s m i t. c o m
tug magazine
SMIT SUBSEA Europe PROGRESSES
CIRRUS GAS DEVELOPMENT
SMIT Marine Projects removed Wintershall platform
‘P14-A’ from the North Sea.
tensioning and cutting of the legs. The total
weight of the main lift was 740 tonnes.
jacket legs were cut at positions 6 metre below
the seabed, using an abrasive cutting system.
‘Taklift 4’ held the topside in the blocks for
the voyage to Rotterdam, where the structure
was transferred to a SMIT Transport barge. The
drill deck was separated from the topside in
the Waalhaven. The drill deck was scrapped
and the topside was transported to the NAMI
yard, for refurbishment and re-use for another
Wintershall project.
This lift required pin-drilling, as the existing
pad-eyes had insufficient strength to bear
the weight of both jacket and foundation
piles. Lifting pins were installed at the top
of the jacket and lifting slings then rigged.
The jacket and foundation piles, with a total
weight of 855 tonnes, was lifted clear of the
seabed and transported to Rotterdam, with
the assistance of a SMIT tug. On arrival in
Rotterdam, a second sheerlegs was used to
topple the jacket, prior to loading onto a SMIT
Transport barge for the voyage to a scrapyard
at Flushing.
Back on location, the project team then prepared the jacket for removal. The first stage of
this work involved airlifting and the removal
of soil plugs from inside the jacket legs. The
further into the seabed. With maximum penetration achieved, the void space was filled with
low density grout, pumped from a large grouting plant mounted at the stern of ‘Polar Prince’
and operated subsea by two ROVs.
As part of the contract with Cirrus, SMIT
Subsea is also providing diving and ROV services on board of the construction jack-up
‘Seafox 7’. Working from the ‘Seafox 7’, the M7
monopile platform is to be installed.
It took around nine days on site to complete
the offshore works, comprising the tow, hook
up, ballasting, suctioning, grouting, final valve
handlings and then demobilise. Everything
went very smooth thanks to extensive preparations, a highly motivated project crew and
high quality of project equipment and vessels.
The job was completed well ahead of schedule.
The project team looks forward to phase 2 in
2009.
The second phase of work, planned for the
summer of next year, provides for the transport and installation of the MOPU. This will be
towed by two anchorhandlers to location in
the Yme Field. On arrival, a third anchorhandler
will connect up aft. By tensioning the moorings, with the aft deck connection exerting
back pull, the MOPU and its three long legs will
be manoeuvred into position. Two ROVs will
be used to monitor the critical phase as the
legs are guided into “catchers”. With all three
engaged in the catchers, the legs will be lowered, to enter the substructure. The platform
will then be jacked up into the required position.
Removing ‘P14-A’
Another SMIT Marine Projects team completed
the removal of the ‘P14-A’ gas satellite platform
during June and July. This redundant platform
was located in the Dutch sector of the southern North Sea. The removal was undertaken on
behalf of Wintershall Noordzee B.V. SMIT’s contract covered decommissioning, removal and
disposal. The topside is to be refurbished for
further service, while the drill deck and jacket
is to be scrapped.
SMIT’s team mobilised for ‘P14-A’ in late May
with the 1,600 tonnes lift capacity sheerlegs
‘Taklift 4’ deployed from Brazil, on completion
SMIT Subsea Europe’s recent projects
include the first round of diving and ROV
operations required for the M1/M7 developments in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.
The work began in the M7 Field, with SMIT
Subsea delivering the DP3 Diving Support
Vessel (DSV) ‘EDT Protea’. The DSV, operated
by SMIT Subsea Europe, is fitted with a dedicated surface demand diving system and an
inspection class ROV system. SMIT’s client
for this project is the independent oil company Cirrus Energy Nederland B.V. The M7
development is centred on a new monopile
installation, tied back to the NAM Shell platform L9-FF. NAM will process the M7 gas.
The scope of work this year included the
installation of a riser, followed in October
by the installation of spool pieces.
Assignments this Summer for SMIT Subsea
Europe also included the disconnection of
the FPSO ‘Uisge Gorm’ in the UK sector of the
central North Sea, close to the UK/Norwegian
border. This contract was awarded by
Bluewater Energy Services/Amerada Hess.
DSV ‘EDT Protea’ at the Shell L9-FF platform in the North Sea.
Once again the DP3 DSV ‘EDT Protea’ was
mobilised. The scope of work included disconnection of the flowline, umbilicals and risers,
together with mooring lines. The work was
undertaken with divers and the ROV on board.
During several phases of the work the ‘EDT
Protea’ was moored alongside of the FPSO.
One particular feature of this project was its
fast-track character. The contract was awarded
in early July, with just three weeks for prepara-
tion. Diving activities focused on operations
beneath the FPSO’s turret. Hoses were lowered
to the seabed and chains were released. All
work offshore was completed during AugustSeptember.
SMIT AMANDLA MARINE advances
TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
Together with another sheerlegs, ‘Taklift 4’ toppled the jacket
prior to its transport to a scrapyard in Flushing.
of its lengthy programme of module and component lifts for FPSO newbuildings.
‘Taklift 4’ was required for the first phase of
work, which prepared the topside for removal
in one lift. These preparations involved the
installation of a new pad-eye on the topside,
weld inspections to confirm the integrity of
existing pad-eyes and the cutting of risers and
cables, in preparation for the separation of the
deck structure (topside and drill deck) from the
jacket.
Preparations are under way to provide
services under a major contract extension
for marine support in Durban. Earlier this
year, SMIT Amandla Marine signed a new
agreement with SAPREF (Southern Africa
Petroleum Refineries), a joint venture
between BP and Shell, for refinery terminal
management services in Durban.
Paul Maclons, Managing Director of SMIT
Amandla Marine, says: “We are pleased that
this important renewal secures SMIT’s terminal activities in Durban for a decade or
more. September also saw the renewal of our
PetroSA contract for terminal operations at
Mossel Bay. In this case, the span is three years,
plus options.
SMIT’s existing contract with SAPREF expires at
end-2010. This will roll into a new contract with
a span of 10 years, plus options. The new contract is to be serviced by a newbuild terminal
support vessel.
“Looking ahead, our five-year contract with
DEAT expires in late 2010. This involves vessel
management services for a substantial fleet of
nine vessels, operating in the fisheries protection and research, offshore patrol and Antarctic
supply roles. These vessels perform vital tasks.
In the fisheries control sector, for example, the
vessels monitor the key parameters - such as
The big sheerlegs was positioned alongside the platform jacket, with team transfer
to and from the platform by means of the
Ampelmann access system. ‘Taklift 4’ returned
to Rotterdam for the installation of the 30
metre jib required for the main lift. On the
sheerlegs’ return, the rigging was connected
to the pad-eyes and the big lift followed pre-
The ‘Smit Amandla’ is the standby tug on the South African
coast on contract to the National Department of Transport.
salinity and water temperature - which are
used to set quotas. We intend to put together
an attractive bid for contract renewal.”
In August, the contract for the Operations and Management
of PetroSA’s Mossel Bay Multi Loading Facility (MLF) in
Voorbaai was awarded to SMIT Amandla Marine for
a period of three years plus options.
Following the platform’s topside, SMIT Marine
Meanwhile, SMIT Amandla Marine has
secured a one-year renewal of its contract for
standby towage services with the National
Department of Transport. Under this commercial arrangement, the tug ‘Smit Amandla’
is tasked to respond to vessels requiring emergency response assistance and so protect the
South African coastline. The current contract
expires this December; the interim renewal
covers 2009. Paul Maclons says: “We are
already thinking about the pending tender for
long-term renewal, commencing 2010. Here,
there is the possibility of a large ETV newbuild
- which would be a major opportunity for the
South African shipbuilding sector. This contract
is likely to be placed in September of next year.
“We believe this vessel can be built in South
Africa. The present tug ‘Smit Amandla’ was
South African-built, as was our recently delivered bunker barge ‘Smit LiPuma’. There can be
no doubt that an order such as this would give
a major boost to local shipbuilding.”
Projects removed the remaining jacket.
13
w w w. s m i t. c o m
tug magazine
MAKING PROGRESS TOWARDS SMIT’S
NEW SHE-Q STANDARD
SMIT AMANDLA MARINE CONTINUES
TO INVEST IN ITS PEOPLE
SMIT Amandla Marine is reinforcing its
programme of investment in its employees
through employee assistance and recognition. One initiative on this front concerns
the Employee Trust, which represents a 12
per cent stake in the company.
the employee to access the value of his or her
stake in the Employee Trust.”
In South Africa there has been a history of
companies making loans to employees. This
is no longer permitted under the recently
promulgated Credit Act. Paul Maclons says: “In
SMIT’s case, employees occasionally face special financial demands. For this reason we hope
to establish a Compassionate Fund. In 2009,
the Employee Trust will move into surplus. A
Compassionate Fund would allow this surplus
to be put to the best possible use.”
In an associated move, SMIT Amandla Marine
is to provide employees with access to independent financial planning advice. This programme element is to be run in association
with Alexander Forbes.
SMIT Amandla Marine’s team in Mossel Bay
attend a Drug & Alcohol Awareness briefing.
Paul Maclons, SMIT Amandla Marine’s
Managing Director, explains: “We want our
employees to really feel that they belong
to SMIT’s family. One way forward here is to
increase understanding of the Employee Trust
and demonstrate its real value to each beneficiary.
“With this in mind we have produced an
Employee Trust Handbook, which sets out in
clear terms the significance and purpose of the
Trust. We have also taken an additional step
which, in appropriate circumstances, allows
cant changes in this area. Paul Maclons says:
“Rather than the informal presentations of the
past, we now present Long Service Awards
in the more formal setting, at a dinner given
immediately following a Board meeting. We
use an external venue, providing entertainment and a sit-down dinner. This new arrangement, which began in October, offers us a
much better opportunity to express our appreciation of long service.”
In a new safety initiative SMIT Amandla Marine
has commissioned a well-established safety
consultancy to provide safety coaching. The
objective is to accelerate a shift in safety
culture towards personal engagement and
accountability. Paul Maclons says: “It is important that everyone understands exactly what
is expected, at the individual level, under our
safety management system. This programme
began with our safety coach delivering induction briefings for all managers. The second
phase of the programme will use gap analysis to identify key issues requiring response
action.”
SMIT’s corporate Safety, Health, Environ­
ment and Quality (SHE-Q) department
is undergoing expansion. Steering this
change is SHE-Q General Manager Sageed
Kunhiraman. He says: “We want a corporate SHE-Q organisation with the necessary
resources to interact to the full with around
30 of our SHE-Q “champions” at locations
around the world. We also want to invest in
behavioural safety, to make it a key component in the company’s organisational
culture”.
SMIT Amandla Marine holds “Wellness Days” in all of its
key operational bases. Here one of SMIT Amandla Marine’s
employees in Port Nolloth gets his blood pressure tested.
Another employee assistance initiative focuses
on awareness of the consequences of addictive behaviour, including alcohol abuse. Paul
Maclons adds: “We operate a policy of zero tolerance regarding drugs and alcohol. However,
we believe we have a wider responsibility to
raise awareness of the health and social impact
of such problems. We are concentrating on the
impact of excessive use of alcohol, by providing employee briefings. We are providing these
information sessions in an open format, involving employees and their families.”
Behavioural safety is only one aspect of a new
and comprehensive SHE-Q strategy, but it is
an important element. Sageed Kunhiraman
explains: “Behavioural safety is all about
safety at the personal level. It is founded on
care - for yourself and for others. Our CEO,
Ben Vree, after observing a dangerous occurrence, summed it up in a telling phrase: “What
if the AB on deck was my son?” This says it
all. This comment had a deep impact on me.
Previously, I tended to think of people solely in
a professional context. Today, that is no longer
enough. We all have wider responsibilities. We
must regard our colleagues not just as colleagues, but also as family. One of my most
important tasks, as SHE-Q General Manager, is
to spell out what this really means in practice.”
Expansion of corporate SHE-Q involves not
only recruitment but also specialised training
Many SMIT Amandla Marine employees have
been with the company for many years. Long
service warrants due recognition and this year
saw SMIT Amandla Marine make some signifi-
for department personnel, both new and existing. Sageed Kunhiraman says: “In recruiting
our new people, we are looking for industrial
experience - preferably in the marine sector together with SHE-Q-specific knowledge and
expertise. In addition, we want personalities
strong enough to motivate, convince and “sell”
SHE-Q best practices.
“Gender is not an issue here. SHE-Q posts are
open to suitably qualified men and women. In
fact one of our successful recruits was a female
seagoing officer. She has since decided to take
her career in a new direction, becoming SMIT’S
first female Assistant Salvage Master. A sound
SHE-Q background is a good platform for
future management aspirants and, of course,
for SMIT.”
Environmental priorities are beginning to influence tug design. Certainly, this has been taken
into account by the E3 Group - a cooperative
venture between SMIT Engineering (the lead
partner), tug builders Damen and Alewijnse
of Eindhoven, specialists in, amongst other
things, vessel power and energy management
systems.
NVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
CONOMICALLY VIABLE
FFICIEN T IN OPERATIONS
Sageed Kunhiraman adds: “Our priorities now
include establishing a new SMIT Standard SHE-Q benchmark for all SMIT operating units.
In the past the Standard was more of guidance
whereas in the revised version the elements
become a performance requirement. We plan
to have the SMIT Standard in place during the
first half of next year.”
For every job, safety is a priority.
The new, enlarged Corporate SHE-Q department has three sections:
`` Technical: responsible for inspections,
audits and investigations, with staff here
primarily involved in gauging the condition
of the various fleets and their management
organisations.
`` Management systems: the expanded
department will have the capacity to
manage routine administrative tasks but,
more importantly, tackle special projects.
Already, for example, it is engaged in
the certification of SMIT’s Tugmaster
Programme. In the long run, this section
RAPID EXPANSION OF SMIT REBRAS FLEET
is Vitoria, a significant ore port. We will deploy
four tugs - including some of the 65 tonnes bollard pull vessels during the first quarter of 2009.
NEW PROJECTS EXPLORE THE
FRONTIERS OF TUG DESIGN
SMIT is now engaged in two innovation
projects looking at future tug concepts.
The emphasis is on “green performance”,
combined with operational flexibility. Peter
Kortekaas heads the project teams. He says:
“The tug sector is fundamentally conservative. We have seen no really profound developments in tug design over the past decade,
but this may be about to change.”
will work towards standardisation of SMIT’s
management systems and knowledge management.
`` Behavioural: the function of this section is
to keep the organisation informed and motivated, through training and promotional
activities. New initiatives, such “Greening
SMIT” and behavioural safety campaigns,
will arise from here. The department is also
considering structured SHE-Q training for all
levels of SMIT’s staff around the world.
The second innovation project involves a joint
E3 signifies “Environment-friendly, Efficient
group including SMIT Engineering, WorldWise
and Economically viable”. The group first got
Marine Engineering and an IJmuiden-based
together during mid 2007. Peter Kortekaas
tug operator. This group is focusing on the
says: “Our first move was to measure. We
development of the H3T, the Hydrogen Hybrid
measured emission levels from existing tugs,
Harbour Tug.
together with fuel consumption, operating
profiles, engine rpm and
so
on.
This
phase
is
NVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
Peter Kortekaas comments: “In contrast to
now largely complete. Consequently, we now
E3 - where we retain an open mind on conhave a benchmark to work with.”
CONOMICALLY
cepts - theVIABLE
H3T project already has a firm direction to pursue. As envisaged, the H3T will use
“Using this data we are developing and engiits hydrogen system for routine operations,
neering an E3 tug. The next phase will include
FFICIEN T IN OPERATIONS
then switch to its conventional engine when
establishing the engine layout and building
engaged in heavy work demanding high pull
a small-scale prototype of this configuration.
forces, manoeuvrability and speed.”
While our work is still in its early phases, there
is no doubt that this project will have its influ“Both E3 and H3T have attracted state support,
ence on the future character of SMIT’s fleet. We
in recognition of their potential significance for
are examining many options to increase fuel
future tug design.”
efficiency and reduce emissions.”
Late October saw the twelfth in a series
of 18 newbuildings for fast-growing SMIT
Rebras enter service. The delivery of the
‘Smit Tupinamba’ is a milestone. It marks
the completion of the 45 tonnes bollard pull
Robert Allan RA 2500 newbuilding programme for SMIT Rebras - a 50:50 joint venture between SMIT and a Brazilian partner.
The next phase in the newbuilding programme
concerns six larger ASD tugs, with a 65 tonnes
bollard pull. The first of the Robert Allan RA
3000 tugs will join the SMIT Rebras fleet in
early December. The larger tugs are required
primarily to assist large bulk carriers calling at
Brazilian ore export terminals.
Mauro Sales, General Manager of SMIT Rebras,
says: “We are now operating at four locations.
We began in February of this year at Santos,
a major port for many trades, including bulk,
chemicals and containers. We are now operating four tugs at Santos.
“We are also operating four tugs at Sao Luis.
This is mainly a bulk port, including ore, aluminium-related cargoes and grain. We began
work at Sao Luis in May of this year.”
“Meanwhile, the 2500 class tugs are performing well, both operationally and commercially.
These tugs are fully equipped for firefighting
and marine salvage. These capabilities were
put to the test this year, with a number of
minor assistances and rescue tows. There was
also, however, a major emergency response at
Santos in February, when a car carrier caught
fire. All four SMIT Rebras tugs based at Santos
responded. In fact, the fourth tug only arrived
that night from the build yard. It went straight
into action. The tugs fought the fire success-
fully and this vessel was rescued. There is no
doubt that the deployment of our new tugs
at Brazilian ports has done much to reinforce
firefighting and salvage capabilities at these
locations.”
Two SMIT Rebras tugs are now working at
Paranagua - a major centre for the Brazilian
grain trade. The tugs were deployed in
September at this port, which also has container berths. Meanwhile, a further two tugs
are at work at a fourth location: Sepetiba, south
of Rio. This is a port spread over a large area.
Facilities include the Petrobras oil terminal, ore
terminals and container berths. There are plans
to reinforce the two tugs at this location.
Mauro Sales adds: “We are now looking forward to operating at a fifth port. This location
15
w w w. s m i t. c o m
Busy Schedule ‘Asian Hercules II’
3,200 tonnes lift capacity sheerlegs, ‘Asian
Hercules II’, was mobilised from Singapore
to the Gulf of Thailand to lift and install two
platforms ‘Jasmine D’ and ‘Ban Yen A’ in the
Jasmine Field, approximately 129 kilometers from the coast of the Satahip district.
Asian Lift Pte Ltd, a joint venture between SMIT
and Keppel in Singapore, was engaged by Thai
offshore construction company Cuel Ltd for
rigging and design calculations besides the
main lifting integration. ‘Asian Hercules II’ lifted
the topsides weighing a 1,062 tonnes each into
position in the second quarter of 2008.
Consequently, in the second, third and fourth
quarter of 2008, ‘Asian Hercules II’ was contracted by PT Nippon Steel Batam to lift two
deck sections and two jackets for loadout to
the North Belut field in the Indonesian sector
of the Natuna Sea.
SMIT’s ‘Giant 2’ was involved in the transportation of the two jackets from Batam to the
North Belut Field.
The sections were part of the construction of
the ‘North Belut Wellhead-D’ Platform, where
operators ConocoPhillips and co-venturers
Inpex and Chevron have an established oil and
gas production programme. The development
of North Belut currently is under way, and first
production is scheduled for August 2009.
Floating sheerlegs ‘Asian Hercules II’ lifted two
jackets weighing 1,714 tonnes on the June
9 and the August 15, 2008 and a further two
deck sections weighing 2,200 tonnes on the
August 6 and October 22.
‘Asian Hercules II’ with a jacket destined
for the North Belut Wellhead-D platform.
Sheerlegs ‘Asian
Hercules II’ installed two
topsides for platforms in
the Gulf of Thailand.
Three is a charm
A very special day at SMIT’s head office in
Rotterdam. On November 27 no less than
three new harbour tugs were named simultaneously in the Waalhaven.
The triple ceremony was performed by three
sponsor ladies. Mrs. Dorhout-Mees, Mrs.
Francken and Mrs. Smit respectively named the
‘Smit Aruba’, ‘Smit Schelde’ and ‘Smit Hudson’.
Harbour choir ‘De Sleeptros’ surprised
the guests with a protest song.
The guests also enjoyed a stirring performance
by a Bras (percussion) band and harbour choir
‘De Sleeptros’.
The vessels are all 2810 ASD tugs, built by
Damen Shipyards in Galatz, Romania.
The ‘Smit Aruba’, ‘Smit Hudson’ and ‘Smit Schelde’ moored alongside the ‘Smit Anambas’.
Sponsor lady Minnemijn Smit performed the
Naming ceremony of the ‘Smit Hudson’.
An impressive
performance by Bras
band ‘Earthquake’.
F.l.t.r: CEO Ben Vree, sponsor ladies Minnemijn Smit, Marie-Jose
Dorhout Mees-de Pont and Ingrid Francken-Lauryssens, and
Joris Neven (Damen Shipyards).
The event took place on board SMIT’s semisubmersible barge ‘Smit Anambas’, which was
moored alongside the quay right in front of
the head office.
About 250 guests, consisting primarily of SMIT
colleagues attended the Naming ceremony
and subsequent reception.
CEO Ben Vree, the sponsor ladies, Mr. Francken
(Chairman of the board of URS) and Mr. Neven
(Damen Shipyards) each spoke a few words in
honour of the occasion.