SOCAR has modern shop building plant, but vessels are built in Australia

Caspian Marine Services company in alliance with SOCAR has selected the Australian ship building company Austal as a contractor for construction of a new 70-meter-long high-speed passenger vessel for operations in the Caspian Sea, reads information of Austal company posted on its official web site.

According to the information, the cost of the contract is about $34 million.

“The vessel with the capacity of 150 passengers, which speed will reach 30 bends, will be built on two plants of Austal company and will be ready for assembly in Australia in the third quarter of 2016. The vessel will deliver people and cargoes to the platforms of SOCAR and BP in the Caspian Sea,” reads the information.

The alliance of SOCAR and Caspian Marine Service was created on the basis of a 10-year contract signed by the sides in May 2006. According to the contract, in order to provide services to the foreign companies, the alliance uses vessels of SOCAR’s Caspian Oil Fleet and also upgrades the vessels. The main customers of the alliance are SOCAR, BP-Azerbaijan and LUKoil.

This is the second Azerbaijan’s order for construction of a passenger vessel for the oilmen for the Australian ship building companies. On December 18, 2014 the ceremony of launching of the Muslim Magomayev vessel took place in Baku. The vessel has been built at the Australian ship building plant Incat Tasmania. The length of the vessel is also 70 meters. Caspian Marine Services will operate the vessel in the Caspian Sea.

However, the issue of hasty construction of the ship building plant by SOCAR (65%) jointly with Azerbaijan Investment Company (25%) and Singaporean Keppel Offshore & marine (10%) remains mystery. The plant was put into operation in September 2013.

It was announced during the construction that the new plant will be able to manufacture four tankers with the deadweight of 15,000 tons or two tankers with the deadweight of 70,000 tons a year. The plant will be able to manufacture four towing and maintenance vessels a year and also repair 80-100 vessels of various purpose as well as the military vessels. Later on the frontier guards have built a separate plant for themselves. SOCAR has received only one order within the framework of Shah Deniz-2.

The country has spent $470 million for the ship building plant construction. After launching of the plant SOCAR has spent already $70 million for construction of two vessels for the oilmen.—0-