The Arab world is set to get another giant ship repair yard. Oman Drydock Company (ODC) is planning to commence ship repair operations at its new yard in Duqm in March 2011.
Duqm is in the Al Wusta Region of Oman, located in the southeast corner of the Arabian peninsula.
The shipyard will have two ULCC-sized graving docks -- measuring 410 m x 95 m and 410 m x 80 m which are being built by a consortium of Korea's Daewoo Engineering and Contracting and Galfar Engineering and Contracting.Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co has a ten year agreement (renewable for another ten years) to operate and manage the facility, which is owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman.
The yards initial market focus will be on oil tankers and LNG carriers, with its first customer being the state-owned Oman Shipping Company. It has a current fleet strength of 48 vessels, including tankers, LNG vessels and bulk carriers--and ambitious expansion plans.
Duqm's strategic location on the Arabian Sea is seen as giving it a competitive advantage. And whereas ships going to rival giant repair yards in the region have to go to Fujairah to remove residuals before repair, Oman Drydock Company is investing in aslop reception and sludge treatment plant.
The number of vessels that can be repaired at the yard will be limited in the initial months, with operations starting with a work force of 600 people. But the yard will be able to handle to 120-130 vessels in a year once it stabilizes operation, when the workforce will go up to 3,000.
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