ID :
95986
Sun, 12/20/2009 - 15:26
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https://www.oananews.org//node/95986
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Ras al Khaimah to inaugurate dry dock next year
Ras-al-Khaimah, Dec 20, 2009 (WAM) - Ras al Khaimah is going to open its first dry dock facility within a few months, an official has said.
"Al Jazeera Dry Dock is going to be functional by March-April 2010. We're currently in the testing period of the lift dock and finalising the construction phase of the dry dock. The official opening will be around March or April, after completing load tests and certification under Lloyd's Register," Captain Majed Abu Sharar, Port Services and Operations Manager, Al Jazeera Port, Ras al Khaimah, told Emirates Business.
"We are looking at serving the local Ras Al Khaimah market and the UAE. We are not just looking at a short term perspective but our aim is long-term. Currently, we are targeting only support vessels such as tugs, offshore support vessels and small barges, which are medium-sized vessels of 60 metres by 18 metres in size and that cater mainly to offshore marine businesses around the UAE and the Gulf," he said.
Tugs and supply boats are the support vessels for the oil industry as it carries all the supply materials to oil rigs and offshore operations and serve offshore oil wells, seismic survey units, weather forecasting offshore stations and marine survey.
He said the dry dock would offer a critical ship repair facility for medium-sized vessels within the UAE as well as the GCC.
Currently, the dry dock can accommodate small and medium vessels such as tugs and barges with LWT (light weight tonnage) of upto 1200 tonnes, and not big vessels such as VLCCs and container ships.
Asked whether there are plans to provide ship repair services to bigger vessels, Sharar said: "Currently there are no such plans, but if there's a huge demand, we can look at that. There are a number of dry docks in the region. However, there is a gap between the size of the vessel and the size of the dock. Therefore there will always be a demand for ship repair services in the small to medium-sized vessels, as the capacity is still inadequate to meet the demand. The volume of small and medium-sized vessels is huge in the UAE and the Gulf and so is the demand for their repair services." He said ship repair business is getting important in the region.
"The dry dock is situated between cities such as Al Hamra and port of Arabia, which are being promoted as leisure destinations. Therefore, yacht service providers would find it convenient to have a dry dock facility so close to them, as we can provider repair services for even bigger yachts up to 55 metres in length," he said.
The Al Jazeera Port has already been functioning since 2003, and it mainly handles cargoes such as rocks. "We've shipped from the Al Jazeera Port more than 30 million tonnes of rocks to major marine construction projects in the UAE and the Gulf," he said.
"Al Jazeera Dry Dock is going to be functional by March-April 2010. We're currently in the testing period of the lift dock and finalising the construction phase of the dry dock. The official opening will be around March or April, after completing load tests and certification under Lloyd's Register," Captain Majed Abu Sharar, Port Services and Operations Manager, Al Jazeera Port, Ras al Khaimah, told Emirates Business.
"We are looking at serving the local Ras Al Khaimah market and the UAE. We are not just looking at a short term perspective but our aim is long-term. Currently, we are targeting only support vessels such as tugs, offshore support vessels and small barges, which are medium-sized vessels of 60 metres by 18 metres in size and that cater mainly to offshore marine businesses around the UAE and the Gulf," he said.
Tugs and supply boats are the support vessels for the oil industry as it carries all the supply materials to oil rigs and offshore operations and serve offshore oil wells, seismic survey units, weather forecasting offshore stations and marine survey.
He said the dry dock would offer a critical ship repair facility for medium-sized vessels within the UAE as well as the GCC.
Currently, the dry dock can accommodate small and medium vessels such as tugs and barges with LWT (light weight tonnage) of upto 1200 tonnes, and not big vessels such as VLCCs and container ships.
Asked whether there are plans to provide ship repair services to bigger vessels, Sharar said: "Currently there are no such plans, but if there's a huge demand, we can look at that. There are a number of dry docks in the region. However, there is a gap between the size of the vessel and the size of the dock. Therefore there will always be a demand for ship repair services in the small to medium-sized vessels, as the capacity is still inadequate to meet the demand. The volume of small and medium-sized vessels is huge in the UAE and the Gulf and so is the demand for their repair services." He said ship repair business is getting important in the region.
"The dry dock is situated between cities such as Al Hamra and port of Arabia, which are being promoted as leisure destinations. Therefore, yacht service providers would find it convenient to have a dry dock facility so close to them, as we can provider repair services for even bigger yachts up to 55 metres in length," he said.
The Al Jazeera Port has already been functioning since 2003, and it mainly handles cargoes such as rocks. "We've shipped from the Al Jazeera Port more than 30 million tonnes of rocks to major marine construction projects in the UAE and the Gulf," he said.
