Rimorchiatori Malta Ltd has announced it has ordered a new €20 million anchor-handling supply vessel (AHSV type) from the Spanish shipyard Union Naval Valencia. The vessel is designed by Moss Maritime, one of Norway's leading naval architects forming part of Messrs Saipem, and will be delivered to the Maltese company in March 2010.
The vessel is specifically designed to perform offshore activities, living assistance to fixed or floating oil rigs in southern Mediterranean waters. The order will be financed by an Italian Bank, possibly in a pooling arrangement with a Maltese bank. The investment is being made through the company's Maltese subsidiary Menqa Shipping.
The announcement was made by Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group president Giovanni delle Piane at Tug Malta's offices in Floriana.
The vessel will have a dead weight of approximately 2,000 tonnes with a deck cargo area of 432 square metres and a deck cargo capacity of at least 900 tonnes.
Dott. delle Piane pointed out that this is the third major investment since Tug Malta was acquired by Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group last July. In September, Tug Malta ordered an 80-tonne bollard pull harbour/escort/anchor-handling tug from the Spanish shipyard Armon S.A. The vessel is primarily designed to operate in the Maltese harbours and their approaches. This tug will be fully equipped with fire-fighting, oil recovery and salvage equipment, to be prepared for any emergency that may occur in Maltese waters, or off-port in the Mediterranean. The vessel is due to be delivered in December.
Last December, an anchor, handling supply vessel with delivery due in April 2010 was ordered by another Maltese subsidiary, Rimorchiatori Malta Offshore, from the Spanish shipyard Armon Vigo S.A. This is one of the largest vessels of its kind and required an investment of €42 million.
The vessel is a MOSS 424 Mark III design with a dead weight of 3,100 tonnes, and will be equipped with four main Bergen engines with a power of 19,000 BHP able to give a bollard pull of about 210 tonnes. The vessel will also be able to carry liquid and dry cargo necessary for rig operations, and 1,200 tonnes of cargo on a deck area of 600 square metres.
"To date, including the acquisition of the government and minority shareholding in Tug Malta, the Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group has invested since last July, over €100 million. This is far in excess of our contractual commitments with the Government when Tug Malta was privatised. We are proud of this achievement and intend to continue to develop our activities in the Mediterranean region using Malta as a base," Dott delle Piane said.
Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group managing director Gregorio Gavarone, said: "It is the group's policy to preferably employ local personnel in management and other technical posts both onshore and also afloat. However, we must find qualified personnel with the requisite certification as demanded by international standards. We have found a company properly managed, with a good team of directors and managers and with crews having a deep experience and a great degree of professionalism in harbour towage, but without the necessary qualifications and/or certification to perform operations outside territorial waters and in off-shore activities.
"Our primary challenge is therefore to improve, on a voluntary basis, the qualifications and certification of Tug Malta's existing personnel and to be able to recruit, as necessary, qualified personnel to form a team of Maltese seafarers, with the aim of employing them on the off shore vessels under construction. This shall be achieved without in any way affecting the employment and relative conditions of present personnel who do not reach the requisite standards, as they will continue to retire only through natural wastage or at their own request.
"We will be pleased to co-operate with MCAST and other Maltese organisations in the field to create a centre of excellence that is certainly in line with the maritime vocation of the island. Cadets qualified at the Maritime Institute of MCAST will have the possibility of employment on the new off shore vessels both during their cadetship and more so later when they become certified."
Mr Gavarone added that the group was prepared to co-operate with authorities and invest in anti-pollution and environmental activity in the harbours and waters of Malta and in the central Mediterranean, where the group is prepared to make available its many years of experience in this field.