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Astro Offshore takes delivery of anchor handling tug
Astro Offshore, an offshore and maritime chartering and brokerage company headquartered in Dubai, has taken delivery of its first anchor handling tug, AHS Astro Reliance, as part of a fleet expansion plan. Built in 2009, Astro Reliance was secured secondhand after Astro Offshore decided to hold off on signing a contract for the build of two new 500grt anchor handling vessels, Mark Humphreys, managing director, told Maritime & Ports Middle East. “We were looking at having two 5,000 to 6,000 bhp tugs built last year in Singapore, and got as far as having the vessels designed in Holland, but we decided last year in September to hold off and do a trial run with a second hand vessel instead,” said Humphreys. “The type of vessel that we require is very specific and we were looking at ordering a highend anchor handling tug, which would have pushed the cost up.” According to Humphreys, the key feature of the two newbuild vessels was to be their winches, which were to be supplied by Rolls Royce. Humphreys says that if Astro Reliance continues to see strong demand from the market, they’ll revisit the plan to have two more anchor handling tugs built. “With the recent drop in the oil price, we’re actually in a stronger negotiating position with a shipyard in Singapore, which changes the situation somewhat,” said Humphreys. Astro Reliance secured her first contract within two weeks of delivery with a UAE national oil firm chartering her for work on the UZ750 Project (Upper Zakum Offshore Oil Field Development). That contract is due to last four to five months, with another of similar length already lined up, according to Humphreys. Astro Reliance joins Astro Offshore’s existing flattop ballastable barge Astro Sunrise
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