Australia: Strategic Marine Finishes Construction of “Alamo”

Western Australian (WA) ship builder Strategic Marine has finished work on a state-of-the-art 27 metre work barge which will be delivered to the Port of Dampier to service the burgeoning resources sector.

The barge named ‘Alamo’ has been built for Karratha business Offshore Plant Hire and will be chartered to marine operations company Bhagwan Marine.

It will service the areas around Dampier, Onslow and Barrow Island and be used primarily for port upgrades, construction support, mooring maintenance and shallow water dive operations.

Strategic Marine Operations Manager Scott Nicholls said delivery of another vessel into WA’s north-west was testament to the company’s growing reputation in meeting the maritime needs of the offshore oil and gas sector.

“We continue to win repeat contracts because of our ability to utilise our manufacturing capacity in South East Asia at our shipyards in Vietnam and Singapore to deliver quality vessels at highly competitive prices,” Mr Nicholls said.

“All our vessels are built to Australian and international standards because of our commitment to a carefully planned expatriate management structure, and technological transfer system.

“We are extremely excited about the next few years as Strategic Marine cultivates its reputation in new markets within the shipbuilding sector, as well as in providing fabrication, engineering and marine services to world markets,” he said.

“Late last year we secured a contract with John Holland for fabrication and design work at its coal seam gas (CSG) operations in Queensland and another to build pontoon structures for the Sydney Harbour Wharf Upgrade Project.

“We have also established a fast-response repair and servicing operation in Karratha, to provide through-life maintenance support for our vessels operating in WA’s north-west, including the ‘Alamo’.”

Mr Nicholls said Strategic Marine’s shipbuilding capabilities would continue to diversify into more steel construction, specialist offshore vessels, port operations, towage and security vessels.

The ‘Alamo’, designed in partnership with International Maritime Consultants, will be powered by two Cummins 375kW engines and have a cruising speed of 29 knots.

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Dredging Today Staff, January 23, 2012; Image: strategicmarine