Smit Lamnalco secures major contract in Iraq

The SPM contract covers operations and maintenance of four SPM systems and runs for up to three years, a term that would generate over US$200m for Smit Lamnalco. The agreement involves the full scope of maritime support services for the export facilities. It follows hard on the heels of an over-arching support and maintenance agreement reached between Iraq’s South Oil Company and oil and gas service provider Petrofac in August. Smit Lamnalco will be responsible for the majority of the marine support services and will purchase seven new vessels to support the contract.

“This is one of the largest ever SPM operations and maintenance contracts in annualised terms, said Daan Koornneef, Smit Lamnalco chief executive. “It is also one of our most complex SPM projects to date due to its short start-up phase, regional logistics and the operational complexity involved in delivering the full package of integrated maritime services.

The scale of the contract bears testament to customer confidence in our enhanced capabilities following the merger of Smit’s terminal handling activities with Lamnalco in July 2011. It is a major step towards our goal of becoming the leading supplier of cost effective marine support services in the world.”

Smit Lamnalco owns, operates and crews one of the most modern marine and offshore support fleets in the industry. To meet the ICOEEP requirements, the company will mobilise up to 14 vessels ranging from high powered berthing tugs, maintenance vessels and mooring boats, to an accommodation barge and a patrol vessel. In total, close to 200 Smit Lamnalco employees will be deployed to service the ICOEEP.

As part of its commitment, Smit Lamnalco ordered two new tugs for the project from Damen Shipyards and signed a contract at the SMM exhibition in Hamburg in early September with delivery due in October and November of this year. The tugs for Iraq are newly designed ASD Tugs 3212 mentioned in an earlier report and at the time of writing one vessel, the SL Tiger, had been delivered and the second was nearing completion.

A third tug ordered by Smit Lamnalco at the same time is a twin screw Damen StanTug 2208. That vessel is required for use on a contract in Sierra Leone and has been delivered from stock by Damen’s Cape Town shipyard in South Africa.